Cameron, Curran Win Crazy, Rain-Affected Race at CTMP

Photo: Brian Cleary/bcpix.com

Dane Cameron and Eric Curran have claimed victory in a rain-affected and drama-filled Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, keeping Cadillac’s undefeated streak in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship alive.

The wild two-hour and 40-minute race ended under yellow following a violent crash from the No. 52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Ligier JS P217 Gibson, which was overturned after hitting the barriers while in the race’s second downpour.

David Ostella climbed from the upside down Ligier under his own power and was evaluated and released by the trackside medical crew.

Cameron took his No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R to its first win of the season, despite a late charge by Stephen Simpson in the No. 85 JDC-Miller Motorsports Oreca 07 Gibson, which dominated the majority of the race.

However, a quickly drying track in the final 40 minutes forced Simpson and the majority of the Prototype class competitors to pit for Continental slick tires, putting Jordan Taylor, who opted to remain on slicks during the first spout of rain, into a comfortable lead.

Taylor stretched out to a 25-second advantage only to collide with the No. 4 Corvette C7.R of Tommy Milner in Turn 5 on an ambitious four-wide pass with 22 minutes to go, damaging the Cadillac’s rear deck and sending the Corvette hard into the tire barriers.

While the Cadillac remained in the lead during the caution period, Taylor limped back to the pits once the race went back green for repairs, ultimately finishing two laps behind in 7th.

Cameron, meanwhile, held on in the closing laps, despite worsening conditions, for the win alongside co-driver and fellow defending Prototype champion Eric Curran.

Simpson and Mikhail Goihkberg, who starred in his opening double stint in getting around pole-sitter Ricky Taylor for the race lead, were forced to settle for a runner-up finish for the second consecutive race.

The No. 2 Tequila Patron ESM Nissan Onroak DPi of Ryan Dalziel and Scott Sharp completed the podium in third, despite a late-race spin by Dalziel, with the pair of Mazda RT24-Ps completing the top-five. 

Performance Tech Motorsports has remained undefeated in Prototype Challenge, despite an incident in the final hour that appeared to put its win streak in jeopardy.

The No. 38 Oreca FLM09 lost two laps in the pits for repairs when Pato O’Ward made contact with a tire carcass on the backstretch, damaging the car’s nose.

While it briefly gave the class lead to the No. 20 BAR1 entry of Ryan Lewis, O’Ward retook the top spot following the sudden downpour.

It marked the sixth win in six races for O’Ward and co-driver James French.

RESULTS: Mobil 1 Sportscar Grand Prix

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John