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WeatherTech Championship

CORE Breaks Through for First Overall Win at CTMP

Colin Braun, Jon Bennett take CORE autosport to overall victory in late-race thriller at CTMP…

Photo: CORE autosport

A starring late-race drive by Colin Braun has delivered CORE autosport its first overall Prototype victory in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition in Sunday’s Mobil 1 Sportscar Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

Braun took the No. 54 Oreca 07 Gibson to a 3.431-second victory over the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R of Jordan Taylor, who led the closing stages of the two-hour and 40-minute race but lost out on a series of late yellows.

The former Prototype Challenge champion got around Taylor for the lead with 12 minutes to go, just seconds prior to the sixth Full Course Caution of the race when Harry Tincknell beached his No. 55 Team Joest Mazda RT24-P in the gravel at Moss Corner.

Braun’s advantage was extended on the final restart with seven minutes to go, showcasing the strength of the LMP2 package, which topped the time charts in every timed session it took part in this weekend.

While having grabbed pole on Saturday, team owner/driver Jon Bennett started from the rear of the 12-car Prototype field after electing to change starting drivers for the second consecutive race.

It marked Braun and Bennett’s maiden overall victory, two years after the duo’s last WeatherTech Championship class win, which came in the PC class, also at CTMP.

Taylor and Renger van der Zande finished second, ahead of the No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac DPi of Felipe Nasr and Eric Curran and the No. 5 Filipe Albuquerque and Christian Fittipaldi-driven entry in fourth.

The No. 7 Team Penske Acura ARX-05 of Ricky Taylor completed the top-five after fading late in the race.

Its sister No. 6 car, which inherited the pole, had its race come undone after a right-rear puncture in the second hour from debris, which led to a stop-and-hold penalty for Dane Cameron due to running the pit lane exit light, after leading early on.

The Acura DPi lost further ground when a wheel came loose after its final scheduled stop and driver change to Juan Pablo Montoya with 25 minutes to go, which required repairs to the left-front.

Oliver Jarvis brought the No. 77 Mazda DPi home in sixth after the No. 55 car was forced to retire following Tincknell’s off-course excursion.

Last weekend’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen-winning No. 99 JDC-Miller Motorsports Oreca, meanwhile, was classified in seventh after not playing a factor in Sunday’s race.

It was another race to forget for Tequila Patron ESM, which retired its lone Nissan Onroak DPi in the opening hour, again with engine failure.

RESULTS: Mobil 1 Sportscar Grand Prix

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

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