CTMP Friday Notebook

Photo: Wes Duenkel/Ford

***Wright Motorsports team owner/driver Adam Adelson confirmed that its Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo will be good to go for tomorrow’s track action at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park following Callum Ilott’s session-ending accident at Moss Corner, which saw the GTD class contender end up inside the tire barriers. Adelson said they’re still investigating the cause of the accident.

***He told Sportscar365: “Callum and the car are OK. I think it was the way the car hit the tires. We’re investigating it still. He went in kind of sideways, and with the tire barrier there the way that it was, I think it really helped absorb the impact, mostly bodywork [damage]. The most important thing is that Callum is good and we’ve got a car to fight on Sunday.”

***The second red flag in Friday’s one-and-only IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice session was for the No. 34 Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo of Lorenzo Patrese, who also ended up in the barriers at Moss, although with less damage. “I made a little mistake on the bumps,” he told Sportscar365. “I just got a bit too much confidence in too small time, trying to adapt to the track; it’s quite a crazy track. Then on the bumps, it’s a really small mistake and then it turns into something a bit bigger. But luckily it was all good.”

***Patrese, in his CTMP debut, managed to return to the track to get more laps in on the 2.459-mile, 10-turn circuit and “build up the confidence.” However, his car, along with Ilott’s Wright Porsche will both lose its quickest times in qualifying due to bringing out reds.

***Nicky Catsburg and Tommy Milner are working with Kyle Millay as their engineer in the No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R this weekend, with Pratt Miller’s director of competition and engineering subbing for Tyler Neff, who at this weekend’s FIA World Endurance Championship round in Sao Paulo engineering the LMGT3 points-leading No. 33 TF Sport Corvette that Catsburg also usually drives and currently holds the points lead with Jonny Edgar.

***Catsburg told Sportscar365: “In WEC it’s always the same, if you win Le Mans, you have a very good shot at the championship. But if Jonny does score points, we can do something amazing, we can each [finish] 1-2-3 in the championship. I’m not sure if they would like that, actually! They would probably come up with a rules change for the years after.”

***The Dutchman and co-driver Tommy Milner dropped from the lead to third in the GTD Pro points standings after Catsburg’s last-lap contact with the No. 65 Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT3 EVO of Chris Mies at the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, which resulted in a post-race penalty equivalent to a drive-through for avoidable contact that dropped the No. 4 Corvette to an eighth place class finish.

***Roman De Angelis, who is back in an Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo for the first time in a year, said his “main goal” is to help support Eduardo Barrichello’s GTD championship quest. The Brazilian currently holds a 157-point lead over the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus pairing of Aaron Telitz and Benjamin Pedersen.

***De Angelis told Sportscar365: “I definitely raised my hand aggressively to be able to be the one to fill in for [Tom Gamble]. I love this event. I love being in a GT car. I love racing GTD in IMSA, whether it’s in GTD Pro the few times I’ve done as well, I think it’s some of the most enjoyable racing anywhere that I’ve done. I’m really excited to jump in the car.”

***While having been a no-show this weekend, Intersport Racing is set to return in the next round at Road America according to Oliver Jarvis, who confirmed to Sportscar365 that the team has a test planned at the Wisconsin circuit in a few weeks’ time. The team’s No. 37 Oreca 07 Gibson sustained considerable damage during a series of incidents in the opening stage of last month’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, which led the car’s retirement before the one-third distance mark.

***Ford Racing surprised Ben Barker and Dennis Olsen, co-drivers of the No. 64 Ford Mustang GT3 EVO, on Thursday with their names replaced by their nation’s top soccer stars, Harry Kane (England) and Erling Braut Haaland (Norway) on the GTD Pro entry. The two countries will face off on Saturday evening in the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, coincidently home of the Miami International Autodrome.

***Capone Motorsports, the team behind Tower Motorsports, will have a presence at Monterey Car Week next month in the unveiling of a heritage prototype built by the Florida-based operation. The Ricky Capone-led organization has been active in race car restoration and operations, primarily in HSR competition.

***Capone confirmed to Sportscar365 that his company is no longer involved in the North American distribution of Funyo Racing, a French-built junior-level prototype, which was announced in late 2024 and became eligible in HSR as a result.

***DragonSpeed team boss Elton Julian told Sportscar365 they elected to keep its Corvette in the Anti Social Social Club livery this weekend due to the team’s recent string of unlucky incidents and is hoping to give the apparel company a good result this weekend in the first sprint race of the season utilizing Casper Stevenson alongside full season driver Giacomo Altoe.

***He clarified that the traditional Evel Knievel-inspired design will be back on the car for Road America, which is set to be Henrik Hedman’s final start of the season.

***IMSA confirmed a revised schedule for its December sanctioned test at Daytona International Speedway, following the addition of dedicated Balance of Performance testing for GTD Pro manufacturers, in a recently announced partnership with SRO.

***Originally scheduled for Dec. 11-13, the sanctioned test will now occur only over two days, from Dec. 10-11, with three sessions on the opening day, including night-time running, followed by two additional daytimes sessions on the second day. The test is subject to 2027 IMSA sporting and technical regulations but is not mandatory for teams.

***The new joint IMSA/SRO BoP test, which will run on Dec. 12-13, meanwhile, will be mandatory for one team representing each 2027 GTD Pro manufacturer. It’s understood the testing will run similar to SRO’s annual BoP test at Paul Ricard where a SRO-nominated driver turns laps in each car as a baseline.

***John Hedges, the first employee of Meyer Shank Racing in 1989, has passed away. Hedges worked alongside team founder Mike Shank in his initial racing career before becoming a founding member of the Ohio-based team. “John will be deeply missed, and his legacy will forever be woven into the fabric of Meyer Shank Racing,” a statement from the team read.

***Saturday’s action will feature a 90-minute final practice session starting at 10:35 a.m. EST, followed by the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park 120 Michelin Pilot Challenge race at 1:25 p.m. (Peacock, IMSA YouTube channel, commercial-free courtesy of Michelin) and WeatherTech Championship qualifying at 4 p.m. (Peacock, IMSA YouTube channel).

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