CTMP Weekend Notebook

Photo: Jordan Lenssen/Porsche

***A total of 35 cars are set for this weekend’s Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, in the second-ever LMP2 headline race for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship following last year’s inaugural LMP2, GTD Pro and GTD-formatted race at the track formerly known as Mosport International Raceway.

***PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports has undergone a late full driver lineup change in its No. 52 Oreca 07 Gibson, with Benjamin Pedersen and defending racer winner Nick Boulle at the wheel. Boulle was only confirmed for the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup races with United Autosports. Rodrigo Sales and Mathias Beche were originally listed in the Bobby Oergel-led entry for this weekend.

***Sportscar365 understands that Pedersen will complete the remaining LMP2 rounds this season at Road America, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta with PR1/Mathiasen. Boulle, who is thus far only confirmed for this weekend’s round in Canada, told reporters that he arrived at the circuit at 2 a.m. after a late call-up from the team.

***A pair of Bronze-rated Canadian drivers are making their WeatherTech Championship debuts this weekend, with Phil Fayer in the No. 2 United Autosports Oreca and Travis Hill in the No. 18 Era Motorsport machine. Fayer takes the seat typically occupied by Boulle, while Hill is an expected one-off entry, filling in for Tobi Lutke, who has prior commitments this weekend.

***Hill, who co-owns TWOth Autosport and raced alongside Lutke in TCR, Radical and LMP3 machinery, said: “I’m absolutely thrilled for the opportunity to make my IMSA WeatherTech debut; not only on Canadian soil, but in the top LMP2 class with a top-level team like Era feels surreal.”

***Ryan Dalziel, who has focused much of his recent driving with Era’s 24H Series program, is subbing for regular driver Paul-Loup Chatin, who, like a number of LMP2 regulars, is on FIA World Endurance Championship duty in Sao Paulo. This weekend marks Dalziel’s first WeatherTech Championship start since the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

***Fayer, meanwhile, is confirmed at United for next month’s race at Road America, the second and final LMP2 sprint race this season.

***JDC-Miller Motorsports is making its first LMP2 start of the season, with the 79 Oreca for Gerry Kraut and Scott Andrews. Team principal John Church told Sportscar365 the car will also contest Road America, which will see the return of all four classes.

***A new LMP2 entry could make its debut at Road America, with Tonis Kasemets and Matthew Brabham having shaken down an Oreca at Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, Ill. on Tuesday. Kasemets’ Wulver Racing operation is understood to be the entrant for the yet-to-be-announced effort.

***As the LMP2 season reaches its season mid-point, Untied Autosports’ Daniel Goldburg leads the Jim Trueman Award standings, which will provide an automatic invite into next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, either in LMP2 or LMP2 Pro-Am.

***There’a a dead heat, meanwhile, for the Bob Akin Award in GTD, with defending winner Orey Fidani tied with 2023 victor Brendan Iribe. Both are tied on 1590 points, with five races still to go.

***Roman De Angelis is making a one-off start in the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo, alongside Casper Stevenson, who won in the car last time out at Watkins Glen. It comes due to regular driver Tom Gamble’s WEC Hypercar commitments with the team in Brazil.

***De Angelis said: “I’m very excited to not only be back in a GT car for the first time since Daytona earlier this year, but also to be back for what is the only Canadian race of the season. I always enjoy racing in front of home fans at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, which in my opinion is one of the greatest tracks on the IMSA calendar.”

***Alexander Sims is making his 50th IMSA start this weekend. Now a regular with Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports in GTD Pro, the GM factory driver won the 2023 GTP title alongside Pipo Derani at Action Express Racing.

***A total of four Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs (two GTD Pro, DXDT Racing & AWA in GTD) will be looking to extend the brand’s streak of 13 class victories at CTMP since 2001. It included a 1-2 finish in GTD Pro for the factory-supported cars last year.

***Nicky Catsburg said: “I got to discover CTMP for the first time last year, and the track is just incredible. It’s another of the classic North American tracks that I really enjoy. I would say that it lived up to my expectations last year with the fast corners, elevation changes and a really nice flow.”

***Robert Wickens, who is set to make his first headline race start on his home soil of Canada for the first time since 2018, revealed that his wife is pregnant with twins.

***Immediately after CTMP, Wickens will head to Toronto Indy, where he serves as a technical advisor for Andretti Global. Wickens works from Kyle Kirkwood’s timing stand, with Kirkwood, who has won two of three NTT IndyCar Series street races this season, having credited Wickens’ analytical expertise as pivotal to his performance.

***Adam Adelson, fresh off a fourth place class finish in last month’s CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa with his Wright Motorsports team, is the only driver pulling double-duty between WeatherTech Championship and VP Racing SportsCar Challenge action this weekend. Adelson currently sits tied for the lead in the GTDX standings with AF Corse’s AJ Muss.

***It will mark Adelson’s GT3 debut at Mosport as CTMP was the only race the team missed on the GTD schedule last year. “I’ve been working extra hard to learn and prepare, as there are two championships I’m fighting for,” said Adelson. “Wright Motorsports has been performing extremely well this year, and I’m confident that as a team, we can bring home some great results this weekend.”

***There are 38 Dark Horse-based Ford Mustang race cars in international sports car competition this weekend, including three Mustang GT3s in Sunday’s WeatherTech Championship race, along with a trio of Mustang GT4s in Michelin Pilot Challenge, two Mustang GT3s in the WEC 6 Hours of Sao Paulo and three in ADAC GT Masters competition at the Nürburgring.

***USA Network will carry live coverage of the Chevrolet Grand Prix on Sunday at 2 p.m. EST, which will also be streamed live on Peacock. NBC Sports’ Leigh Diffey will call the action alongside Calvin Fish, with Brian Till and Matt Yocum on pit lane. IMSA Radio will again have coverage for international viewers on YouTube, led by John Hindhaugh and Ryan Myrehn, with Arjuna Kankipati reporting from pit lane.

Jonathan Grace contributed to this report

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