Long Beach Friday Notebook

Photo: Mike Levitt/IMSA

***Filipe Albuquerque became the third different pole-sitter in as many races in the new IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP era following a session-long duel with Rolex 24 at Daytona pole-sitter Tom Blomqvist. Action Express Racing’s Pipo Derani, meanwhile, claimed pole for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

***The No. 80 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R has been withdrawn following PJ Hyett’s heavy crash in qualifying. Hyett climbed from the T-Rex-liveried GTD entry under his own power but the team quickly determined that too much damage was sustained to be ready for Saturday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

***Both Penske Porsche 963s went through qualifying unscathed for the first time this season following accidents for Nick Tandy and Matt Campbell at Daytona and Sebring, respectively. Tandy qualified sixth while Felipe Nasr, in the No. 7 Porsche, was eighth.

***GTD Pro pole-sitter Jack Hawksworth said portions of the circuit’s repave since last year’s race helped contribute to new qualifying track records in both production-based classes.

***Hawksworth said: “Compared to last year, for sure, there’s higher grip through that section. Turn 8 was a very bumpy braking zone and now you can tap the corner a bit. [In Turn] 6, the traction is a lot better. For sure that makes a lap time difference especially compared to qualifying last year with temperatures being a lot cooler.”

***Marco Sorensen, who claimed outright GT pole in his Long Beach debut, said he ‘frickin loves’ the 1.968-mile street circuit, with the Dane making his first street circuit appearance in a GT car. Sorensen is sharing the No. 27 The Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 with defending GTD champion Roman De Angelis.

***Saturday’s 100-minute race will feature a minimum drive time of just 5 minutes for GTP and GTD Pro drivers, with GTD drivers needing to complete at least 35 minutes but not exceed 65 minutes.

***GTP teams, meanwhile, are allowed to use just two sets of Michelin SHT compound tires in the race, including the same allocation from qualifying, while GTD Pro and GTD teams have slightly more flexibility with five total sets to be used throughout the event, compared to four sets for GTP.

***The No. 93 Racers Edge Motorsports with WTR Andretti Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 is sporting a special livery to promote the second season of “Chiaki’s Journey.” The four-part Acura anime series, featuring the 2024 Acura Integra Type S, premiered on Acura’s YouTube page on Friday.

***Ashton Harrison and Mario Farnbacher dressed up as the characters Chiaki and Noboru during last evening’s ‘Thunder Thursday at The Pike Outlets’ fan event. Farnbacher was part of Gradient Racing’s GTD class podium finish here last year, in an Acura that also had backing from the anime series.

***Jeroen Bleekemolen’s drive in the No. 92 Kellymoss with Riley Porsche 911 GT3 R is understood to currently be a one-off, with the Dutchman filling in for David Brule, who had previous commitments for both this weekend and in the next round at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

***The team, which had Julien Andlauer in its driving strength for Sebring, has yet to announce Alec Udell’s co-driver for Laguna. Bill Riley, who is typically on the box of his team’s LMP3 entry, will be calling strategy on the No. 92 Porsche tomorrow.

***Action Express Racing will utilize a separate Cadillac V-Series.R chassis for its 24 Hours of Le Mans debut according to team manager Gary Nelson, who said the car recently completed build at its workshop in Denver, N.C. Sportscar365 understands it is slated to complete a rollout at Virginia International Raceway next week and will then be air freighted to France. A sea-freight container with equipment, meanwhile, left this week.

***Nelson told Sportscar365  “It’s quite an effort from everybody involved, Cadillac, GM and Dallara. Racing in the U.S. on the West Coast, being based in North Carolina and then having to be in Le Mans. My thing in racing is that I always call it ‘Disaster x2.’ We want two of everything, all the time. It’s really challenged us to get all of the parts, the cars, the equipment [for the stretch of races].”

***Several AXR team members will be embedded with Chip Ganassi Racing’s expanded two-car effort at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps later this month. “It’s a great relationship Cadillac has put together,” Nelson said. “We help each other in whatever capacity we can.”

***Scott Dixon was among those announced as the 2024 class inductees to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America on Friday, alongside Jimmie Johnson, Paul Newman, John Surtees and others. The Kiwi will join his team owner and 2016 class inductee Chip Ganassi in the hall of fame, which is housed on the grounds of Daytona International Speedway. The 2024 induction ceremony will take place next March.

***Dixon’s next sports car race will come at Le Mans where he’ll rejoin Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande in the No. 3 Chip Ganassi Racing-operated Cadillac V-Series.R. “The opportunity with Cadillac to go for the outright win is huge, and to get that win would be truly amazing,” he said. “Daytona, Sebring and Petit Le Mans are amazing races, too, but Le Mans is extremely special, especially with it being the 100th running. It’s going to be really cool.”

***Bill Riley said that his team is in a wait-and-see mode regarding the future of the LMP3 class in the WeatherTech Championship, amid IMSA’s decision to extend the LMP2 category through the end of the 2025 season. A decision on LMP3’s involvement is set to be made by June 1 according to the sanctioning body.

***Riley told Sportscar365: “I think it’s a great class to get involved in for the level of WeatherTech but the way it feels and you sense it, it’s probably getting to a point where they will have to make a decision on what to do. I know IMSA is working hard on that path right now. Them announcing LMP2 would be good for 2024 and 2025, and not [confirming] LMP3, that kind of sets the tone.”

***While admitting it’s too early to confirm plans, Riley said he and Gar Robinson are evaluating “multiple options” to remain in the WeatherTech Championship next year should LMP3 go away.

***Honda Performance Development President David Salters declined to comment on the prospects of Wayne Taylor Racing’s second Acura ARX-06 entry that the team is targeting to have next year. “Our discussions with them are our discussions,” said Salters.

***While GM machinery have won all but one WeatherTech Championship race at Long Beach, Acura Motorsports and its performance arm, HPD, have recorded a total of nine sports car victories from American Le Mans Series competition. It is second in wins only to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca for Acura and HPD.

***BMW M Hybrid V8 designer Michael Scully is on-site this weekend. Scully, who is Los Angeles based, has recently been promoted to head of design for BMW M.

***Porsche has the unique opportunity to take victories in every class for the first time since 2006 when Grand-Am last competed at the track. The German manufacturer has its pair of Penske-run Porsche 963s in GTP, Pfaff Motorsports’ Porsche 911 GT3 R in GTD Pro as well as customer entries from Kellymoss with Riley, Wright Racing and AO Racing in GTD.

***Interest in the new-for-2024 Ford Mustang GT3 continues to build, with at least two existing GTD Pro/GTD teams understood to have held discussions with Ford Performance on the prospects of customer entries for next year. The Multimatic-built car completed a second test at Sebring International Raceway earlier this week with Harry Tincknell and Dirk Mueller.

***Zak Brown and Patrick Long are among those taking part in this weekend’s historic F1 support series at Long Beach. Brown is driving Alan Jones’ 1980 world championship-winning Williams FW07, with Long in Keke Rosberg’s 1983 Monaco Grand Prix-winning Williams FW08C.

***Six-time Le Mans winner Jacky Ickx was honored Thursday during the annual Road Racing Drivers Club dinner at the Long Beach Hilton in front of a capacity crowd.

***Live coverage of the WeatherTech Championship race gets underway Saturday at 2 p.m. PT (5 p.m. ET) on USA Network and Peacock. Leigh Diffey and Calvin Fish will be joined by Marty Snider and Dave Burns on pit road. IMSA Radio’s coverage will feature John Hindhaugh and Jeremy Shaw.

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