Nordschleife photo finish, Flying Lizard return to IMSA and no decision on Vettel
An incredible finish in the NLS, one of sportscar's favourite names returns, and the wait for Vettel news goes on, OE Founder Tim Fullbrook summarises the news
Here are the big stories you need to know about from the past week, plenty of team movements in IMSA, and the links to races you need to watch this weekend!
Manthey victorious in crazy Nordschleife photo finish
Manthey Racing took an incredible NLS 2 win last weekend as Laurens Vanthoor pipped ABT Motorsports’ Jordan Pepper at the finish line by a margin of 0.042s - the closest finish in the series’ history.
Pepper looked to be cruising to the line after an intense four hours at the ‘Green Hell’, however it emerged he was told to run out the clock as the #27 Lamborghini would not have the fuel to complete another lap.
Behind, a hard-charging Laurens Vanthoor could sniff a victory in the Manthey ‘Grello’ Porsche, and with no traffic separating them, the Porsche driver was rapidly closing in.
Vanthoor kept his foot flat to the floor as Pepper dragged the brake out of the final sequence of corners, decimating the gap and at the line snatched the victory.
Will today’s N24H Qualifier produce another thriller? Tune in here!
Flying Lizard make IMSA return for GTD one-off
Flying Lizard Motorsports will make their return to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championships after nine years.
The Californian team will race their Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO, which made its race debut in GTWC America a week ago, in the GTD class at Long Beach.
Andy Lee and Elias Sabo, who finished seventh and sixth in the Pro-Am class at Sonoma last weekend will join the 17-car GTD category for the annual 100-minute thrash along Shoreline Drive.
The fan-favourite squad rose to the top of North American sportscars running factory-supported Porsche 997 GT3Rs, scoring two Drivers’ and Teams’ titles in the American Le Mans Series’ GT2 class between 2009-2013, before running a brace of Audi R8 GT3s in the opening season of the converged Grand Am and ALMS series, now known as IMSA WeatherTech.
No decision made on potential Le Mans run for Vettel
Porsche Penske Motorsport are yet to confirm whether Sebastian Vettel will race for the team at the 24 Hours Le Mans in June after testing with the WEC-leading squad in March.
Porsche’s director of factory racing Urs Kuratle told media there’s been no decision as to whether the four-time F1 champion would join the team’s third-car, the #4.
“There’s not even a date set when there is a decision of what and how and where he wants to drive.”
This was then further reinforced by Team Director, Jonathan Diuguid, confirming to media ahead of the WEC 6H Imola that although the Aragón test was extremely positive, the team is taking their time to confirm the line-up for the third Porsche 963.
“We have plenty of time to make the call and decide who we put in that car.”
This story is set to continue to bubble away in the remaining days before the 24 Hours…
Hypercars gain power and lose weight for Imola
The next round of Balance of Performance adjustments for the WEC’s 6H Imola sees eight of nine Hypercars gain power and drop weight – only the heavily updated Peugeot 9X8 goes without change.
The biggest movements see the Toyota GR010 and Ferrari 499P LMH cars drop 29 and 34 kilograms, whilst gaining 6 and 7 Kilowatts of power respectively.
Elsewhere Alpine A424, Isotta Fraschini Tipo6-C and BMW M Hybrid V8s all lose 28, 27, and 25kgs, with the Cadillac V-Series R seeing the smallest weight reduction, shedding only 2kg for the second round.
However the American LMDh sees the greatest power jump, gaining 18kW, with the new Lamborghini SC63 gaining 14kW ahead of its third ever race outing after Qatar and Sebring debuts.
The new power values are, however, only measured below 210kph as the WEC are expected to implement a secondary power control above that threshold speed – the percentage increase or decrease is likely to be determined during the race weekend.
Vasser Sullivan to race second GTD Lexus at Long Beach
Reigning GTD PRO champions Vasser Sullivan have entered a second Lexus RC F GT3 in IMSA’s GTD class for the upcoming Long Beach round, making use of their driver talents with shuffled crews across the two cars.
The street race only features the GTP and GTD classes, freeing up #14 GTD PRO squad Ben Barnicoat and Jack Hawksworth who have been deployed across both the #12 and new #89 entries.
The #12, which races full-season in the category, will be driven by regular driver Frankie Montecalvo and Jack Hawksworth with Parker Thompson moving across to the #89 alongside Ben Barnicoat.
This isn’t the first time Vasser Sullivan have entered one-off GTD entries, most recently in 2022 when the team’s additional #17 Lexus won the Detroit Belle Isle GTD race in the hands of Kyle Kirkwood and Ben Barnicoat.
Katherine Legge replaced by Stevan McAleer at Gradient Racing
The final driver shuffle ahead of the Long Beach round sees Katherine Legge replaced by Stevan McAleer for the rest of the season in the #66 Gradient Racing Acura in GTD.
Legge raced the full 2023 IMSA season alongside Sheena Monk, and earlier this year shared the sole NSX GT3 Evo22 on the IMSA grid with McAleer at this year’s Rolex 24.
A reason for Legge’s withdrawal from the team has not been published, but it follows almost immediately after the 43-year-old was confirmed to be returning to the Indy 500 with Dale Coyne Racing.
Potentially the more awkward cherry on the cake, Gradient Racing confirmed the switch less than 24 hours after Legge became the first female driver inducted into the Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame…
New Peugeot 9X8 hits the track ahead of WEC debut
The heavily updated Peugeot 9X8 LMH has made another test run at Paul Ricard ahead of its race debut at the WEC 6H Imola next week.
The French Hypercar underwent a major overhaul of its unique aerodynamic philosophy in an attempt to close the gap to the front-runners of the WEC’s top class on a more consistent basis.
Captured here by OE Follower and rising young motorsports videographer Raphaël Gy-Beausoleil.
Racing today:
ELMS - 4H Barcelona: The first race of the 2024 ELMS season sees the record-breaking grid take to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in what promises to be another hotly contested championship. A taste of what’s to come came in Saturday’s qualifying when all 14 LMP2 ‘overall’ cars were within a second…
NLS - Nürburgring 24H Qualifier: Rounds three and four of the 2024 NLS hold extra value as the Qualifying races for June’s 24 Hour at the gruelling Nordschleife. Tune in to see who can bag themselves a spot on the grid for the race…