Wickens completes first stint at IMSA's top level
It may have been an "uneventful" first stint for Robert Wickens in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, but he hopes to prove he belongs at the top level as he continues to learn to maximize the hand controls.
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Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Yahoo
How to watch 2025 IMSA Laguna Seca on NBC, Peacock: Streaming info, start times and daily schedules
Bobby Rahal is getting using to his BMW 8 Hybrid V8 cars being at the forefront of IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship races this season. So it's fitting the U.S. auto racing legend will kick things off for the Monterey SportsCar Championship on Sunday, May 11. Advertisement Rahal will be the grand marshal for the fourth round of the IMSA season, giving the command to start engines for two-hour, 40-minute race (3 p.m. ET, NBC and Peacock) around the historic road course on the Montnerey Peninsula. "It's a great honor and privilege to be the grand marshal at obviously what is one of my favorite tracks," said Rahal, who made his Laguna Seca debut in 1976 with a Formula Atlantic race. "There's been a lot of success here, both as a driver and as an owner. It's a real thrill to have part of the racetrack named after you. Going out to Laguna, one of the crown jewels really of American road racing circuits, it was a thrill then, and it's a thrill even today." IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship The straightaway at Laguna Seca leading to its famous Corkscrew turn was renamed more than a decade ago in honor of Rahal, who will be at the track on multiple race weekends in 2025 with his IndyCar and IMSA teams. Advertisement It's been a swift start for the No. 24 BMW M Team RLL M Hybrid V8, which has won the Grand Touring Prototype pole position in three consectuive races with driver Dries Vanthoor to start the 2025 season. After lagging through the first two years of IMSA's revamped premier hybirid prototype category, Rahal's cars have improved in a critical season. But some driver, team and tactical errors have contributed to an absence from vcitory lane as the Porsche Penske Motorsport No. 7 963 has swept the first three races. "Unfortunately, we haven't been able quite put it all together," said Rahal, who hinted the BMW teams have tweaked their pit stops for Laguna Seca. "Come race day, we've had on-track, but lapped traffic at Daytona and Sebring hurt our chances at the end of the race. Looking at Long Beach, we got held up in the pits a little bit and that's all it took, I'm afraid. IMSA Long Beach results, points: Nasr, Tandy stay perfect for Porsche Penske in 2025 season Advertisement The No. 7 963 has won the first three IMSA races this year. "So, we've got to hopefully complete the job this time around. We were pretty quick there last year, so we have a reasonable chance. ... We've learned more about the car this year. The Laguna track, especially since they repaved it (in 2023), that's kind of come into our wheelhouse a bit." There is a sense of urgency for Rahal, whose sports car teams have been racing BMWs in GT and prototype classes since 2008. It's a contract year for RLL with the German manufacturer, and multiple outlets have reported that BMW has been considering options with other teams for 2026. "I don't want to get into the specifics of that, but we're obviously hoping to continue this long relationship that we've had with BMW that's dated back to 2008," Rahal said. "I know you see some of these articles and a lot of guessing and a lot of speculation, but there's three quarters of the season left. For us and BMW Motorsport, it's the same thing. Everybody's just really focused on this coming race and the race after that and after that and after that. Auto Racing: Rolex 24 At Daytona What's next for Felipe Nasr after second Daytona dandy? Le Mans awaits ... and maybe more Advertisement With a win in France, the Porsche Penske Motorsport star could earn history and a career springboard. "We go win some races, and that solves a lot of problems. So that's what we're intending to do." But the competition is very stiff in IMSA's top class, which will feature 11 entries and five manufacturers at Laguna Seca. Acura, Cadillac and Aston Martin will be battling BMW to detrhone the unbeaten Porsche. "It speaks volumes about IMSA the number of manufacturers that are involved in all classes," Rahal said. "It's phenomenal how many of all types are involved in in sports car racing and IMSA today compared to years ago. And the complexity of these cars is, in some respects, they may be more complex than a Formula 1 car. It's just at a different level. Advertisement "I think the GTP category but IMSA as a whole is just in a phenomenal place right now, and we haven't seen anything like this maybe ever." Here are the start times, daily schedules and streaming info for the 2025 IMSA Monterey SportsCar Championship at Laguna Seca: 2025 IMSA Laguna Seca SportsCar Championship WHEN: Sunday, May 11 at 3 p.m. DISTANCE: A two-hour, 40-minute race on the 11-turn, 2.238-mile road course in Monterey, Califiornia. FORECAST: According to Weather Underground, it's expected to be 47 degrees with a 4% chance of rain at the green flag. ENTRY LIST: Click here to see the 36-car field in the GTP, GTD Pro and GTD classes for the 2025 IMSA Monterey SportsCar Championship at Laguna Seca. How to Watch IMSA at Laguna Seca TV/STREAMING: The Monterey SportsCar Championship at Laguna Seca will be televised on NBC and streamed on Peacock from flag to flag beginning at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 11. Advertisement The NBC Sports broadcast will feature announcers Brian Till and Calvin Fish. Dave Burns, Chris Wilner and Matt Yocum are the pit reporters. RADIO: All sessions live on SiriusXM live race coverage begins May 11 at 3 p.m. (SiriusXM channel 206, Web/App 996) IMSA Laguna Seca SportsCar schedule, start times Here's a rundown of the IMSA schedule this week at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca (all times are ET): Friday, May 9 11:25-11:45 a.m.: Mustang Challenge practice 12:10-1:10 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge practice 1:25-2:10 p.m.: Lamborghini Super Trofeo practice 3:10-3:40 p.m.: Mustang Challenge practice 4-5 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge practice 5:20-6:50 p.m.: WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice 7:10-7:55 p.m.: Lamborghini Super Trofeo practice 8:10-8:25 p.m.: Mustang Challenge qualifying 8:40-9:15 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge qualifying Saturday, May 10 11-11:35 a.m.: Lamborghini Super Trofeo qualifying 11:50 a.m.-12:35 p.m.: Mustang Challenge Race 1 (Peacock) 12:55-2:25 p.m.: WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice 3:45-5:45 p.m.: Michelinn Pilot Challenge WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca 120 (Peacock) 6:15-7:25 p.m.: WeatherTech SportsCar Championship qualifying (Peacock) 7:45-8:35 p.m.: Lamborghini Super Trofeo Race 1 (Peacock) Advertisement Sunday, May 11 11:25 a.m.-12:15 p.m.: Mustang Challenge Race 2 (Peacock) 12:35-1:25 p.m.: Lamborghini Super Trofeo Race 2 (Peacock) 3:10-5:50 p.m.: Monterey SportsCar Championship (NBC, Peacock) 2025 SEASON RECAPS ROUND 1: Porsche Penske's Felipe Nasr closes Rolex 24 at Daytona win for second conseuctive year ROUND 2: Porsche Penske Motorsport sweeps top two spots at Twelve Hours of Sebring ROUND 3: Nasr, Tandy stay perfect with Porsche in victory at Long Beach
NBC Sports
01-06-2025
- NBC Sports
IMSA Detroit results, points: Acura outduels Cadillac for first victory of season
Renger van der Zande seized the lead on a bold pass with three laps remaining as the No. 93 Meyer Shank Racing ARX-06 won from the pole in Detroit, ending Porsche's win streak to start the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. Porsche Penske Motorsport was on track for a fifth consecutive victory in 2025 and its fourth with the No. 7 963, which was leading with 15 laps remaining of the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic. But Felipe Nasr yielded the lead in Turn 4 to Ricky Taylor in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V-Series.R. Taylor led the next 10 laps before getting caught in traffic by van der Zande, who took the lead for good in Turn 1 of the nine-turn, 1.645-mile street circuit in downtown Detroit. IMSA DETROIT RESULTS: Click here for overall l By class CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: Click here for the points after Detroit The Dutchman, who was a part of four victories with Wayne Taylor Racing from 2018-20, won by 0.947 seconds over Taylor. 'Man, I loved it,' van der Zande said after his 22nd career victory in IMSA. 'I know Ricky goes for it. He's the nicest guy out of the car, but in the car, you need to watch out for the guy. He was going for it, and I was like, 'Game on. Let's see.' 'I was very strong every time in Turn 1, and he had some traffic. I thought, 'If I'm going to have a chance, it's going to be in Turn 1.' I asked the team, and they said, 'Go for it.' He had a weaker exit out of the last corner, and just, boom – I went for it. When I made the pass for the win, I was excited in the car, like a little child. It's really cool and I enjoyed it.' Said Taylor, whose team switched from Acura back to Cadillac before this season: 'A little sadness from me because we were so close to our first win with Cadillac in the GM race with everybody here. To get the 100th Cadillac podium in IMSA prototype competition feels amazing, but that one step would have been nice. It was a great fight, the team did an amazing job, the strategy was incredible. I think everything for our race went perfectly for us to go from eighth to first and almost winning.' Mathieu Jaminet finished third in the No. 6 963 for Porsche Penske Motorsport as teammate Nasr faded to fourth. Philipp Eng finished fifth in the Grand Touring Prototype category with the No. 24 BMW M Team RLL Hybrid V8 Nick Yelloly, who started the race in the No. 93 Acura, combined with van der Zande as the first team to win from the pole in GTP since Meyer Shank Racing at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in July 2023. In the GTP standings, Nasr and co-driver Nick Tandy lead by 70 points over Porsche Penske Motorsport teammates Matt Campbell and Jaminet. In the GTD Pro category, Seb Priaulx and Mike Rockenfeller won from the pole position in the No. 64 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Mustang GT3 by 1.623 seconds over the No. 3 Corvette Racing Z06 GT3.R of Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims. Laurin Heinrich and Klaus Bachler placed fifth to maintain the points lead over Garcia and Sims. IMSA CHEVROLET DETROIT SPORTS CAR CLASSIC RESULTS Race results Results by class Fastest laps by driver Fastest laps by driver after race (over the weekend) Fastest laps by driver and class after race Lap chart Best sector times Leader sequence Race distance and average speed Fastest lap sequence Race analysis by lap Stint analysis Time cards Pit stop time cards Flag analysis Weather report NEXT RACE The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will race Sunday, June 22 at Watkins Glen International (12 p.m. ET, NBC and Peacock). It was "game on" for Renger Van Der Zande in the closing stages of the Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic, making a bold pass on Ricky Taylor for the win, and putting Acura back on top in GTP. Mike Rockenfeller and Sebastian Priaulx share the significance of delivering Ford a GTD Pro win on the streets of Detroit.
NBC Sports
31-05-2025
- NBC Sports
2025 IMSA Detroit starting lineup: Acura sweeps front row in taking first pole of season
Acura swept the front row for the Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic, breaking BMW's pole streak to start the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. Nick Yelloly claimed the pole on the streets of downtown Detroit with a 1 minute, 5.762-second lap in the No. 93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing ARX-06. Tom Blomqvist qualified second in the No. 60 Acura ARX-06 for the 100-minute race on the 1.645-mile layout. 'Pole is the best place to start at any street circuit; it usually makes your life quite a bit easier,' Yelloly said. 'Super happy to get my first pole in IMSA. We've been working very hard as a team to make sure we get everything right, chipping away week after week. We go from strength to strength every weekend, and it just keeps getting better and better. STARTING GRIDS: Click here for the Detroit starting lineup l Lineup by row l Lineup by car number 'At a street circuit, you can't just bang in one lap, because you'll probably make a mistake. You kind of need to edge closer to the limit. I knew I'd done a relatively good lap already and knew I had two laps to go at the end. I put it, let's say, all on the line and rubbed the wall a few times, but it was just enough to get that pole.' Meyer Shank Racing earned its first IMSA pole position since July 2023 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and its first front row sweep since the 2008 Rolex 24 at Daytona. BMW M Team RLL took the second row with Sheldon van der Linde in the No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8 and Dries Vanthoor, who had captured the first four pole positions this year in the No. 24 BMW. Porsche Penske Motorsport, which has won the first four races this season with its 963s in Grand Touring Prototype, swept the third row with the No. 6 in fifth and the No. 7 in sixth. In the GTD Pro category, the Ford Multimatic Motorsports Mustang GT3s swept the front row with Seb Priaulx putting the No. 64 Ford Mustang GT3 in the top starting spot with a lap of 1 minute, 10.922 seconds. Teammate Christopher Mies qualified second, 0.329 seconds behind. DETROIT QUALIFYING ROUNDUP Starting lineup Lineup by row Lineup by car number Results Results by class Fastest lap by driver Fastest lap by driver after qualifying Fastest lap by driver and class after qualifying Best sector times Fastest lap sequence Time cards Weather report PRACTICE RESULTS: Session I l Session II Two clean laps was all Nick Yelloly needed to claim his first-career IMSA pole on the streets of Detroit, leaving everything on the table in his run that resulted in a front-row sweep for Meyer Shank Racing.
