3 days ago
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.
