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2022 Grand Prix of Long Beach

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The layout of the Long Beach Street Circuit

The 2022 Grand Prix of Long Beach (formally known as the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach) was a sports car race held at Long Beach street circuit in Long Beach, California on April 9, 2022. It was the third round of the 2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship and the first round of the 2022 WeatherTech Sprint Cup.

Background

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The Long Beach Street Circuit (pictured in 2009), where the race was held.

International Motor Sports Association's (IMSA) president John Doonan confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the 2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2021.[1] It was the eighth year the event was held as part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and the fourteenth annual running of the race, counting the period between 2006 and 2013 when it was a round of the Rolex Sports Car Series and the American Le Mans Series respectively. The 2022 Grand Prix of Long Beach was the third of twelve scheduled sports car races of 2022 by IMSA, the shortest of the season in terms of distance, and it was the first round held as part of the WeatherTech Sprint Cup.[2] The race was held at the eleven-turn 1.968 mi (3.167 km) Long Beach street circuit in Long Beach, California on April 9, 2022.[3]

On March 31, 2022, IMSA released the latest technical bulletin outlining Balance of Performance for the DPi, GTD Pro, and GTD classes. In DPi, the Acura ARX-05 received a 10 kilogram weight break. In GTD Pro and GTD, the Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD received a 10 kilogram weight increase, a 0.4mm smaller air restrictor, and a fuel capacity reduction of 4 liters. The BMW M4 GT3 lost 17 horsepower as well a 20 kilogram weight break and a fuel capacity reduction of 8 liters. The Porsche 911 GT3 R was given a 2mm larger air restrictor while the Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 received an increase in turbo boost pressure. The McLaren 720S GT3 was given a 15 kilogram weight break.[4]

Before the race, Tristan Vautier, Richard Westbrook, and Loïc Duval led the DPi Drivers' Championship with 676 points, 11 points ahead of Filipe Albuquerque, Ricky Taylor, and Will Stevens in second followed by Tom Blomqvist and Oliver Jarvis in third with 663 points.[5] With 668 points, the GTD Pro Drivers' Championship was led by Matt Campbell, Mathieu Jaminet, and Felipe Nasr with a thirteen-point advantage over Antonio García, Jordan Taylor, and Nicky Catsburg.[5] With 672 points, Stevan McAleer and Mike Skeen led the GTD Drivers' Championship, 53 points ahead of Luís Pérez Companc, Simon Mann, and Toni Vilander in second followed by Ryan Hardwick, Jan Heylen, and Zacharie Robichon in third with 615 points.[5] Cadillac, Porsche, and Ferrari were leading their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while JDC-Miller MotorSports, Pfaff Motorsports, and Gilbert Korthoff Motorsports each led their own Teams' Championships.[5]

Entries

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A total of 26 cars took part in the event, split across three classes. 6 were entered in DPi, 6 in GTD Pro, and 15 in GTD.[6] The only change from the previous round in DPi was the absence of Ally Cadillac Racing. In GTD Pro, Risi Competizione, TR3 Racing, and Racers Edge Motorsports with WTR were absent. BMW M Team RLL scaled down to 1 car in order to focus on development for LMDh in 2023.[7] WeatherTech Racing also scaled down to 1 car and changed its full season entry from using the Porsche 911 GT3 R to the Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo.[8] In GTD, NTE Sport skipped after its transporter suffered a tire blowout en route to the event.[9] GMG Racing made its first appearance since the 2021 Long Beach round while Crucial Motorsports made its sprint debut at this event.[10] Rick Ware Racing made its season debut with drivers Ryan Eversley and Aidan Read.

Practice

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There were two practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Saturday, one on Friday morning and one on Friday afternoon. The first session lasted 90 minutes on Friday morning while the second session on Friday afternoon lasted 105 minutes.[11]

Qualifying

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Friday's afternoon qualifying was broken into two sessions, with one session for the DPi, GTD Pro and GTD classes, which lasted for 15 minutes each, and a ten minute interval between the sessions.[11] The rules dictated that all teams nominated a driver to qualify their cars, with the Pro-Am (GTD) classes requiring a Bronze/Silver Rated Driver to qualify the car. The competitors' fastest lap times determined the starting order. IMSA then arranged the grid to put DPis ahead of the GTD Pro and GTD cars.[12]

Qualifying results

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Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and by ‡.

Pos. Class No. Team Driver Time Gap Grid
1 DPi 01 United States Cadillac Racing France Sébastien Bourdais 1:09.472 - 1‡
2 DPi 02 United States Cadillac Racing United Kingdom Alex Lynn 1:09.833 +0.361 2
3 DPi 60 United States Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian United Kingdom Tom Blomqvist 1:09.939 +0.467 3
4 DPi 31 United States Whelen Engineering Racing Brazil Pipo Derani 1:10.001 +0.529 4
5 DPi 5 United States JDC-Miller MotorSports France Tristan Vautier 1:10.376 +0.904 5
6 DPi 10 United States WTR - Konica Minolta Acura Portugal Filipe Albuquerque 1:10.576 +1.104 6
7 GTD Pro 3 United States Corvette Racing United States Jordan Taylor 1:18.048 +8.576 7‡
8 GTD Pro 25 United States BMW M Team RLL United States Connor De Phillippi 1:18.115 +8.643 25[a]
9 GTD Pro 9 Canada Pfaff Motorsports France Mathieu Jaminet 1:18.173 +8.701 8
10 GTD Pro 23 United States Heart of Racing Team United Kingdom Ross Gunn 1:18.437 +8.965 9
11 GTD 1 United States Paul Miller Racing United States Madison Snow 1:18.487 +9.015 10‡
12 GTD 96 United States Turner Motorsport United States Robby Foley 1:18.599 +9.127 18[b]
13 GTD Pro 14 United States Vasser Sullivan Racing United Kingdom Jack Hawksworth 1:18.627 +9.155 11
14 GTD 32 United States Team Korthoff Motorsports United States Mike Skeen 1:18.918 +9.446 12
15 GTD 59 United States Crucial Motorsports United States Jon Miller 1:18.932 +9.460 13
16 GTD 57 United States Winward Racing United States Russell Ward 1:18.973 +9.501 14
17 GTD 66 United States Gradient Racing United States Marc Miller 1:19.146 +9.674 15
18 GTD 27 United States Heart of Racing Team Canada Roman De Angelis 1:19.181 +9.709 16
19 GTD 12 United States Vasser Sullivan Racing United States Frankie Montecalvo 1:19.181 +9.709 17
20 GTD 51 Philippines RWR Eurasia Motorsport Australia Aidan Read 1:19.366 +9.894 19
21 GTD 70 United Kingdom Inception Racing with Optimum Motorsport United States Brendan Iribe 1:19.385 +9.913 20
22 GTD 39 United States CarBahn with Peregrine Racing United States Robert Megennis 1:19.742 +10.270 21
23 GTD Pro 79 United States WeatherTech Racing United States Cooper MacNeil 1:19.743 +10.271 22
24 GTD 16 United States Wright Motorsports United States Ryan Hardwick 1:20.072 +10.600 23
25 GTD 99 United States Team Hardpoint United States Rob Ferriol 1:21.079 +11.607 24
26 GTD 34 United States GMG Racing United States Kyle Washington 1:23.938 +14.466 26
QUALIFYING RESULTS STARTING GRID
  1. ^ The No. 25 BMW M Team RLL qualifying time was invalidated post-session due to a technical infraction, and remaining valid time of 1:21.425 was used for grid instead.
  2. ^ The No. 96 Turner Motorsport qualifying time was invalidated post-session due to a technical infraction, and remaining valid time of 1:19.254 was used for grid instead.

Race

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Post-race

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As a result of finishing second place, Bamber and Lynn took the lead of the DPi Drivers' Championship with 1005 points. Bourdais and van der Zande advanced from seventh to fifth while Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor dropped from second to fourth.[13] As a result of winning the race, Gunn and Riberas advanced from tenth to fifth in the GTD Pro Drivers' Championship. Jordan Taylor and Antonio García jumped from second to first while MacNeil advanced from ninth to fourth.[13] GTD drivers, teams, and manufactures did not score full season points due to the event only counting towards the WeatherTech Sprint Cup. Cadillac continued to top the DPi Manufactures' Championship while Chevrolet took the lead of the GTD Pro Manufactures' Championship. Cadillac Racing and Corvette Racing leaders of their respective class Teams' Championships with ten rounds remaining.[13]

Race Results

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Class winners are denoted in bold and ‡.

Pos Class No Team Drivers Chassis Laps Time/Retired
Engine
1 DPi 01 United States Cadillac Racing France Sébastien Bourdais
Netherlands Renger van der Zande
Cadillac DPi-V.R 73 1:40:48.134‡
Cadillac 5.5 L V8
2 DPi 02 United States Cadillac Racing United Kingdom Alex Lynn
New Zealand Earl Bamber
Cadillac DPi-V.R 73 +3.761
Cadillac 5.5 L V8
3 DPi 5 United States JDC-Miller MotorSports France Tristan Vautier
United Kingdom Richard Westbrook
Cadillac DPi-V.R 73 +9.048
Cadillac 5.5 L V8
4 DPi 60 United States Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian United Kingdom Tom Blomqvist
United Kingdom Oliver Jarvis
Acura ARX-05 73 +10.014
Acura AR35TT 3.5 L Turbo V6
5 DPi 31 United States Whelen Engineering Racing Brazil Pipo Derani
United States Tristan Nunez
Cadillac DPi-V.R 73 +10.535
Cadillac 5.5 L V8
6 DPi 10 United States WTR - Konica Minolta Acura Portugal Filipe Albuquerque
United States Ricky Taylor
Acura ARX-05 73 +11.979
Acura AR35TT 3.5 L Turbo V6
7 GTD Pro 23 United States Heart of Racing Team United Kingdom Ross Gunn
Spain Alex Riberas
Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 69 +4 Laps‡
Aston Martin 4.0 L Turbo V8
8 GTD Pro 14 United States Vasser Sullivan Racing United Kingdom Jack Hawksworth
United Kingdom Ben Barnicoat
Lexus RC F GT3 69 +4 Laps
Toyota 2UR 5.0 L V8
9 GTD 1 United States Paul Miller Racing United States Madison Snow
United States Bryan Sellers
BMW M4 GT3 69 +4 Laps‡
BMW S58B30T0 3.0 L Twin Turbo I6
10 GTD Pro 3 United States Corvette Racing United States Jordan Taylor
Spain Antonio García
Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD 69 +4 Laps
Chevrolet 5.5 L V8
11 GTD 66 United States Gradient Racing United States Marc Miller
Germany Mario Farnbacher
Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 69 +4 Laps
Acura 3.5 L Turbo V6
12 GTD 12 United States Vasser Sullivan Racing United States Frankie Montecalvo
United States Aaron Telitz
Lexus RC F GT3 69 +4 Laps
Toyota 2UR 5.0 L V8
13 GTD 96 United States Turner Motorsport United States Robby Foley
United States Bill Auberlen
BMW M4 GT3 69 +4 Laps
BMW S58B30T0 3.0 L Twin Turbo I6
14 GTD 16 United States Wright Motorsports United States Ryan Hardwick
Belgium Jan Heylen
Porsche 911 GT3 R 69 +4 Laps
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
15 GTD 32 United States Team Korthoff Motorsports United States Mike Skeen
United Kingdom Stevan McAleer
Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo 69 +4 Laps
Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8
16 GTD 99 United States Team Hardpoint United States Rob Ferriol
United Kingdom Katherine Legge
Porsche 911 GT3 R 69 +4 Laps
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
17 GTD 51 Philippines RWR Eurasia Motorsport Australia Aidan Read
United States Ryan Eversley
Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 69 +4 Laps
Acura 3.5 L Turbo V6
18 GTD 70 United Kingdom Inception Racing with Optimum Motorsport United States Brendan Iribe
Denmark Frederik Schandorf
McLaren 720S GT3 69 +4 Laps
McLaren M840T 4.0L Turbo V8
19 GTD Pro 79 United States WeatherTech Racing United States Cooper MacNeil
Italy Raffaele Marciello
Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo 69 +4 Laps
Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8
20 GTD 34 United States GMG Racing United States Kyle Washington
United States James Sofronas
Porsche 911 GT3 R 67 +6 Laps
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
21
DNF
GTD 39 United States CarBahn with Peregrine Racing United States Robert Megennis
United States Jeff Westphal
Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 57 Accident Damage
Lamborghini 5.2 L V10
22
DNF
GTD 27 United States Heart of Racing Team Canada Roman De Angelis
Belgium Maxime Martin
Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 48 Accident
Aston Martin 4.0 L Turbo V8
23
DNF
GTD 59 United States Crucial Motorsports United States Jon Miller
United States Paul Holton
McLaren 720S GT3 47 Alternator Belt
McLaren M840T 4.0L Turbo V8
24
DNF
GTD 57 United States Winward Racing United States Russell Ward
United Kingdom Philip Ellis
Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo 33 Accident Damage
Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8
25
DNF
GTD Pro 9 Canada Pfaff Motorsports France Mathieu Jaminet
Australia Matt Campbell
Porsche 911 GT3 R 29 Radiator
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
26 GTD Pro 25 United States BMW M Team RLL United States Connor De Phillippi
United States John Edwards
BMW M4 GT3 691 +4 Laps
BMW S58B30T0 3.0 L Twin Turbo I6
Sources:[14][15]

Standings after the race

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  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.
  • : Points count towards WeatherTech Sprint Cup championship only.
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.
  • : Points count towards WeatherTech Sprint Cup championship only.
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.
  • : Points count towards WeatherTech Sprint Cup championship only.


References

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  1. ^ Pruett, Marshall (August 6, 2021). "IMSA's 2022 schedule signals a return to normalcy". racer.com. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  2. ^ Allaway, Phil (August 6, 2021). "IMSA Reveals 2022 Schedules, Changes". frontstretch.com. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  3. ^ Beaver, Dan (August 7, 2021). "IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Series announces 2022 schedule". nbcsports.com. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  4. ^ Dagys, John (March 31, 2022). "Corvette, BMW Hit With BoP Changes Ahead of Long Beach". sportscar365.com. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d "00_Championship Points - Official.pdf" (PDF). results.imsa.com. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  6. ^ Dagys, John (March 30, 2022). "26 Entries for Long Beach". sportscar365.com. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  7. ^ Dagys, John (March 18, 2022). "BMW Team RLL to Focus on Single Entry Post-Sebring". sportscar365.com. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  8. ^ Dagys, John (March 29, 2022). "WeatherTech Racing Switches to Mercedes for Rest of Season". sportscar365.com. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  9. ^ Dagys, John (April 7, 2022). "Long Beach Thursday Notebook". sportscar365.com. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  10. ^ Dagys, John (March 23, 2022). "Crucial to Make Sprint Cup Debut at Long Beach". sportscar365.com. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  11. ^ a b "2022 IMSA Official Schedule and SR Long Beach 033022 V1" (PDF). results.imsa.com/noticeBoard.php. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  12. ^ "2022 IMSA SPORTING REGULATIONS and SERIES SUPPLEMENTARY REGULATIONS" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-12-22. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "00_Championship Points - Official.pdf" (PDF). results.imsa.com. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  14. ^ "03_Results_Race_Official.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  15. ^ "2022 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach". racing-reference.info. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  16. ^ SP 22-20


[edit]
IMSA SportsCar Championship
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2022 12 Hours of Sebring
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2022 Hyundai Monterey SportsCar Championship