Packing the momentum of a podium finish as well as the confidence that comes with being the defending race winners, Mustang Sampling Racing returns to the streets of Long Beach this weekend for the Bubba Burgers Grand Prix, Round 3 of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on Saturday, April 13.
Filipe Albuquerque and Joao Barbosa are coming off a third-place finish in the grueling Twelve Hours of Sebring, and are looking for a second-consecutive strong showing to gain ground in quest of a third IMSA championship.
Last year, the team led the final 31 of the 70 laps in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R.
Barbosa started fifth and held his own in the early stages of the race, with the team pit stop execution seeing the Mustang Sampling Cadillac move to the front as Albuquerque controlled the pace to claim victory in his first-ever IMSA sprint event appearance.
“Last year, I really enjoyed the environment, and I loved the track since my first lap,” said Albuquerque, who made his sprint-format debut with Mustang Sampling at the event. “It was fantastic to be in an endurance car between walls. It reminded me of times sprint racing in DTM and formula cars. I didn’t really know what to expect before Long Beach, but since I won, I love the sprint races even more! My approach to learning the track worked well, and I will keep fine-tuning that even more this year.”
A two-hour practice session for the WeatherTech Championship teams will begin at 7:40 a.m. (all times PT) on Friday, April 12, with a 45-minute session starting at 4:45 p.m. Qualifying then follows at 6 p.m. Saturday’s lone on-track activity is the 100-minute race, with the green flag waving at 2:05 p.m. The race will be televised on NBCSN, beginning at 2 p.m. (5 p.m. ET)on Saturday.
