MOTUL 100% Synthetic Grand Prix
Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL, Concord, North Carolina
October 9 – 10, 2020
Fast Facts
Race Day/Time: Saturday, October 10 – 8:05 p.m. ET
U.S. Television Coverage (All Times ET):
Saturday, October 10 –
- 8 – 10 p.m. NBCSN
TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold Coverage: LIVE – Flag-to-flag beginning at 8 p.m.
IMSA.com/TVLive Live Qualifying Stream: Saturday, October 10 – 1:55 p.m.
IMSA Radio: All sessions live on IMSA.com and RadioLeMans.com; SiriusXM live race coverage begins Saturday at 8 p.m. (Sirius channel 217, XM 202, Internet 972)
Circuit Type: 2.32-mile, 10-turn road course
Race Length: 100 minutes
Track Social Media: Twitter/Instagram/Facebook: @CLTMotorSpdwy
Event Hashtags: #IMSA, #MotulGP
WeatherTech Championship Track Records
None: No previous WeatherTech Championship events have been conducted at the track
Storylines
- New Challenge: It’s a wide-open affair as this will be the first WeatherTech Championship race on the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL, the road course that, much like the one at Daytona International Speedway, uses a portion of the oval track in combination with an infield section.
- GT Classes Take Center Stage: For the second time this season, just the GT Le Mans (GTLM) and GT Daytona (GTD) classes will be competing. If it’s anything like the August race at VIRginia International Raceway, the action will be fast, furious and tantalizingly close.
- A True Sprint: The race length is set at 100 minutes, the shortest of the 2020 season. It will make each lap pivotal to retain pace and make moves through the field, putting drivers at near-qualifying speeds throughout the entire race.
- Porsches Are Back: After sitting out the most recent race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course as a precaution when several of its team members tested positive for Covid-19 following the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Porsche GT Team returns to field its two cars in GTLM. The Nos. 911 and 912 Porsche 911 RSR-19s are each in search of their first win of the season.
- Kingsley to Make Debut: Jeff Kingsley, the current points leader in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama series, will make his WeatherTech Championship debut this weekend, joining Paul Holton to drive the No. 76 Compass Racing McLaren 720S GT3 in the GTD class. Kingsley the 22-year-old Canadian, will sub for Corey Fergus, who has returned home to be with his wife who is expecting the couple’s first child.
Who’s Hot?
- Corvette Racing: It’s been the storyline of 2020 in the GTLM class. Corvette Racing has won five of the seven races to date and fashioned three 1-2 finishes – including in the Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio on September 27. Jordan Taylor and Antonio Garcia won that race in the No. 3 Corvette C8.R, their fourth triumph this year, and they hold a 17-point lead over their teammates in the No. 4, Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner.
- Jack Hawksworth and Aaron Telitz: After being split between the two AIM Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 entries for the six-hour endurance race at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in early September, the duo was reunited at Mid-Ohio and picked right back up with their winning ways in GTD. They won for the third time in five races together in the No. 14 Lexus. Mario Farnbacher and Matt McMurry, drivers of the No. 86 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura NSX GT3, lead the overall GTD standings, but Telitz is now just three points behind and Hawksworth is five points back. In the IMSA WeatherTech Sprint Cup standings, consisting of the GTD non-endurance events, Telitz and Hawksworth hold a commanding 23-point advantage.
- Patrick Long and Ryan Hardwick: The drivers of the No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R are the only ones to fashion podium finishes in each of the past two GTD races, with third-place showings at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. It’s allowed them to remain within striking distance – 12 points – of Farnbacher and McMurry for the overall GTD points lead.
Who’s Good Here?
- Good Question: Since this is the first race on the ROVAL, we’ll have to wait and see. But those who tested at the track late in September should have at least an initial advantage rolling off the truck. And while the ROVAL uses a somewhat different configuration, this will actually be the ninth IMSA race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. There were a pair of races in the ‘70s including the first race in 1971, a five-year run in the early-to-mid ‘80s and the most recent race was an American Le Mans Series event in 2000. Bill Auberlen competed in that race, finishing fourth in a BMW-powered LMP machine, so you’d figure he’s probably good here. Of course, as IMSA’s all-time winningest driver, he’s pretty good everywhere.