DPi and GTD Classes Take on Belle Isle’s Tough Street Course One More Time in Detroit
By Mark Robinson
Entry List (Click here)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Daytona Prototype international (DPi) and Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) classes will be featured in the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic, the next race on the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship calendar. The race is set for Saturday, June 4, with live coverage available on USA Network and IMSA Radio.
Here’s what you need to know heading into the race week:
Raceway at Belle Isle Park – Detroit, Michigan
June 3-4, 2022
Fast Facts (All Times ET)
Race Day/Time: Saturday, June 4 – 3:10 p.m.
USA Network Coverage: LIVE – Flag-to-flag beginning at 3 p.m. (also available on Peacock in the U.S. and IMSA.com/TVLive outside the U.S.)
IMSA.com/TVLive Live Qualifying Stream: Friday, June 3 – 5:25 p.m.
IMSA Radio: All sessions live on IMSA.com and RadioLeMans.com; SiriusXM live race coverage begins Saturday, June 4 at 3 p.m. (XM 207, SiriusXM Web/App 992)
Circuit Type: 2.3-mile, 14-turn temporary street course
Classes Competing: Daytona Prototype international (DPi), Grand Touring Daytona (GTD)
Race Length: One hour, 40 minutes
Event Social Media:
- Twitter: @detroitgp
- Instagram: @detroitgp
- Facebook: @detroitgp
Event Hashtags: #IMSA, #DetroitGP
WeatherTech Championship Track Records
Qualifying:
DPi: Juan Pablo Montoya, Acura DPi, 1:19.373 / 106.585 mph, May 2019
GTD: Bryan Sellers, Lamborghini Huracán GT3, 1:28.942 / 95.117 mph, June 2018
2021 Chevrolet Sports Car Classic Winners
DPi: Renger van der Zande/Kevin Magnussen, No. 01 Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R
GTD: Roman De Angelis/Ross Gunn, No. 23 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3
Storylines
- Bye Bye, Belle Isle: The 2022 race marks the last that will be held on Belle Isle Park before the event moves to a downtown Detroit street circuit in 2023. IMSA has conducted 11 previous races at Belle Isle dating to 2007. Teams and drivers are putting added emphasis on trying to win the final race on the park circuit.
- Super Sprint: The Chevrolet Sports Car Classic, at 100 minutes, is one of two ultimate sprint races on the 2022 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship schedule. It calls for a very different race strategy than for the other races that are two hours, 40 minutes or longer.
- Tight Championship Races: Midway through the 2022 season, the standings in both classes competing this weekend are bunched at the top. In DPi, Filipe Albuquerque, Ricky Taylor and the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 lead with a 32-point advantage on Oliver Jarvis, Tom Blomqvist and the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura. The gap is essentially the difference between a first- and second-place race finish. In GTD, the margin is closer, with Stevan McAleer and the No. 32 Team Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 a mere 12 points ahead of Ryan Hardwick, Jan Heylen and the No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R.
- GTD Racing for Season and Sprint Cup Points: In a change this year at Detroit, the GTD class will earn points toward both the season-long class championship and the IMSA WeatherTech Sprint Cup consisting of the eight non-endurance events. The two most recent Detroit races (in 2019 and ’21) counted solely toward the Sprint Cup. Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow, co-drivers of the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3, lead the Sprint Cup standings by 34 points over Bill Auberlen and Robby Foley in the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW.
Who’s Hot?
- Wayne Taylor Racing: Albuquerque, Taylor and the No. 10 Acura ride a two-race win streak into Detroit. Both times, they were chased across the finish line by Jarvis, Blomqvist and the No. 60 Acura. But those results came on natural terrain road courses (WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course) much different than the tight, bumpy confines of Belle Isle’s street circuit.
- Turner Motorsport: Auberlen, Foley and the No. 96 BMW have finished fourth, third and first in the last three GTD events to move into contention in both the season and Sprint Cup standings. The victory May 15 at Mid-Ohio was the 65th of Auberlen’s career in IMSA’s top-tier series. While that’s the most wins of all time, none have come at Detroit. Could it be a breakthrough weekend for the legend?
Who’s Good Here?
- Cadillac: Racing in the shadows of General Motors’ world headquarters, Cadillac has won three of the last four Belle Isle races overall and in the top prototype category (2017, ’18 and ’21). The No. 01 Cadillac V-Performance Academy entry operated by Chip Ganassi Racing delivered the most recent win last year with Renger van der Zande and Kevin Magnussen at the wheel. Van der Zande is paired this year with Sebastien Bourdais, who has no IMSA wins at Detroit but does boast a pair of IndyCar Series victories at the track.
Previous Chevrolet Sports Car Classic Winners in 2022 Field (6)
Ricky Taylor (3): P – 2014, 2016, 2017
Renger van der Zande (3): PC – 2015, 2016; DPi – 2021
Roman De Angelis (1): GTD – 2021
Jack Hawksworth (1): GTD – 2019
Tristan Nunez (1): GX – 2013
Jeff Westphal (1): GTD – 2014
Previous Chevrolet Sports Car Classic Pole Winners in 2022 Field (3)
Bryan Sellers (2): GTD –2016, 2018
Pipo Derani (1): P – 2018
Richard Westbrook (1): P – 2014
Previous Chevrolet Sports Car Classic Winning Teams in 2022 Field (6)
Wayne Taylor Racing (4): DP –2013; P – 2014, 2016, 2017
Action Express Racing (3): DP – 2012; P – 2015, 2018
Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian (2): GTD – 2017, 2018
Chip Ganassi Racing (1): DPi – 2021
Heart of Racing Team (1): GTD – 2021
Vasser Sullivan (1): GTD – 2019
Previous Chevrolet Sports Car Classic Winning Manufacturers in 2022 Field (5)
Acura – 4
Cadillac – 3
Porsche – 3
Aston Martin – 1
Lexus – 1