The Fourth Race of the 2024 Season Completes the California Swing
By Mark Robinson
Entry List (Click Here)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship completes its West Coast swing next week with the annual visit to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca for the Motul Course de Monterey Powered by Hyundai N. The entry list for the fourth event of the 2024 season features 34 cars in three classes.
IMSA has raced at the famed track on the Monterey Peninsula every year since 1999. On-track action begins with practice on Friday, May 10. Qualifying follows the next day, with the green flag for the race set for just past noon local time on Sunday, May 12. Here’s what you need to know:
Fast Facts
Motul Course de Monterey Powered by Hyundai N
WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca – Monterey, California
May 10-12, 2024
- Race Day/Time: Sunday, May 12 – 3:10 p.m. ET
- NBC Network Coverage: LIVE – Flag-to-flag beginning at 3 p.m. (also streaming in the U.S. on Peacock, outside the U.S. on IMSA.com/TVLive)
- Peacock and IMSA.com/TVLive Qualifying Stream: Saturday, May 11 – 7:30 p.m. ET
- IMSA Radio: All sessions live on IMSA.com and RadioLeMans.com; SiriusXM live race coverage begins Sunday, May 12 at 3 p.m. ET (XM 206, Web/App 996)
- Circuit Type: 238-mile, 11-turn road course
- Race Length: Two hours, 40 minutes
- Classes Competing: Grand Touring Prototype (GTP), GT Daytona Pro (GTD PRO), GT Daytona (GTD)
Track Social Media:
- Instagram.com/WeatherTechRaceway
- Facebook.com/WeatherTechRaceway
- Twitter.com/WeatherTechRcwy
- WeatherTechRaceway.com
Event Hashtags: #IMSA, #WeatherTechRaceway, #LagunaSeca, #MotulCoursedeMonterey
WeatherTech Championship Track Records
- GTP: Matt Campbell, Porsche 963, 1:14.774 / 107.748 mph, May 2023 (DPi track record: Ricky Taylor, Acura DPi, 1:13.924 / 108.987 mph, April 2022)
- GTD PRO: Mathieu Jaminet, Porsche 911 GT3 R, 1:23.142 / 96.903 mph, April 2022
- GTD: Russell Ward, Mercedes-AMG GT3, 1:23.567 / 96.411 mph, April 2022
2023 Motul Course de Monterey Powered by Hyundai N Winners
- GTP: Sebastien Bourdais/Renger van der Zande, No. 01 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R
- LMP2: Steven Thomas/Mikkel Jensen, No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA LMP2 07
- GTD PRO: Daniel Juncadella/Jules Gounon, No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3
- GTD: Alan Metni/Kay van Berlo, No. 91 Kellymoss with Riley Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)
Storylines
- California Here We Come: The Motul Course de Monterey Powered by Hyundai N marks the second straight IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race in the state of California this year, following the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 20. IMSA has raced at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca every year since 1999.
- Three Classes in Action: Three WeatherTech Championship classes will be in competition at WeatherTech Raceway. The Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) and GT Daytona (GTD) classes will each be contesting their fourth race of the 2024 season while the GT Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class will race for the third time this year.
- Defending GTP Winners Roll in Hot: Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande piloted the No. 01 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R to victory a year ago at the Motul Course de Monterey, their only win of the 2023 campaign. They enter this year’s race weekend with momentum, coming off the overall and GTP triumph at Long Beach.
- Monumental Achievement for Turner Motorsport: Turner Motorsport will start its 557th race with BMW at the Motul Course de Monterey, becoming the team with the most races worldwide for the manufacturer. Turner will commemorate the achievement by racing as car No. 557 instead of its traditional No. 96, with co-drivers Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher behind the wheel of the BMW M4 GT3 in the GTD class.
- CrowdStrike Endurance, Teamwork and Speed Award: The No. 01 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R team was awarded the CrowdStrike Endurance, Teamwork and Speed Award for its performance at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. The team will be presented with the award during prerace ceremonies at WeatherTech Raceway. Click here for a list of the 2024 winners and award criteria.
Who’s Hot?
- 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: The No. 7 Porsche, with full-season co-drivers Felipe Nasr and Dane Cameron, is the only GTP car to finish on the podium in each of the first three races this season. With one victory and a pair of third-place showings, the No. 7 leads the class standings by 58 points.
- Ben Barnicoat: The Vasser Sullivan driver is on a two-race win streak with the victories coming in different classes. In his full-season ride, the No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 in the GTD PRO class, Barnicoat won in GTD PRO at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Cadillac in March. Then last month at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, with his regular class not competing, Barnicoat jumped in Vasser Sullivan’s No. 89 Lexus with Parker Thompson to win in the GTD class. Barnicoat and GTD PRO teammate Jack Hawksworth finished second a year ago at WeatherTech Raceway on their way to the season championship.
Who’s Good Here?
- Acura, Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque … Maybe: Cadillac’s 2023 win at WeatherTech Raceway ended a four-year run of Acura taking the overall victory in the race. Ricky Taylor was involved in three of those (2020, ’21 and ’22) and co-driver Filipe Albuquerque in two (2021, ’22). They’ll team again in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06 to try and reclaim honors this time around. Taylor is tied with five others – Dane Cameron, Antonio Garcia, Tommy Milner, Renger van der Zande and Richard Westbrook – for the most WeatherTech Raceway wins among drivers entered, with three apiece.