Inter Europol by PR1 Claim CTMP IMSA Victory

Words by Matthew Boyce

Cover Image by Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images

Inter Europol by PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports have claimed the victory in Sunday's Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Nick Boulle and Tom Dillmann piloted the No. 52 Oreca 07 Gibson to a 0.658 second win over the No. 74 Riley Oreca of Felipe Fraga and Gar Robinson. The win came after a battle between the top two Orecas in class after a late race restart saw the field bunched up with less than 20 minutes remaining in the two hour and forty minute contest.

Fraga, who had clawed his way from fourth to second before the final restart, put pressure on Dillmann for the top spot. However, Dillman was up for the challenge, and held off Fraga for the overall and LMP2 class victory. For Inter Europol, it is their first class victory after starting their first full season attack on the LMP2 class earlier this year. PR1/Mathiasen, however, secured their first win in class since last seasons round at Road America.

Finishing third was the No. 11 TDS Racing Oreca of Scott Huffaker and Steven Thomas, while the pair of United Autosports Orecas would round out the top five. The No. 2 of Ben Hanley and Ben Keating would finish in fourth while the No. 22 of Daniel Goldburg and Felipe Albuquerque would finish in fifth. A penalty doomed the pole sitting No. 99 AO Racing Oreca of PJ Hyett and Louis Deletraz after Hyett changed lanes at the start, resulting in a drive through penalty. They would go onto finish eighth in class after a late race tangle with the No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR Oreca of Colin Braun and George Kurtz resulted in the No. 99 losing a position. The No. 04 would finish in seventh one spot ahead of the No. 99.

Corvette Goes 1-2 in GTD Pro, Heart of Racing Claims GTD Honors

Richard Prince/Corvette Racing

Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports finished 1-2 in the GTD Pro class, securing the first win for the new-for-2024 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R. After starting on the pole, the No. 3 Corvette of Alexander Sims and Antonio Garcia held onto the lead after the final restart fending off a challenge from their teammates in the No. 4 Corvette to secure the maiden victory for the car in IMSA competition. Tommy Milner and Nicky Catsburg would finish in second just ahead of the GTD-Pro points leader No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R of Laurin Heinrich and Sebastian Priaulx who extended their points lead after a mechanical issue for their closest rival in the standings.

The No. 14 VasserSullivan Lexus RC F GT3 of Ben Barnicoat pulled off the track with less than thirty minutes remaining, suffering an apparent power train issue. Their retirement, and the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche securing the third position, extends the points like "Spike" holds over the rest of the GTD-Pro field. The No. 65 Ford Mustang GT3 of Mike Rockenfeller and Harry Tincknell competed another solid race, finishing in fourth with a car that continues to improve every time on the track. Rounding out the top five was the No. 23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo of Ross Gunn and Mario Farnbacher.

Jake Galstad/LAT

The sister Aston Martin by Heart of Racing claimed the GTD class win as the No. 27 took the checkered flag piloted by Spencer Pumpelly and Roman De Angelis. They finished just ahead of the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Russell Ward and Philip Ellis who continue a season of impressive finishes.

A mistake at the hands of Patrick Gallagher cost the No. 96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3 a chance at a class victory after Gallagher spun his machine at turn five just after halfway. Gallager and teammate Robby Foley held a spot in the final podium standings after holding third place at the final restart. However, Foley was not able to hold off a charging No. 70 Inception Racing McLaren 720S GT3 Evo who took over the final podium spot with minutes to go, handing Brendan Iribe and Frederik Schandorff a spot in victory circle. The No. 96 would settle for fourth in the GTD class just ahead of the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus of Frankie Montecalvo and Parker Thompson.

Final results: HERE