IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Race Report

August 5, 2018

Track: Road America
Race: Continental Tire Road Race Showcase
Date: August 5, 2018

No. 6 Acura ARX-05 DPi – Dane Cameron/Juan Pablo Montoya

Start: 5th
Overall Finish: 5th
Class Finish: 5th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 69/69
Laps Led: 0
Points Position: 6th (-25)

Recap:

Juan Pablo Montoya qualified the No. 6 Acura ARX-05 Prototype in the fifth position in Saturday's qualifying session for Sunday's Continental Tire Road Race Showcase at the historic Road America circuit.
After maneuvering to fourth in the first corner, Montoya was jostled around by several competitors while waiting on the handling to come in to his liking. As a result, he dropped to ninth in the running order.
After settling into the 10th position Montoya began to feel out the No. 6 Acura to see what it needed before turning the wheel over to Dane Cameron, a three-time winner at Road America. He noted that the car needed more grip, especially through Turn 3 and the famous "Canada Corner."
Cameron relieved Montoya on the second pit stop of the day at the one hour and 22-minute mark of the two hour and forty minute event. The most impressive move for the team came just after Cameron took the seat as he made a strong move to pass two cars – including the race-winning No. 54 entry – in Turn 8 early in his first stint.
Towards the end of the event strategist Kyle Moyer called Cameron down pit road for a two-tire stop and fuel to get to the end. This solid, two-tire stop propelled Cameron up to the fifth position where he would cross the finish line.
With the finish, Cameron and Montoya dropped to the sixth position in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Prototype standings, 25 points out of the lead.

Quote:

"This was a really tough day. Road America is so racy, you know it's going to always be a great show for the fans. It was pretty wild there at times. But with the fuel capacity we're given right now, we had to make an extra [pit] stop. This track also is high on tire wear, so you spend a lot of time sliding around. To finish fifth with all that is pretty good, so we'll take it and move on to the next one."

Dane Cameron

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No. 7 Acura ARX-05 DPi – Helio Castroneves/Ricky Taylor

Start: 2nd
Overall Finish: 10th
Class Finish: 10th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 69/69
Laps Led: 0
Points Position: 7th (-32)

Recap:

Ricky Taylor qualified the No. 7 Acura ARX-05 Prototype in the second position, continuing the streak of top-five starts in every IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race this season for the team.
Like his teammate, Juan Pablo Montoya, Taylor also went to work diagnosing what the No. 7 Acura would need to compete for a top finish on the day. He radioed to strategist Tim Cindric that he was fighting understeer in the sweeping carousel and oversteer in the slow-speed corners.
Helio Castroneves took his turn behind the wheel on the second pit stop of the day at the one hour and 27-minute mark. Castroneves – a driver with plenty of INDYCAR experience at the Wisconsin layout – would stay in the cockpit for the remainder of the event.
Unfortunately, Castroneves' first stint got off to a rocky start as the was spun by the No. 2 Nissan on his first green-flag lap, dropping him to 10th in the order.
With the Balance of Performance tables stacked against them in terms of fuel capacity and horsepower, Castroneves was still determined to fight for the best finish possible, but he was not able to make up any additional positions.
With the 10th-place finish Castroneves and Taylor fell to seventh in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Prototype standings, 32 points back of the leaders.

Quote:

"I thought Ricky did a great job out there keeping pace with the leader. We had a small issue with the pit stop on the driver change and dropped a few positions. Unfortunately, on the restart, I was touched by the No. 2 car. I thought I gave him space there, but it happens. From that point on we had to focus on strategy because we were at somewhat of a disadvantage with the Balance of Performance. It's up to us to just continue to focus on our work and be ready for Laguna Seca."

Helio Castroneves