2019 BUBBA Burger Sports Car Grand Prix

The 2019 BUBBA Burger Sports Car Grand Prix was a sports car race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). It was held at Long Beach street circuit in Long Beach, California on 13 April 2019. The race was the third round of the 2019 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

The layout of the Long Beach Street Circuit

Background

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The Long Beach Street Circuit (pictured in 2009), where the race was held.

International Motor Sports Association's (IMSA) president Scott Atherton confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the 2019 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2018.[1] It was the sixth consecutive year it was part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and the thirteenth annual running of the race, counting the period between 2006 and 2013 when it was a round of the Rolex Sports Car Series and the American Le Mans Series respectively. The BUBBA Burger Sports Car Grand Prix was the third of twelve scheduled sports car endurance races of 2019 by IMSA, the shortest of the season in terms of distance, and it was the first round not held as part of the North American Endurance Cup.[2] The race was held at the eleven-turn 1.968 mi (3.167 km) Long Beach street circuit in Long Beach, California on April 13, 2019.[3]

On 4 April 2019, IMSA released a technical bulletin regarding the Balance of Performance for the race. In the Daytona Prototype International (DPi) class, the Acura ARX-05 was made 20 kilograms lighter, and received an increase in turbo boost, along with the Nissan DPi. The Mazda RT24-P was restricted in its boost, while being made five kilograms lighter. The Cadillac DPi-V.R, which won the previous two events of the 2019 season, was given a 10 kilogram increase. In GT Le Mans (GTLM), there were less significant changes. The Porsche 911 RSR was lightened by 10 kilograms, while the Ford GT had a slight reduction in boost.[4]

Before the race, Jordan Taylor and Renger van der Zande led the DPi Drivers' Championship with 67 points, ahead of Pipo Derani, Felipe Nasr, and Eric Curran on countback followed by Hélio Castroneves, Ricky Taylor, and Alexander Rossi in third position with 58 points.[5] With 63 points, Philipp Eng led the GTLM Drivers' Championship by 2 points ahead of Patrick Pilet, Nick Tandy, and Frédéric Makowiecki in second position followed by Connor De Phillippi and Colton Herta with 59 points in third position.[5] Cadillac and Porsche were leading their respective Manufactures' Championships while Konica Minolta Cadillac and Porsche GT Team each led their own Teams' Championships.[5]

Entries

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A total of 19 cars took part in the event split across two classes. There were 11 cars in the Daytona Prototype International class, and eight entries in GT Le Mans (GTLM). The Le Mans Prototype (LMP2) and GT Daytona (GTD) classes would not be participating in the event. There were few changes to the full-season lineups in either class. Kyle Kaiser, who joined the No. 50 Juncos Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R for the 24 Hours of Daytona, returned to the car alongside full-season driver Will Owen on a one-race deal.[6] The Thursday before the race, it was announced one of Ford Chip Ganassi Racing's full-season drivers, Joey Hand, would be unable to compete due to suffering symptoms of the flu. His place would be taken by one of their endurance-event drivers, Sébastien Bourdais, who would also be competing in the IndyCar event.[7]

Practice

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There were two practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Saturday, one on Friday morning and one on Friday afternoon. The first session lasted two hours on Friday morning while the second session on Friday afternoon lasted 45 minutes.[8]

In the first practice session, Felipe Nasr set the fastest lap in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac, with a time of 1:12.394. Ricky Taylor's No. 7 Acura was second fastest followed by Juan Pablo Montoya in the sister No. 6 Acura Team Penske entry.[9] The GTLM class was topped by the No. 911 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR of Nick Tandy with a time of 1:17.549, ahead of teammate Earl Bamber in the sister No. 912 Porsche. Oliver Gavin was third fastest in the No. 4 Corvette followed by Jesse Krohn in the No. 24 BMW and Antonio García rounded out the top five.[10][11] The session was red flagged twice for on-track accidents. 50 minutes into the session, Misha Goikhberg crashed the No. 85 JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac at the turn 4 barrier.[9] 17 minutes later, Simon Trummer spun the No. 84 JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac before hitting the turn 1 tire wall and causing the second red flag.[12]

Hélio Castroneves led the final session in the No. 7 Acura, with a lap time of 1:11.918. Felipe Nasr's No. 31 Cadillac was second fastest followed by Jonathan Bomarito in the No. 55 Mazda.[13] The GTLM class was topped by the No. 912 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR of Laurens Vanthoor with a time of 1:16.710. Nick Tandy in the sister No. 911 Porsche was second fastest followed by Oliver Gavin in the No. 4 Corvette.[14]

Qualifying

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Hélio Castroneves (pictured in 2018) took the overall pole position for Acura Team Penske.

Friday's late afternoon qualification session into was broken two sessions that lasted 15 minutes each.[8] Cars in GTLM were sent out first and, after a ten-minute interval, DPi vehicles drove onto the track. All cars were required to be driven by one participant and the starting order was determined by the competitor's fastest lap.[15] IMSA then arranged the grid so that the DPi field started in front of all GTLM cars.

Hélio Castroneves in the No. 7 Acura set a new track record to clinch his first pole position of the season with a time of 1 minute and 11.332 seconds.[16][17] He was joined on the grid's front row by Nasr in the No. 31 Cadillac who was 0.218 seconds slower.[17] Following in third was the No. 6 Acura of Juan Pablo Montoya with the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing Cadillac of João Barbosa in fourth.[16] Jonathan Bomarito's No. 55 Mazda set the fifth fastest time, but would start at the back of the DPi field after Mazda Team Joest rebuilt the car with a spare monocoque chassis as a result of Bomarito crashing at turn 6.[18]

In GTLM, Nick Tandy clinched his first pole position of the season, with his fastest lap being 0.064 seconds faster than his teammate Laurens Vanthoor in the No. 912 Porsche.[19] Following in third was Oliver Gavin's No. 4 Corvette with the No. 66 Ford GT of Sébastien Bourdais in fourth.[19] Antonio García completed the top five in the No. 3 Corvette followed by Ryan Briscoe's No. 67 Ford GT in sixth, and both BMW Team RLL entries rounded out the GTLM qualifiers.[16]

Qualifying Results

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Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and by ‡.

Pos. Class No. Team Driver Time Gap Grid
1 DPi 7   Acura Team Penske   Hélio Castroneves 1:11.332 1
2 DPi 31   Whelen Engineering Racing   Felipe Nasr 1:11.550 +0.218 2
3 DPi 6   Acura Team Penske   Juan Pablo Montoya 1:11.847 +0.515 3
4 DPi 5   Mustang Sampling Racing   João Barbosa 1:11.870 +0.538 4
5 DPi 55   Mazda Team Joest   Jonathan Bomarito 1:11.884 +0.552 111
6 DPi 77   Mazda Team Joest   Tristan Nunez 1:12.147 +0.815 5
7 DPi 10   Konica Minolta Cadillac   Jordan Taylor 1:12.312 +0.980 6
8 DPi 84   JDC-Miller Motorsports   Simon Trummer 1:12.455 +1.123 7
9 DPi 85   JDC-Miller Motorsports   Misha Goikhberg 1:12.650 +1.318 8
10 DPi 50   Juncos Racing   Kyle Kaiser 1:12.694 +1.362 9
11 DPi 54   CORE Autosport   Jon Bennett 1:13.389 +2.057 10
12 GTLM 911   Porsche GT Team   Nick Tandy 1:16.313 +4.981 12
13 GTLM 912   Porsche GT Team   Laurens Vanthoor 1:16.377 +5.045 13
14 GTLM 4   Corvette Racing   Oliver Gavin 1:16.520 +5.188 14
15 GTLM 66   Ford Chip Ganassi Racing   Sébastien Bourdais 1:16.662 +5.330 15
16 GTLM 3   Corvette Racing   Antonio García 1:16.685 +5.353 16
17 GTLM 67   Ford Chip Ganassi Racing   Ryan Briscoe 1:16.874 +5.542 17
18 GTLM 25   BMW Team RLL   Tom Blomqvist 1:17.021 +5.689 18
19 GTLM 24   BMW Team RLL   John Edwards 1:17.236 +5.904 19
Sources:[20][21]
  1. ^ Car number 55 was moved to the back of the DPi field as a result of Jonathan Bomarito's crash in Turn 6 during qualifying. A crack was found in the car's monocoque chassis which required the team to rebuild the car using the team's spare tub. In accordance with Article 23.5.3 of the IMSA Sporting Regulations the car was moved to the back of the starting grid in its class.[18]

Race

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Post-race

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Sixth-place finishers Derani and Nasr took the lead of the DPi Drivers' Championship with 92 points while Jordan Taylor and Renger van der Zande dropped to fourth. Cameron and Montoya jumped to fifth after being seventh coming into Long Beach.[22] With a total of 91 points, Bamber and Vanthoor's victory allowed them to take the lead of the GTLM Drivers' Championship while the absent Eng dropped to ninth. García and Magnussen advanced from fifth to third.[22] Cadillac and Porsche continued to top their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while Porsche GT Team continued kept their advantage in the GTLM Teams' Championships.[22] Whelen Engineering Racing took the lead of the DPi Teams' Championship with nine rounds left in the season.[22]

Race Results

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Class winners are denoted in bold and ‡.

Pos Class No Team Drivers Chassis Laps Time/Retired
Engine
1 DPi 5   Mustang Sampling Racing   Filipe Albuquerque
  João Barbosa
Cadillac DPi-V.R 73 1:41:01.368‡
Cadillac 5.5 L V8
2 DPi 7   Acura Team Penske   Hélio Castroneves
  Ricky Taylor
Acura ARX-05 73 +0.740
Acura AR35TT 3.5 L Turbo V6
3 DPi 6   Acura Team Penske   Dane Cameron
  Juan Pablo Montoya
Acura ARX-05 73 +1.873
Acura AR35TT 3.5 L Turbo V6
4 DPi 77   Mazda Team Joest   Oliver Jarvis
  Tristan Nunez
Mazda RT24-P 73 +21.066
Mazda MZ-2.0T 2.0 L Turbo I4
5 DPi 84   JDC-Miller Motorsports   Simon Trummer
  Stephen Simpson
Cadillac DPi-V.R 73 +25.483
Cadillac 5.5 L V8
6 DPi 31   Whelen Engineering Racing   Pipo Derani
  Felipe Nasr
Cadillac DPi-V.R 73 +35.280
Cadillac 5.5 L V8
7 DPi 50   Juncos Racing   Kyle Kaiser
  Will Owen
Cadillac DPi-V.R 72 +1 Lap
Cadillac 5.5 L V8
8 GTLM 912   Porsche GT Team   Earl Bamber
  Laurens Vanthoor
Porsche 911 RSR 72 +1 Lap‡
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
9 GTLM 3   Corvette Racing   Antonio García
  Jan Magnussen
Chevrolet Corvette C7.R 72 +1 Lap
Chevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V8
10 GTLM 4   Corvette Racing   Oliver Gavin
  Tommy Milner
Chevrolet Corvette C7.R 72 +1 Lap
Chevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V8
11

DNF

GTLM 66   Ford Chip Ganassi Racing   Sébastien Bourdais
  Dirk Müller
Ford GT 71 Out of Fuel
Ford EcoBoost 3.5 L Turbo V6
12 GTLM 911   Porsche GT Team   Patrick Pilet
  Nick Tandy
Porsche 911 RSR 71 +2 Laps
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
13 GTLM 67   Ford Chip Ganassi Racing   Ryan Briscoe
  Richard Westbrook
Ford GT 71 +2 Laps
Ford EcoBoost 3.5 L Turbo V6
14 GTLM 25   BMW Team RLL   Tom Blomqvist
  Connor De Phillippi
BMW M8 GTE 71 +2 Laps
BMW S63 4.0 L Twin-turbo V8
15 DPi 55   Mazda Team Joest   Jonathan Bomarito
  Harry Tincknell
Mazda RT24-P 71 +2 Laps
Mazda MZ-2.0T 2.0 L Turbo I4
16 GTLM 24   BMW Team RLL   John Edwards
  Jesse Krohn
BMW M8 GTE 71 +2 Laps
BMW S63 4.0 L Twin-turbo V8
17 DPi 85   JDC-Miller Motorsports   Misha Goikhberg
  Tristan Vautier
Cadillac DPi-V.R 68 +5 Laps
Cadillac 5.5 L V8
18

DNF

DPi 10   Konica Minolta Cadillac   Jordan Taylor
  Renger van der Zande
Cadillac DPi-V.R 30 Crash
Cadillac 5.5 L V8
19

DNF

DPi 54   CORE Autosport   Jon Bennett
  Colin Braun
Nissan DPi 0 Crash
Nissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Turbo V6
Sources:[23][24]

Standings after the race

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  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.

References

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  1. ^ Klein, Jamie (August 4, 2018). "IMSA reveals largely unchanged 2019 schedule". motorsport.com. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  2. ^ Pruett, Marshall (August 3, 2018). "IMSA releases 2019 schedule". racer.com. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  3. ^ "2019 IMSA Schedule Released". dailysportscar.com. August 4, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  4. ^ Dagys, John (3 April 2019). "Acura DPi Gets BoP Break for Long Beach". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  5. ^ a b c "00_Championship Points - Official.pdf" (PDF). results.imsa.com. March 28, 2019. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  6. ^ Dagys, John (3 April 2019). "Kaiser Rejoins Juncos for Long Beach". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  7. ^ Klein, Jamie (11 April 2019). "Bourdais set for double IndyCar/IMSA duty at Long Beach". motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  8. ^ a b "2019 IMSA Official Schedule and SR Long Beach 040319 V1" (PDF). results.imsa.com/noticeBoard.php. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  9. ^ a b Dagys, John (April 12, 2019). "Nasr Tops Opening Practice at Long Beach". sportscar365.com. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  10. ^ Klein, Jamie (April 12, 2019). "Long Beach IMSA: Nasr beats the Acuras in first practice". motorsport.com. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  11. ^ Pruett, Marshall (April 12, 2019). "Nasr quickest in opening IMSA Long Beach practice". racer.com. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  12. ^ Allaway, Phil (April 12, 2019). "Felipe Nasr Fastest in Long Beach WeatherTech Practice". frontstretch.com. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  13. ^ Dagys, John (April 12, 2019). "Castroneves Quickest in Final Practice". sportscar365.com. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  14. ^ Malsher-Lopez, David (April 13, 2019). "Long Beach IMSA: Acura edges Cadillac in final practice". motorsport.com. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  15. ^ "2019 IMSA SPORTING REGULATIONS and SERIES SUPPLEMENTARY REGULATIONS" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 5, 2020. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  16. ^ a b c Malsher-Lopez, David (April 13, 2019). "Long Beach IMSA: Castroneves and Tandy win pole positions". motorsport.com. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  17. ^ a b Dagys, John (April 12, 2019). "Castroneves, Acura Team Penske on Long Beach Pole". sportscar365.com. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  18. ^ a b Dagys, John (2019-04-19). "New Chassis for No. 55 Mazda DPi After Qualifying Accident". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media, LLC. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  19. ^ a b Dagys, John (April 12, 2019). "Tandy Takes Porsche to GTLM Pole at Long Beach". sportscar365.com. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  20. ^ "BUBBA burger® Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach Qualifying Results" (PDF). Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  21. ^ "BUBBA burger® Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach Race Official Starting Grid" (PDF). Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  22. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "00_Championship Points - Official.pdf" (PDF). results.imsa.com. April 16, 2019. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  23. ^ "03_Results_Race_Official.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. April 16, 2019. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  24. ^ "2019 BUBBA Burger Sports Car Grand Prix". racing-reference.info. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
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IMSA SportsCar Championship
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