This weekend, the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will have the first of two street races on their schedule. Only the GTP and GTD classes will be on-track. Despite that, there will be 27 teams doing battle on the 1.968-mile course.
In the GTP class, there are 10 teams entered. The sole squad from Sebring that will not make the trip is Lamborghini Iron Lynx. That isn’t a surprise since they were announced as only running four of the Michelin Endurance Cup races.
The only change of note is fairly notable. Proton Competition has signed Mike Rockenfeller to race this weekend alongside Gianmaria Bruni in the Mustang Sampling-sponsored Porsche 963. Such a move is only possible due to the GTD Pro class not being in action in Long Beach. With GTD Pro off this weekend, it does not conflict with his factory role with Ford Multimatic Motorsports.
“I’m really looking forward to my first race with Proton Competition,” Rockenfeller said in a press release. “For me it is a big challenge to get everything to the point in Long Beach. We don’t have much time. My last race with the 963 was the Petit Le Mans last year. Long Beach is very special and the competition, especially in our class, is extremely strong.”
As Rockenfeller stated, he has experience in the Porsche 963. Last year, he drove six races for JDC-Miller MotorSports in their Porsche 963 alongside Tijmen van der Helm. His best finish was fourth at Watkins Glen.
Rockenfeller is racing in place of Julian Andlauer and Alessio Picariello this weekend. Andlauer is racing with Proton Competition in their other Porsche 963 in Imola.
In the GTD class, there are 17 teams entered. Likely the biggest change is that Vasser Sullivan has split their GTD full season lineup for this weekend. The team has entered a second car, No. 89, in addition to the regular No. 12.
Frankie Montecalvo will stay in the No. 12 with Jack Hawksworth alongside. The No. 89 will be Ben Barnicoat and Parker Thompson. The move means that Montecalvo and Thompson will be going for the championship separately from here on out.
Flying Lizard Motorsports announced last week that they are returning to IMSA for the first time since 2016. They’ll field an Aston Martin Vantage GT3 for Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS teammates Andy Lee and Elias Sabo.
At Gradient Racing, Stevan McAleer rejoins the team alongside Sheena Monk in their Acura. McAleer will drive for the rest of the season, replacing Katherine Legge.
At The Heart of Racing, Spencer Pumpelly has been pressed into action this weekend in place of Marco Sorensen. Sorensen is full-time in the WEC and their race in Imola takes priority.
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Entry List
The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach is Saturday afternoon on the Streets of Long Beach, Calif. Coverage will air live on USA Network starting at 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday afternoon.
Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the site's FREE e-mail newsletter that publishes Monday-Friday and occasionally on weekends. He keeps TV broadcasters honest with weekly editions of Couch Potato Tuesday and serves as the site's Sports Car racing editor.
Outside of Frontstretch, Phil is the press officer for Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. He covers all the action on the high-banked dirt track from regular DIRTcar Modified racing to occasional visits from touring series such as the Super DIRTcar Series.