This weekend is shaping up to be an interesting affair at a revamped WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Since last year, the 2.238-mile road course has been completely repaved. The pedestrian bridge at the start-finish line has also been replaced. The race weekend promises some of the fastest laps ever turned by sports cars at the 67-year-old facility.
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Motul Course de Monterey
For Sunday’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship sprint race, there are 34 teams entered in three classes. Those classes are GTP, GTD Pro and GTD.
In the GTP class, there are once again 10 cars entered. There is one TBD on the list. That is the second seat in Proton Competition’s Porsche. At Long Beach, that seat was taken by Mike Rockenfeller. Rockenfeller is back in his normal seat with Ford Multimatic Motorsports.
On Tuesday, SportsCar365.com reported that the seat will be filled by Bent Viscaal, who will be making his IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship debut. Viscaal is currently full-time in the European Le Mans Series for Proton Competition in the LMP2 Pro-Am class. Prior to switching to sports cars, he reached Formula 2, where he finished 14th in points for Trident in 2021.
The GTD Pro class has nine entries, down from 12 at Sebring. Teams that are not entered include both of the Iron Lynx Lamborghinis and the Risi Competizione Ferrari. These teams are running only the Michelin Endurance Cup races.
Alex Riberas was originally announced as a full-time driver in The Heart of Racing’s No. 23. However, the FIA World Endurance Championship is racing this weekend in Belgium. The WEC race is taking priority for him, so he’s out of the car in favor of Mario Farnbacher.
At VasserSullivan, Jack Hawksworth and Ben Barnicoat are back together in the No. 14 Lexus. For Long Beach, which the GTD Pro class did not participate, the drivers were split into separate GTD entries. Barnicoat won the GTD class with Parker Thompson.
There are 15 teams entered in the GTD class, down from 17 at Long Beach. Teams that are not entered are VasserSullivan’s race-winning No. 89 Lexus and Flying Lizard Motorsports’ No. 28 Aston Martin. Both cars were considered to be one-off entries.
With the WEC racing Saturday at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, this is the second straight GTD race with a conflict. As a result, Spencer Pumpelly will remain in the No. 27 Aston Martin alongside Roman DeAngelis.
Turner Motorsport is fielding their normal duo of Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher, but the team is switching numbers for this weekend. Instead of the normal No. 96, they will run the No. 557. The move is due to the fact that the team will set the all-time record Sunday for race starts by a BMW team.
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Motul Course de Monterey Entry List
The Motul Course de Monterey is scheduled to go green at 3:10 p.m. ET Sunday afternoon. Coverage will air live on NBC at 3 p.m. ET.
IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca 120
For the third Michelin Pilot Challenge race of the 2024 season, there are 37 teams entered. This is down from the 40 teams that raced at Sebring, but up from the 35 that entered this race last year (34 started).
The Grand Sport class has 25 entries, down one entry from Sebring. Four teams from Sebring are not entered. One is Automatic Racing with their Aston Martin. NOLAsport’s Porsche for Jason Hart and Matt Travis aren’t entered, in addition to Thaze Competition.
Rearden Racing isn’t entered either, but that team has effectively been replaced on the grid (with the No. 21) by Kellymoss by Riley. Back on April 16, the team announced that Jake Pedersen has been signed to a deal that will see him race in both Michelin Pilot Challenge and Porsche Carrera Cup North America.
Pedersen debuted in Porsche Carrera Cup North America last weekend in Miami. This weekend is his Pilot Challenge debut with the team. He’ll be joined by Kay van Berlo, a veteran racer. The team will be a second entry for Kellymoss in addition to the existing No. 91 team that won at Daytona.
Skip Barber Racing School has entered their Aston Martin for IMSA Diverse Driver Scholarship winner Ken Fukuda and Will Lambros. The team entered Daytona, but Fukuda crashed the car in practice, which resulted in a withdrawal.
The team entered Sebring as well, but withdrew before practice started. With some luck, both drivers will make their Pilot Challenge debuts Saturday.
Hattori Motorsports is back this weekend after skipping Daytona. They will field one Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO for Hawksworth and Jaden Conwright.
Czabok-Simpson Motorsport has a driver change for the weekend. Mat Pombo has been tapped to drive the No. 2 alongside Gordon Scully, replacing Jackson Lee. Lee will be in Indianapolis due to sponsor obligations.
Van der Steur Racing has brought in Alex Premat to drive alongside Rory van der Steur this weekend. Premat replaces Valentin Hasse-Clot, who drove at Sebring.
IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca 120 Entry List
The WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca 120 is scheduled to go green at 5 p.m. ET Saturday. Coverage will air live on Peacock starting at 4:55 p.m. ET. We’ll have coverage of both races here at Frontstretch this weekend.
About the author
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.
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