IMSA CTMP results, points: Renger van der Zande took the lead from Oliver Jarvis with 10 laps remaining in the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP), delivering the No. 01 Cadillac to its third victory of the season Sunday.
Battling a power steering problem that also plagued co-driver Sebastien Bourdais, van der Zande pounced when Jarvis was caught in traffic after the No. 60 Acura dominated much of the race after pole-sitter Tom Blomqvist set an IMSA and track record in qualifying.
“This race wasn’t going to be ours,” van der Zande said after Chip Ganassi Racing’s fourth DPi victory this season. “We changed the car around completely after the warm-up practice this morning and didn’t know what to expect. The changes worked, but the power steering failed, and that was the toughest part of today.
RESULTS: Click here for overall finishing order l Click here for the class breakdown
POINTS: Standings after Canadian Tire Motorsports Park l Sprint Cup standings
“I knew I needed traffic to get by, so it was maximum attack, full risk I thought, ‘This is the time to go,’ and it worked.”
With their fifth consecutive runner-up finish, Jarvis and Blomqvist still reclaimed the points lead from Wayne Taylor Racing’s No. 10 Acura, which finished sixth after multiple incidents (including a tire puncture and collisions with Ganassi’s No. 02 Cadillac and the No. 31 of Action Express).
MSR’s No. 60 ARX-05 leads by 56 points with two races remaining this season.
“It was a tough way to end the race, but on the plus side we came away with the points lead in the championship,” Jarvis said. “Traffic was the difficult part about today and it was hard to get into a rhythm. At then end, I didn’t know (Van Der Zande) was there into two and into three and in hindsight if I would have known, I would have defended. So that’s on me. I’m gutted for the team to have not brought home the win, but results like this all go towards the overall championship, and we are now leading so we really need to focus on the final two rounds to keep the lead.”
Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque had entered the CTMP race with a 17-point lead in the championship.
“Today was a rough day, from the get-go it was challenging,” Taylor said. “The incident with the No. 02 came when we had great track position after a restart and sent us to the back of the field. From there, I was in the mindset of trying to get as many points as possible and didn’t have much to lose.
“I have to apologize to the No. 31. They didn’t lose because of it, but I didn’t make a very good move on them trying to get by in Turn 9. I was trying to get every position that I could because I could see the championship points going away. Unfortunately, it caused a yellow and put the No. 60 in a tough position as well. It was a bad day, but we’ve still got two races to go. As quickly as we’ve lost the points lead in this one round, it can always swing back.”
Taylor started and finished the race as Albuquerque drove the middle stint before handing off when the car fell to last from the debris puncture.
Albuquerque also was unhappy with Ganassi driver Earl Bamber for spinning Taylor
“What an awful day in the office today,” said Filipe Albuquerque. “Everything happened to us. The team did a great job on strategy to put us back in contention. We were in second position in the last stint and solid there. Unfortunately, an optimistic Earl Bamber spun us—not acceptable driving there. They are not fighting for the championship and we are. It’s OK for them to be aggressive, but that was not nice.”
Mission complete! The No. 01 @CadillacVSeries driven by @Rengervdz and @BourdaisOnTrack bring home the 🏁 starting from P6 to win the Grand Prix @CTMPOfficial
— Chip Ganassi Racing (@CGRTeams) July 3, 2022
Cheers 🍻#CadillacRacing / #BEICONIC / #CTMPLife pic.twitter.com/VogduLvSjF
The victory at CTMP was the first for van der Zande and Bourdais, who started sixth in his debut at the track.
“I really honestly struggled this weekend,” Bourdais said. “It’s all on Renger. From the back to the front a couple of times, he was just impressive in traffic and made it work. Hats off.”
In other divisions:
LMP3: The CORE autosport team of Jon Bennett and Colin Braun combined for their fifth victory at CTMP and the second this season for the No. 54 Ligier,
“I just really enjoy this place,” Braun said. “It’s one of my favorite tracks, and things just kind of seem to flow our way when we come here.”
GTD PRO: In the Canadian team’s return at its home track, Pfaff Motosports won from the pole with the No. 9 Porsche 911 GT3R for its first victory at CTMP. Co-drivers Mathieu Jaminet and Matt Campbell extended the points lead in the GTD Pro category with their third win this season.
“It’s extremely special,” Campbell said. “To come away with a victory like that is super special. (The team) put so much effort and work into this one race. We’ve had so many supporters and fans here this weekend. It’s been fantastic to see.”
GTD: The Heart of Racing Team won its category for the second consecutive race. Roman De Angelis and Maxime Martin combined on the victory for the No. 27 Aston Martin Vantage GT3.
STATS PACKAGE FOR CHEVROLET GRAND PRIX AT CANADIAN TIRE MOTORSPORT PARK:
Fastest laps by driver after race (over the weekend)
Fastest laps by driver and class after race
NEXT: The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will head to Lime Rock Park in Connecticut for a GTD Pro/GTD race July 16. The FCP Euro Northeast Grand Prix will be televised on Peacock at 3 p.m. ET with tape-delayed coverage at 5 p.m. ET on USA Network.
