With all four manufacturers having won during the first five races of the Grand Touring Prototype era, there still are notable entries in search of a victory lane breakthrough Sunday in the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
The No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-06 led IMSA’s premier division last season with four victories, but Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor are nearly a year removed from their most recent victory (on Aug. 7, 2022 at Road America).
Though Porsche Penske Motorsport and BMW M Team RLL each have won in the new hybrid prototype category, the German automakers both have two-car factory lineups with a winless entry (the No. 7 Porsche 963 of Matt Campbell and Felipe Nasr; the No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8 of Philipp Eng and Augusto Farfus).
Renger van der Zande and Sebastien Bourdais are the defending overall winners at CTMP in the No. 01 Cadillac.
“Mosport is one of the most bizarre and amazing tracks in the world, not only the IMSA calendar,” van der Zande said in a recent news conference. “My memories there have always been very nice. And if you want to win there you have to try really hard because of how fast you go there, how much risk you take, how blind the corners are and at the same time very fast. Also, the traffic is not easy at all. The whole package needs to fit.”
After Bourdais battled a power steering problem in the first half of last year’s race, van der Zande managed to overcome it in his stint behind the wheel.
“I started using some strength that I’ve never known from before and we made it through to the end,” he said. “It’s a great memory; one of the most special wins for me. And Mosport is a special track unto itself.”
Here are the start times, schedule and TV info for the IMSA Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (all times are ET):
IMSA Canadian Tire Motorsport Park start times, schedule, TV info
WHEN: Sunday, 12:05 p.m. ET
RACE DISTANCE: Two hours, 40 minutes on the 10-turn, 2.459-mile road course
FORECAST: According to Wunderground.com, it’s expected to be 69 degrees with a 58 percent chance of rain at the green flag.
QUALIFYING: Saturday, 12:40 p.m. ET on Peacock and IMSA.com/TVLive
STARTING LINEUP: Click here for the grid
PRACTICE RESULTS: Session I l Session II l Warmup
ENTRY LIST: Click here for the 34 cars entered over four divisions (GTP, LMP3, GTD Pro, GTD) for the Chevrolet Grand Prix
RACE BROADCAST
TV: NBC will have coverage of the event from noon-3 p.m., and the race also is streaming on Peacock, the NBC Sports App and NBCSports.com. Brian Till will be the announcer with analyst Calvin Fish. Matt Yocum and Dillon Welch will be the pit reporters.
Peacock also will be the streaming broadcast for qualifying. Click here for more information about how to access Peacock.
IMSA RADIO: Select sessions are live on IMSA.com and RadioLeMans.com; SiriusXM live race coverage will begin Sunday at noon (XM 207, Sirius XM Web/App 992).
DAILY SCHEDULE IMSA CTMP
Friday, July 7
8:30–9 a.m.: Super Production Challenge practice
9:15–9:45 a.m.: VP Racing SportsCar Challenge practice
10–11 a.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge practice
Noon-12:30 p.m.: SPC qualifying
12:45–1:15 p.m.: VP Challenge practice
1:30–2:30 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge
2:50–4:20 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice
4:40-5:15 p.m.: VP Challenge qualifying
Saturday, July 8
8-9:45 a.m.: IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship practice
10– 10:30 a.m.: SPC Race 1
10:50-11:25 a.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge qualifying
11:40 a.m.-12:25 p.m.: VP Challenge Race 1 (Peacock)
12:45-1:55 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship qualifying (Peacock)
2:10–2:40 p.m.: SPC Race 2
4-6 p.m.: IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Canadian Tire Motorsport Park 120 (Peacock)
Sunday, July 9
8:15–8:35 a.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship warmup
9:30-10:15 a.m.: VP Challenge Race 2 (Peacock)
12:05-2:45 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Chevrolet Grand Prix (NBC, Peacock)
3:25–3:55 p.m.: SPC Race 3
2023 SEASON RECAPS
ROUND 1: Meyer Shank wins second consecutive Rolex 24 at Daytona to open GTP era
ROUND 2: No. 31 Cadillac wins Twelve Hours of Sebring after rebounding from mishap
ROUND 3: Porsche Penske Motorsport earns first victory at Long Beach
ROUND 4: Emotional victory for the No. 01 Cadillac at Laguna Seca
ROUND 5: BMW earns first GTP victory after Porsche fails postrace inspection