The 2018 Chevrolet Sports Car Classic was a sports car race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The race was held at The Raceway on Belle Isle in Detroit, Michigan on June 2, 2018. The race was the fifth round of the 2018 IMSA SportsCar Championship.

Background

Similar to the Grand Prix of Long Beach, this event was held in conjunction with the Detroit Grand Prix in the IndyCar series, with one event held on the same day as the IMSA event, and another held a day after as a double-header.

International Motor Sports Association's (IMSA) president Scott Atherton confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the 2018 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2017. It was the fifth consecutive year the event was held as part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and the ninth annual running of the race, counting the period between 2007 and 2013 when it was a round of the Rolex Sports Car Series and the American Le Mans Series respectively. The 2018 Chevrolet Sports Car Classic was the fifth of twelve scheduled sports car races of 2018 by IMSA, the shortest in terms of time, and was the third round not held on the held as part of the North American Endurance Cup. The race was held at the fourteen-turn Belle Isle Park on June 2, 2018. After the Sports Car Challenge of Mid-Ohio three weeks earlier, Filipe Albuquerque and João Barbosa led the Prototype Drivers' Championship with 119 points, ahead of Eric Curran and Felipe Nasr with 109 points, and Jordan Taylor and Renger van der Zande with 104 points. In GTD, the Drivers' Championship was led by Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow with 95 points, ahead of Katherine Legge and Álvaro Parente with 87 points. Cadillac and Lamborghini were leading their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while Mustang Sampling Racing and Paul Miller Racing each led their own Teams' Championships.

On May 25, 2018, IMSA released the latest technical bulletin outlining Balance of performance for the GTD class. The Lexus RC F GT3 received a 25 kilogram weight increase. The Mercedes AMG GT3 received a 10 kilogram weight break. No changes made in P.

Entries

A total of 26 cars took part in the event split across two classes. 14 cars were entered in P, and 12 in GTD. In P, Spirit of Daytona Racing made their first appearance since Sebring. Performance Tech Motorsports skipped to focus on testing before the Watkins Glen round. Harry Tincknell returned to the Mazda Team Joest No. 55 entry. GTD saw a number of driver changes. Robby Foley joined Bill Auberlen in the Turner Motorsport entry while Mario Farnbacher substituted for Álvaro Parente in the Meyer Shank Racing No. 86 entry due to a clash with the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup round at Circuit Paul Ricard. Bernd Schneider joined Kenny Habul in the SunEnergy1 Racing entry. Jeff Segal substituted for Alessandro Balzan in the Scuderia Corsa entry due to a medical procedure.

Practice There were two practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Saturday, two on Friday. The first ninety-minute session was on Friday morning. The second on Friday afternoon lasted 110 minutes.

Practice 1 The first practice session took place at 8:15 am ET on Friday and ended with Ricky Taylor topping the charts for Acura Team Penske, with a lap time of 1:21.909. ClassTeamDriverTime1P7Acura Team PenskeRicky Taylor1:21.909_2P31Whelen Engineering RacingFelipe Nasr1:22.115 +0.2063P5Mustang Sampling RacingJoão Barbosa1:22.513 +0.604Source:

Practice 2 The second and final practice session took place at 1:05 pm ET on Friday and ended with Hélio Castroneves topping the charts for Acura Team Penske, with a lap time of 1:22.363. ClassTeamDriverTime1P7Acura Team PenskeHélio Castroneves1:22.363_2P22Tequila Patrón ESMPipo Derani1:22.388 +0.0253P5Mustang Sampling RacingJoão Barbosa1:22.427 +0.064Source: Qualifying Friday afternoon's 40-minute qualifying session was divided into two groups. Both categories had 15-minute individual sessions, and regulations stipulated teams to nominate a single driver to qualify their cars. The competitors' fastest lap times determined the starting order with the grid arranged to put the Prototype cars ahead of all GTD entries.

Qualifying results Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and by . ClassTeamDriverTime1P22 Tequila Patrón ESM Pipo Derani1:22.273_12P6 Acura Team Penske Juan Pablo Montoya1:22.992 +0.71923P7 Acura Team Penske Hélio Castroneves1:23.275 +1.00234P5 Mustang Sampling Racing João Barbosa1:23.278 +1.00545P99 JDC-Miller MotorSports Misha Goikhberg1:23.384 +1.11156P31 Whelen Engineering Racing Eric Curran1:23.469 +1.19667P10 Wayne Taylor Racing Renger van der Zande1:23.558 +1.28578P77 Mazda Team Joest Tristan Nunez1:23.969 +1.69689P55 Mazda Team Joest Jonathan Bomarito1:24.566 +2.293910P2 Tequila Patrón ESM Scott Sharp1:24.637 +2.3641011P90 Spirit of Daytona Racing Matt McMurry1:24.688 +2.4151112P52 AFS/PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports Sebastián Saavedra1:25.371 +3.0981213P54 CORE Autosport Jon Bennett1:25.741 +3.4681314GTD48 Paul Miller Racing Bryan Sellers1:28.942+6.6691515GTD86 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin Katherine Legge1:29.390 +7.1171616GTD93 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin Justin Marks1:29.717 +7.4441717GTD14 3GT Racing Dominik Baumann1:29.787 +7.5141818GTD15 3GT Racing David Heinemeier Hansson1:30.114 +7.8141919GTD33 Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsport Ben Keating1:30.196 +7.9232020GTD63 Scuderia Corsa Cooper MacNeil1:30.282 +8.0092121GTD16 Wright Motorsports Michael Schein1:30.717 +8.4442222GTD75 SunEnergy1 Racing Kenny Habul1:30.776 +8.5032323GTD58 Wright Motorsports Christina Nielsen1:30.878 +8.6052424GTD96 Turner Motorsport Robby Foley1:31.640 +9.3672525GTD44 Magnus Racingdid not participate2626P85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Robert Alonno time14Sources:

The No. 44 Magnus Racing entry was moved to the back of the GTD field for starting the race with a different driver than who qualified. The No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports entry had its two fastest laps deleted as penalty for causing a red flag during its qualifying session.

Race

Post-race The result kept Albuquerque and Barbosa atop the Prototype Drivers' Championship with 144 points while Nasr and Curran tied them on points. The result kept Sellers and Snow atop the GTD Drivers' Championship with 122 points. Aschenbach and Marks advanced from sixth to fourth. Cadillac and Lamborghini continued to top their respective Manufacturers' Championships while Mustang Sampling Racing, and Paul Miller Racing kept their respective advantages in the Teams' Championships with seven rounds remaining.

Results Class winners are denoted in bold and .

+Final race classificationClassTeamDriversChassisTireTime/RetiredEngine1P31 Whelen Engineering Racing Felipe Nasr Eric CurranCadillac DPi-V.R681:40.14.245Cadillac 5.5 L V82P7 Acura Team Penske Hélio Castroneves Ricky TaylorAcura ARX-0568 +1.016Acura AR35TT 3.5 L Turbo V63P6 Acura Team Penske Dane Cameron Juan Pablo MontoyaAcura ARX-0568 +14.127Acura AR35TT 3.5 L Turbo V64P2 Tequila Patrón ESM Ryan Dalziel Scott SharpNissan Onroak DPi68 +45.698Nissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Turbo V65P10 Wayne Taylor Racing Jordan Taylor Renger van der ZandeCadillac DPi-V.R68 +49.570Cadillac 5.5 L V86P5 Mustang Sampling Racing Filipe Albuquerque João BarbosaCadillac DPi-V.R68 +50.664Cadillac 5.5 L V87P22 Tequila Patrón ESM Pipo Derani Johannes van OverbeekNissan Onroak DPi68 +1:16.531Nissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Turbo V68P52 AFS/PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports Sebastián Saavedra Gustavo YacamánLigier JS P21768 +1 lapGibson GK428 4.2 L V89 DNFP77 Mazda Team Joest Oliver Jarvis Tristan NunezMazda RT24-P67Out of FuelMazda MZ-2.0T 2.0L Turbo I410P85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Robert Alon Simon TrummerOreca 0767 +1 lapGibson GK428 4.2 L V811P99 JDC-Miller MotorSports Misha Goikhberg Stephen SimpsonOreca 0767 +1 lapGibson GK428 4.2 L V812P54 CORE Autosport Jon Bennett Colin BraunOreca 0766 +2 LapsGibson GK428 4.2 L V813GTD86 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin Katherine Legge Mario FarnbacherAcura NSX GT365+3 LapsAcura 3.5 L Turbo V614GTD93 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin Justin Marks Lawson AschenbachAcura NSX GT365 +3 LapsAcura 3.5 L Turbo V615GTD48 Paul Miller Racing Bryan Sellers Madison SnowLamborghini Huracán GT364 +4 LapsLamborghini 5.2 L V1016GTD33 Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsport Jeroen Bleekemolen Ben KeatingMercedes AMG GT364 +4 LapsMercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V817GTD63 Scuderia Corsa Jeff Segal Cooper MacNeilFerrari 488 GT364 +4 LapsFerrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V818GTD14 3GT Racing Dominik Baumann Kyle MarcelliLexus RC F GT364 +4 LapsLexus 5.0L V819GTD96 Turner Motorsport Robby Foley Bill AuberlenBMW M6 GT364 +4 LapsBMW 4.4 L Turbo V820GTD75 SunEnergy1 Racing Kenny Habul Bernd SchneiderMercedes AMG GT364 +4 LapsMercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V821GTD16 Wright Motorsports Michael Schein Wolf HenzlerPorsche 911 GT3 R64 +4 LapsPorsche 4.0 L Flat-622GTD44 Magnus Racing John Potter Andy LallyAudi R8 LMS GT364 +4 LapsAudi 5.2L V1023GTD58 Wright Motorsports Patrick Long Christina NielsenPorsche 911 GT3 R64 +4 LapsPorsche 4.0 L Flat-624 DNFP90 Spirit of Daytona Racing Matt McMurry Tristan VautierCadillac DPi-V.R35Did Not FinishCadillac 5.5 L V825 DNFGTD15 3GT Racing Jack Hawksworth David Heinemeier HanssonLexus RC F GT310CrashLexus 5.0L V826 DNFP55 Mazda Team Joest Jonathan Bomarito Harry TincknellMazda RT24-P6DrivetrainMazda MZ-2.0T 2.0L Turbo I4Sources:+ Tyre manufacturers Key Symbol Tyre manufacturer Continental Michelin

Standings after the race

+Prototype Drivers' Championship standings +/– Driver Points 1 Filipe Albuquerque João Barbosa 144 2 Eric Curran Felipe Nasr 144 3 1 Hélio Castroneves Ricky Taylor 130 4 1 Jordan Taylor Renger van der Zande 130 5 1 Dane Cameron Juan Pablo Montoya 126

+GTLM Drivers' Championship standings +/– Driver Points 1 Ryan Briscoe Richard Westbrook 121 2 Earl Bamber Laurens Vanthoor 114 3 Joey Hand Dirk Müller 112 4 Oliver Gavin Tommy Milner 111 5 Antonio García Jan Magnussen 111

+GTD Drivers' Championship standings +/– Driver Points 1 Bryan Sellers Madison Snow 125 2 Katherine Legge 122 3 Jeroen Bleekemolen Ben Keating 108 4 2 Lawson Aschenbach Justin Marks 102 5 1 Cooper MacNeil 102

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

+Prototype Teams' Championship standings +/– Team Points 1 No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing 144 2 No. 31 Whelen Engineering Racing 144 3 1 No. 7 Acura Team Penske 130 4 1 No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing 130 5 1 No. 6 Acura Team Penske 126

+GTLM Teams' Championship standings +/– Team Points 1 No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing 121 2 No. 912 Porsche GT Team 114 3 No. 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing 112 4 No. 4 Corvette Racing 111 5 No. 3 Corvette Racing 111

+GTD Teams' Championship standings +/– Team Points 1 No. 48 Paul Miller Racing 125 2 No. 86 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin 122 3 No. 33 Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsports 108 4 2 No. 93 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin 102 5 1 No. 63 Scuderia Corsa 102

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

+Prototype Manufacturers' Championship standings +/– Manufacturer Points 1 Cadillac 167 2 1 Acura 155 3 1 Nissan 153 4 Mazda 150

+GTLM Manufacturers' Championship standings +/– Manufacturer Points 1 Porsche 126 2 Ford 125 3 Chevrolet 123 4 BMW 120 5 Ferrari 58

+GTD Manufacturers' Championship standings +/– Manufacturer Points 1 Lamborghini 132 2 Acura 123 3 2 Mercedes-AMG 114 4 Ferrari 113 5 2 Lexus 112

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

References

External links