The 2018 SportsCar Grand Prix was a sports car race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The race was held at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada, on July 8, 2018. The race was the seventh round of the 2018 IMSA SportsCar Championship.

Background

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 thirty-sixth annual running of the race. The 2018 SportsCar Grand Prix was the seventh of twelve scheduled sports car races of 2018 by IMSA, and was the fourth round not held on the held as part of the North American Endurance Cup. The race was held at the ten-turn Canadian Tire Motorsports Park circuit on July 8, 2018.

After the Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen 1 week earlier, Filipe Albuquerque led the Prototype Drivers' Championship with 169 points, ahead of Eric Curran and Felipe Nasr with 168 points, and Dane Cameron and Juan Pablo Montoya with 156 points. With 147 points, the GTLM Drivers' Championship was led by Joey Hand and Dirk Müller with a one-point advantage over Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook. In GTD, the Drivers' Championship was led by Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow with 155 points ahead of Katherine Legge with 154 points.

On July 4, 2018, IMSA released the latest technical bulletin outlining Balance of performance for the event. In P, the Cadillac DPi-V.R received a 0.3 mm larger air restrictor while the Mazda RT24-P and Nissan Onroak DPi received an increase of turbo boost. Additionally, the Cadillac, Mazda, and Nissan received an increase in fuel capacity. In GTLM, the Chevrolet Corvette C7.R received a 0.9 mm larger air restrictor while the BMW M8 GTE received a reduction in turbo boost. In GTD, the Audi R8 LMS and Porsche 911 GT3 R received air restrictor increases of 1 and 3 millimeters, respectively.

Entries A total of 32 cars took part in the event split across 3 classes. 13 cars were entered in P, 8 in GTLM, and 11 in GTLM. In P, United Autosports were absent. Spirit of Daytona Racing skipped due to a lack of funding. Tequila Patrón ESM scaled down to a single entry due to a lack of spare engines following the previous round at Watkins Glen. Ryan Dalziel joined Pipo Derani in the #22 Tequila Patrón ESM entry. In GTD, CJ Wilson Racing, Squadra Corse Garage Italia, Montaplast by Land-Motorsport, HART, Park Place Motorsports, and P1 Motorsports were absent. Scuderia Corsa scaled down to a single entry while the #16 Wright Motorsports made its since appearance since Belle Isle. SunEnergy1 Racing skipped the event after ending their partnership with Riley Motorsports. Bill Auberlen and Robby Foley returned to the Turner Motorsport entry.

Practice There were three practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Saturday, two on Friday and one on Saturday. The first two 75 minute sessions were on Friday morning and afternoon. The third session on Saturday morning lasted an hour.

Practice 1 The first practice session took place at 11:30 am ET on Friday and ended with Colin Braun topping the charts for CORE Autosport, with a lap time of 1:07.155. Kyle Masson crashed the #38 Performance Tech Motorsports Oreca in turn 1 against the tire barriers. Performance Tech Motorsports later withdrew its entry from the event. ClassTeamDriverTime1P54CORE AutosportColin Braun1:07.155_2P6Acura Team PenskeDane Cameron1:08.071 +0.9163P5Mustang Sampling RacingFilipe Albuquerque1:08.088 +0.933Source:

Practice 2 The second practice session took place at 3:50 pm ET on Friday and ended with Colin Braun topping the charts for CORE Autosport, with a lap time of 1:06.902. ClassTeamDriverTime1P54CORE AutosportColin Braun1:06.902_2P6Acura Team PenskeDane Cameron1:06.939 +0.0373P7Acura Team PenskeHélio Castroneves1:07.881 +0.979Source:

Practice 3 The third and final practice session took place at 8:30 am ET on Saturday and ended with Colin Braun topping the charts for CORE Autosport, with a lap time of 1:06.712. ClassTeamDriverTime1P54CORE AutosportColin Braun1:06.712_2P6Acura Team PenskeDane Cameron1:07.026 +0.3143P31Whelen Engineering RacingFelipe Nasr1:07.336 +0.624Source:

Qualifying Saturday afternoon's 65-minute qualifying session was divided into three groups. All three 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 and GTLM cars ahead of all GTD entries.

Qualifying results Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and by . ClassTeamDriverTime1P54 CORE Autosport Colin Braun1:06.315_122P6 Acura Team Penske Dane Cameron1:06.540 +0.22513P85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Robert Alon1:06.841 +0.52624P10 Wayne Taylor Racing Renger van der Zande1:07.093 +0.77835P55 Mazda Team Joest Jonathan Bomarito1:07.109 +0.79446P7 Acura Team Penske Hélio Castroneves1:07.272 +0.95757P52 AFS/PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports Sebastián Saavedra1:07.276 +0.96168P22 Tequila Patrón ESM Ryan Dalziel1:07.524 +1.20979P77 Mazda Team Joest Tristan Nunez1:07.684 +1.369810P99 JDC-Miller MotorSports Misha Goikhberg1:07.827 +1.512911P5 Mustang Sampling Racing Christian Fittipaldi1:08.009 +1.6941012P31 Whelen Engineering Racing Eric Curran1:08.168 +1.8531113GTLM911 Porsche GT Team Nick Tandy1:13.517 +7.2021314GTLM67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ryan Briscoe1:13.831 +7.5161415GTLM3 Corvette Racing Jan Magnussen1:13.934 +7.6191516GTLM912 Porsche GT Team Laurens Vanthoor1:13.955 +7.6401617GTLM4 Corvette Racing Oliver Gavin1:14.080 +7.7651718GTLM24 BMW Team RLL Jesse Krohn1:14.100 +7.7851819GTLM25 BMW Team RLL Alexander Sims1:14.213 +7.8981920GTLM66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Joey Hand1:14.228 +7.9132021GTD15 3GT Racing Jack Hawksworth1:15.581 +9.2662122GTD14 3GT Racing Dominik Baumann1:16.020 +9.7052223GTD48 Paul Miller Racing Bryan Sellers1:16.386 +10.0712324GTD33 Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsport Ben Keating1:16.417 +10.1022425GTD16 Wright Motorsports Michael Schein1:16.545 +10.2302526GTD86 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin Álvaro Parente1:16.554 +10.2392627GTD96 Turner Motorsport Robby Foley1:16.707 +10.3922728GTD58 Wright Motorsports Christina Nielsen1:16.887 +10.5722829GTD63 Scuderia Corsa Cooper MacNeil1:17.027 +10.7122930GTD93 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin Justin Marks1:17.603 +11.2883031GTD44 Magnus Racing John Potter1:17.610 +11.2953132P38 Performance Tech Motorsportsdid not participate32Sources:

The No. 54 CORE Autosport entry was moved to the back of the P field for starting the race with a different driver than who qualified. The No. 44 Magnus Racing entry was moved to the back of the GTD field after the team elected to change tires after qualifying.

Race

Post-race As a result of winning the race, Bennett and Braun moved from seventh to fourth in the Prototype Divers' Championship. Curran and Nasr jumped from second to first while Cameron and Montoya dropped from third to fifth. As a result of winning the race, Briscoe and Westbrook took the lead of the GTLM Drivers' Championship. Hand and Müller dropped from first to third while Gavin and Milner jumped from sixth to fourth. The result kept Sellers and Snow atop the GTD Drivers' Championship with 183 points, 3 points ahead of Legge. Cadillac, Ford, and Lamborghini continued to top their respective Manufacturers' Championships while Paul Miller Racing kept their advantage in the GTD Teams' Championship. Whelen Engineering Racing took the lead of the Prototype Teams' Championship while the #67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing entry took the lead of the GTLM Teams' Championship with five rounds remaining.

Results Class winners are denoted in bold and .

+Final race classificationClassTeamDriversChassisTireTime/RetiredEngine 1P54 CORE Autosport Jon Bennett Colin BraunOreca 07116 2:40:32.557 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 2P10 Wayne Taylor Racing Jordan Taylor Renger van der ZandeCadillac DPi-V.R116 +3.431Cadillac 5.5 L V8 3P31 Whelen Engineering Racing Felipe Nasr Eric CurranCadillac DPi-V.R116 +4.666Cadillac 5.5 L V8 4P5 Mustang Sampling Racing Filipe Albuquerque Christian FittipaldiCadillac DPi-V.R116 +6.657Cadillac 5.5 L V8 5P7 Acura Team Penske Hélio Castroneves Ricky TaylorAcura ARX-05116 +6.836Acura AR35TT 3.5 L Turbo V6 6P77 Mazda Team Joest Oliver Jarvis Tristan NunezMazda RT24-P116 +9.453Mazda MZ-2.0T 2.0L Turbo I4 7P99 JDC-Miller MotorSports Misha Goikhberg Stephen SimpsonOreca 07116 +11.194Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 8P85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Robert Alon Simon TrummerOreca 07116 +11.835Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 9P52 AFS/PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports Sebastián Saavedra Gustavo YacamánLigier JS P217114 +2 LapsGibson GK428 4.2 L V8 10GTLM67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ryan Briscoe Richard WestbrookFord GT112 +4 LapsFord EcoBoost 3.5 L Turbo V6 11GTLM3 Corvette Racing Antonio García Jan MagnussenChevrolet Corvette C7.R112 +4 LapsChevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V8 12GTLM4 Corvette Racing Oliver Gavin Tommy MilnerChevrolet Corvette C7.R112 +4 LapsChevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V8 13GTLM911 Porsche GT Team Patrick Pilet Nick TandyPorsche 911 RSR112 +4 LapsPorsche 4.0 L Flat-6 14GTLM66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Joey Hand Dirk MüllerFord GT112 +4 LapsFord EcoBoost 3.5 L Turbo V6 15GTLM912 Porsche GT Team Earl Bamber Laurens VanthoorPorsche 911 RSR112 +4 LapsPorsche 4.0 L Flat-6 16GTLM25 BMW Team RLL Connor De Phillippi Alexander SimsBMW M8 GTE112 +4 LapsBMW S63 4.0 L Turbo V8 17P6 Acura Team Penske Dane Cameron Juan Pablo MontoyaAcura ARX-05111 +5 LapsAcura AR35TT 3.5 L Turbo V6 18GTD33 Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsport Jeroen Bleekemolen Ben KeatingMercedes AMG GT3107 +9 LapsMercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 19GTD14 3GT Racing Dominik Baumann Kyle MarcelliLexus RC F GT3107 + 9 LapsLexus 5.0L V8 20GTD44 Magnus Racing John Potter Andy LallyAudi R8 LMS GT3107 +9 LapsAudi 5.2L V10 21GTD48 Paul Miller Racing Bryan Sellers Madison SnowLamborghini Huracán GT3107 +9 LapsLamborghini 5.2 L V10 22GTD86 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin Katherine Legge Álvaro ParenteAcura NSX GT3107 +9 LapsAcura 3.5 L Turbo V6 23GTD93 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin Justin Marks Lawson AschenbachAcura NSX GT3107 +9 LapsAcura 3.5 L Turbo V6 24GTD15 3GT Racing Jack Hawksworth David Heinemeier HanssonLexus RC F GT3107 +9 LapsLexus 5.0L V8 25P55 Mazda Team Joest Jonathan Bomarito Harry TincknellMazda RT24-P107 Wheel BearingMazda MZ-2.0T 2.0L Turbo I4 26GTD63 Scuderia Corsa Jeff Segal Cooper MacNeilFerrari 488 GT3106 +10 LapsFerrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 27GTD58 Wright Motorsports Patrick Long Christina NielsenPorsche 911 GT3 R106 +10 LapsPorsche 4.0 L Flat-6 28 DNFGTD16 Wright Motorsports Michael Schein Wolf HenzlerPorsche 911 GT3 R73 Fuel PressurePorsche 4.0 L Flat-6 29 DNFGTD96 Turner Motorsport Robby Foley Bill AuberlenBMW M6 GT363 SuspensionBMW 4.4 L Turbo V8 30 DNFGTLM24 BMW Team RLL John Edwards Jesse KrohnBMW M8 GTE61 CrashBMW S63 4.0 L Turbo V8 31 DNFP22 Tequila Patrón ESM Pipo Derani Ryan DalzielNissan Onroak DPi45 TurboNissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Turbo V6 DWP38 Performance Tech Motorsports James French Kyle MassonOreca 07 -- WithdrawnGibson GK428 4.2 L V8Sources:+ Tyre manufacturers Key Symbol Tyre manufacturer Continental Michelin

Standings after the race

+Prototype Drivers' Championship standings +/– Driver Points 1 1 Eric Curran Felipe Nasr 198 2 1 Filipe Albuquerque 197 3 1 Jordan Taylor Renger van der Zande 188 4 3 Jon Bennett Colin Braun 183 5 2 Dane Cameron Juan Pablo Montoya 177

+GTLM Drivers' Championship standings +/– Driver Points 1 1 Ryan Briscoe Richard Westbrook 181 2 1 Antonio García Jan Magnussen 175 3 2 Joey Hand Dirk Müller 173 4 2 Oliver Gavin Tommy Milner 167 5 1 Earl Bamber Laurens Vanthoor 167