The 2016 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 4, 2016. The race was the fifth round of the 2016 IMSA SportsCar Championship.
Background
Preview
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 (IMSA) president Scott Atherton confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the 2016 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2015. It was the third consecutive year the event was held as part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and the seventh 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 2016 Chevrolet Sports Car Classic was the fifth of twelve scheduled sports car races of 2016 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 4, 2016.
IMSA altered the balance of performance to try to create parity within the Prototype category. The Lola B12/80 had its weight increased by 15 kg (33 lb).
Before the race, Eric Curran and Dane Cameron led the Prototype Drivers' Championship with 121 points, ahead of João Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi with 118 points, and Marc Goossens in third with 117 points. With 128 points, PC was led by Misha Goikhberg and Stephen Simpson on countback over Robert Alon and Tom Kimber-Smith. In GTD, the Drivers' Championship was led by Alessandro Balzan and Christina Nielsen with 95 points; the duo held a six-point advantage over Mario Farnbacher and Alex Riberas. Honda and Porsche were leading their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while Action Express Racing, JDC-Miller MotorSports, and Scuderia Corsa each led their own Teams' Championships.
Entry list Twenty-seven cars were officially entered for the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic, with most of the entries being in the Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) category. Action Express Racing (AER) fielded two Chevrolet Corvette DP cars while VisitFlorida Racing (VFR) and WTR fielded one. Mazda Motorsports had two Lola B12/80 cars and Michael Shank Racing (MSR) entered one Ligier JS P2. Panoz skipped the event. The Prototype Challenge (PC) class was composed of seven Oreca FLM09 cars: two from Starworks Motorsports. BAR1 Motorsports, CORE Autosport, JDC-Miller MotorSports, Performance Tech and PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports entered one car each. In the list of GTD entrants, twelve GT3-specification vehicles were represented by six different manufacturers. Lone Star Racing and TRG skipped the event. With the absence of the Grand Touring Le Mans (GTLM) class from the field, only three racing classes were represented in Belle Isle.
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 90 minutes.
In the first session, Barbosa set the fastest time in the No. 5 AER Corvette DP with a time of 1 minute, 24.239 seconds, 0.732 seconds faster than Cameron's No. 5 car. Jordan Taylor was third fastest in the No. 10 WTR vehicle, Oswaldo Negri Jr.'s No. 60 MSR Ligier placed fourth, and Ryan Dalziel's No. 90 Corvette DP rounded out the top five. The fastest PC class car was Renger van der Zande in the No. 8 Starworks entry with 1 minute, 27.030 seconds, followed by Colin Braun in the No. 54 CORE Autosport car. Porsche paced GTD with PPM's 911 of Bergmeister lapping at 1:31.253, followed by Jeroen Bleekemolen's No. 33 Viper.
Cameron led the final session in AER's No. 31 car with a lap of 1 minute, 23.860 seconds. Fittipaldi's No.5 Corvette DP was second fastest. Goossens in the No. 90 VFR vehicle was third fastest. CORE Autosport topped PC after a lap by Braun. Mowlem caused a stoppage early when his BAR1 car suffered a suspension failure and stopped on the track. Bergmeister was fastest again GTD.
Qualifying Friday afternoon's 60-minute three-group qualifying session gave 15-minute sessions to all categories. Cars in GTD were sent out first before those grouped in PC, and Prototype had two separate identically timed sessions. Regulations stipulated teams to nominate one qualifying driver, with the fastest laps determining each classes starting order. IMSA would arranged the grid to put all Prototypes ahead of the PC, and GTD cars.
Qualifying results Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and by . ClassTeamDriverTime1P5 Action Express Racing Christian Fittipaldi1:23.815—12P90 VisitFlorida Racing Marc Goossens1:23.863 +0.04823P10 Wayne Taylor Racing Ricky Taylor1:24.253 +0.43834P31 Action Express Racing Eric Curran1:24.337 +1.38045P60 Michael Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Katherine Legge1:25.195 +1.55056P55 Mazda Motorsports Tristan Nunez1:25.365 +1.93467P70 Mazda Motorsports Tom Long1:25.749 +3.75678PC52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Robert Alon1:27.571 +3.75689PC38 Performance Tech Motorsports James French1:27.851 +4.036910PC8 Starworks Motorsport Alex Popow1:27.878 +4.0631011PC85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Misha Goikhberg1:28.005 +4.1902712PC54 CORE Autosport Jon Bennett1:28.903 +5.0881113GTD48 Paul Miller Racing Bryan Sellers1:31.340 +7.5251414GTD73 Park Place Motorsports Patrick Lindsey1:31.637 +7.5361515GTD6 Stevenson Motorsports Robin Liddell1:31.637 +7.8221616GTD16 Change Racing Spencer Pumpelly1:31.917 +8.1021717GTD9 Stevenson Motorsports Matt Bell1:32.017 +8.2021818GTD33 Riley Motorsports Ben Keating1:32.073 +8.2581919GTD27 Dream Racing Cédric Sbirrazzuoli1:32.106 +8.2912520GTD63 Scuderia Corsa Christina Nielsen1:32.275 +8.4602021GTD22 Alex Job Racing Cooper MacNeil1:32.673 +8.8582122GTD97 Turner Motorsport Michael Marsa1:33.073 +9.2582223GTD23 Team Seattle/Alex Job Racing Mario Farnbacher1:33.200 +9.3852324GTD96 Turner Motorsport Bret Curtis1:33.266 +9.4512425GTD44 Magnus Racing John Potter1:34.020 +10.2052626PC20 BAR1 Motorsports Tomy Drissi1:34.081 +10.2661227PC88 Starworks Motorsport Mark Kvamme1:35.857 +12.04213Sources:
The No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports was sent to the rear of the PC grid for not starting on the grid. The No. 27 Dream Racing Lamborghini was sent to the rear of the GTD grid as per 43.1 of the Sporting regulations (Starting driver change). The No. 44 Magnus Racing, and No. 88 Starworks Motorsport entries were sent to the rear of their respective class fields as per 40.1.5 of the Sporting regulations (Tire change).
Race
Post-race With a total of 151 points, Ricky Taylor and Jordan Taylor's victory allowed them to take the lead of the Prototype Drivers' Championship. Bomarito and Nunez advanced from sixth to fifth. Popow and van der Zande's victory allowed them to take the lead of the Prototype Challenge Drivers' Championship with 162 points. The final results of GTD meant Balzan and Nielsen extended their advantage in the GTD Drivers' Championship to eight points over Farnbacher and Riberas. Bleekemolen and Keating jumped from seventh to fourth. Porsche continued to top the GTD Manufactures' Championship while Chevrolet took the lead of the Prototype Manufactures' Championship. Scuderia Corsa continued to the GTD Teams' Championship while Wayne Taylor Racing and Starworks Motorsport became the leaders of their respective Teams' Championships with seven rounds left in the season.
Race results Class winners are denoted in bold and . P stands for Prototype, PC (Prototype Challenge), and GTD (Grand Touring Daytona). +Final race classificationClassTeamDriversChassisTireTime/RetiredEngine1P10 Wayne Taylor Racing Jordan Taylor Ricky TaylorCorvette Daytona Prototype5701:40:11.998Chevrolet 5.5 L V82P5 Action Express Racing João Barbosa Christian FittipaldiCorvette Daytona Prototype57 +1.740Chevrolet 5.5 L V83PC8 Starworks Motorsport Alex Popow Renger van der ZandeOreca FLM0957 +33.643Chevrolet 6.2 L V84PC54 CORE Autosport Jon Bennett Colin BraunOreca FLM0957 +37.117Chevrolet 6.2 L V85PC52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Robert Alon Tom Kimber-SmithOreca FLM0957 +48.082Chevrolet 6.2 L V86PC38 Performance Tech Motorsports James French Kyle MarcelliOreca FLM0957 +51.278Chevrolet 6.2 L V87P55 Mazda Motorsports Jonathan Bomarito Tristan NunezMazda Prototype57 +1:00.977Mazda MZ-2.0T 2.0 L I4 Turbo8PC20 BAR1 Motorsports Tomy Drissi Johnny MowlemOreca FLM0957 +1:01.468Chevrolet 6.2 L V89P70 Mazda Motorsports Tom Long Joel MillerMazda Prototype56 +1 LapMazda MZ-2.0T 2.0 L I4 Turbo10GTD33 Riley Motorsports Jeroen Bleekemolen Ben KeatingDodge Viper GT3-R56 +1 LapDodge 8.3L V1011GTD73 Park Place Motorsports Jörg Bergmeister Patrick LindseyPorsche 911 GT3 R56 +1 LapPorsche 4.0 L Flat-612GTD63 Scuderia Corsa Christina Nielsen Alessandro BalzanFerrari 488 GT356 +1 LapFerrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V813GTD23 Team Seattle/Alex Job Racing Mario Farnbacher Alex RiberasPorsche 911 GT3 R56 +1 LapPorsche 4.0 L Flat-614GTD6 Stevenson Motorsports Andrew Davis Robin LiddellAudi R8 LMS56 +1 LapAudi 5.2L V1015GTD16 Change Racing Corey Lewis Spencer PumpellyLamborghini Huracán GT356 +1 LapLamborghini 5.2 L V1016GTD22 Alex Job Racing Cooper MacNeil Leh KeenPorsche 911 GT3 R56 +1 LapPorsche 4.0 L Flat-617GTD48 Paul Miller Racing Bryan Sellers Madison SnowLamborghini Huracán GT356 +1 LapLamborghini 5.2 L V1018GTD96 Turner Motorsport Bret Curtis Jens KlingmannBMW M6 GT356 +1 LapBMW 4.4L Turbo V819GTD44 Magnus Racing John Potter Andy LallyAudi R8 LMS56 +1 LapAudi 5.2L V1020GTD97 Turner Motorsport Michael Marsal Markus PalttalaBMW M6 GT356 +1 LapBMW 4.4L Turbo V821GTD27 Dream Racing Cédric Sbirrazzuoli Lawrence DeGeorgeLamborghini Huracán GT356 +1 LapLamborghini 5.2 L V1022P60 Michael Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Oswaldo Negri Jr. Katherine LeggeLigier JS P254 +3 LapsHonda HR35TT 3.5 Turbo V623P31 Action Express Racing Eric Curran Dane CameronCorvette Daytona Prototype40 +17 LapsChevrolet 5.5 L V824 DNFPC88 Starworks Motorsport Mark Kvamme Ashley FreibergOreca FLM0929CrashChevrolet 6.2 L V825GTD9 Stevenson Motorsports Lawson Aschenbach Matt BellAudi R8 LMS25 +32 LapsAudi 5.2L V1026 DNFPC85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Misha Goikhberg Stephen SimpsonOreca FLM0918WithdrewChevrolet 6.2 L V827 DNFP90 VisitFlorida Racing Marc Goossens Ryan DalzielCorvette Daytona Prototype9CrashChevrolet 5.5 L V8Sources:+Tyre manufacturerKeySymbolTyre manufacturerContinental
Championship standings after the race
+Prototype Drivers' Championship standings +/– Driver Points 1 3 Jordan Taylor Ricky Taylor 151 2 João Barbosa Christian Fittipaldi 151 3 2 Eric Curran Dane Cameron 147 4 1 Marc Goossens 142 5 1 Jonathan Bomarito Tristan Nunez 135Source:
+PC Drivers' Championship standings +/– Driver Points 1 2 Alex Popow Renger van der Zande 162 2 Robert Alon Tom Kimber-Smith 159 3 2 Stephen Simpson Misha Goikhberg 153 4 Johnny Mowlem 139 5 Jon Bennett Colin Braun 126Source:
+GTLM Drivers' Championship standings +/– Driver Points 1 Oliver Gavin Tommy Milner 130 2 Earl Bamber Frédéric Makowiecki 118 3 Ryan Briscoe Richard Westbrook 115 4 Daniel Serra 113 5 Giancarlo Fisichella Toni Vilander 113Source:
+GTD Drivers' Championship standings +/– Driver Points 1 Alessandro Balzan Christina Nielsen 126 2 Mario Farnbacher Alex Riberas 118 3 Andy Lally John Potter 108 4 4 Jeroen Bleekemolen Ben Keating 105 5 Andrew Davis Robin Liddell 98Source:
Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.
+Prototype Teams' Championship standings +/– Team Points 1 3 No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing 151 2 1 No. 5 Action Express Racing 151 3 2 No. 31 Action Express Racing 147 4 1 No. 90 VisitFlorida Racing 142 5 1 No. 55 Mazda Motorsports 135Source: