Three days of testing for the new-for-2023 GTP cars, with two of them in front of the eyes of the media, have been completed at Road Atlanta, the first opportunity for many to see the 2023 face of the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar championship on track together.
Whilst the Penske Porsche squad displayed their 963 alongside their peers at Petit Le Mans on Saturday (pics above courtesy Andy Blackmore), the Porsche factory team have chosen to do their latest testing at Sebring this week.
Instead, the Road Atlanta circuit was graced by no fewer than five GTP cars, a single BMW M Hybrid V8 in the hands of BMW Team RLL, and a pair apiece of Acura ARX 06 cars, and Cadillac LMDH, the Acuras with one apiece in the hands of Wayne Taylor Racing and the newly crowned IMSA Championship winning Meyer Shank Racing squad, the Cadillacs with Chip Ganassi Racing and Action Express with a car apiece too.
The BMW was a late arrival at Road Atlanta, the car on display a show car covering for Team RLL completing a major rebuild of the test car after an incident in earlier testing at Watkins Glen – Connor De Phillippi, Augusto Farfus, Nick Yelloly and Marco Wittmann were on duty for BMW. The M Hybrid V8 was, together with the Action Express Cadillac, first on track, the Cadillac leading the way.
“We really wanted to be the first ones on track,” said Connor De Phillippi, who logged laps for BMW M Team RLL. “That was going to be a little win, considering we had the least amount of miles (before Monday) and we were probably the last to the party. We were trying to be the first on track to make a bold statement.”
Cadillac’s pair fielded Richard Westbrook and Sebastian Bourdais in the Ganassi-run car, Pipo Derani and Alexander Sims in the Action Express car.
Acura meanwhile saw newly crowned IMSA Champion Tom Blomquist in the MSR ARX 06 and both Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor were available for the WTR car. Development driver Matt McMurry too was on hand.
The two Acura ARX-06 LMDh race cars on track at @RoadAtlanta. pic.twitter.com/WwSkXfcnct
— Michelin Racing USA (@MichelinRaceUSA) October 3, 2022
Acura were the last marque to the track, though the second Ganassi Racing would be later still on Monday as the team awaited components, the supply chain still producing major challenges.
But for Acura there were problems on track as well, Blomquist with a heavy ‘off’ on Monday after what sources suggest was suspension failure whilst a second Wednesday incident, again for the #60, this time for development driver Matt McMurry saw Acura decide to end the test to preserve parts supplies ahead of a planned Homologation test at the Windshear aero facility
The Monday incident saw the WTR parked until the root cause had been established and the Wednesday decision to curtail the test impacted both cars too.
The Acura ARX-06 LMDh 🎚🔊 pic.twitter.com/gyArD30MQ8
— Michelin Racing USA (@MichelinRaceUSA) October 3, 2022
Multiple trackside sources meanwhile were belying the lack of official timing to measure pace the old fashioned way, the fastest laps in the 1:10s, a little off the fastest laps posted by the outgoing DPis over the Petit Le Mans weekend bit this is very early sys on the development front for the new GTPs.
Also lapping, assisting IMSA’s technical team as they worked the enigma of keeping the GTPs clear of the still very quick LMP2s, was the #11 PR1 Mathiesen Oreca, Tristan Nunez setting times to add to the dataset that will be responsible for the BoP of the new cars and the “stratification between them and LMP2.
There’s still a lot to do, and with only 15 weeks to go before the new GTP class will debut at the Roar Before the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway.
Along with the teams, IMSA technical crews and the media looking on were other interested observers – notably including IMSA President John Doonan:
“It’s been a very busy time, and it’s still busy, but I took time out from meetings and got here first thing on Monday to take a look. It was my first chance to see and hear the cars live.
“I actually walked about three-quarters of the circuit eventually, there are so many cool places to watch, and listen, to the cars here. I visited a number of the corner stations and stood and watched with the corner workers. A very proud morning.
“The cars, both individually and as a group look great. It was good to think back just what the journey has been to get here with huge co-operation now with the ACO, but even at the beginning where massive credit goes to IMSA’s technical team with particular emphasis on thanking Simon Hodgson and Matt Kurdock, and, through and after the convergence process to Thierry Bouvet at the ACO too.
Whilst inevitably the trackside pundits were focusing on raw speed, the teams, manufacturers and technical partners, including Williams, Bosch and XTrac who are responsible for the ‘single supplier’ hybrid package that is common to all of the LMDh-design GTPs, was almost entirely about reliability.
“Today was all about getting mileage,” said Brandon Fry, BMW M Team RLL’s technical/race operations director. “Certainly, as the drivers had more time in the car, the times came down. All the cars looked like they were pretty close together. It’s nice to see right out of the box that everybody is pretty close.”
Racing into the future@CGRTeams / @MeyerShankRac pic.twitter.com/vA4D9R9OKj
— Michelin Racing USA (@MichelinRaceUSA) October 3, 2022
A Whole New Perspective
Drivers who tested the cars immediately noted primary differences between the LMDh and the DPi cars that were finally parked after the weekend’s season-ending action: more power, less downforce, different view.
“The seating position is completely different,” Blomqvist said. “Obviously, that feels weird. It’s a completely different perspective. You definitely feel the power. It’s got more power, but it is slower in the corners. It’s a bigger car. It’s heavier. Naturally, it’s got a little bit less downforce.”
All of which make good on one of the many intended purposes of the car: making it more difficult to drive and creating more passing opportunities.
“The car is powerful,” said Sebastien Bourdais, who tested the Cadillac V-LMDh for Cadillac Racing. “It’s making close to 700 horsepower, obviously, but when you couple that with quite a bit less downforce – like significantly less downforce – it’s definitely a car that gives you a run for your money. You have to work at it.
“You’ve got some good mechanical grip, but then the weight negates that some. Aero-wise, you get there pretty quick but then you can’t lean on the aero quite as much. You get there fast, but it’s a bit harder to stop. When you get to the corner, you’ve got to stop it more. It’s definitely a car that keeps you awake.”
Pics copyright Michelin Racing USA
