Wayne Taylor Cadillac. [Photo by Jack Webster]
By Jack Webster & Eddie LePine
There are now only two races left in the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and all the contenders have their eyes on the championships in Prototype, GTLM and GTD.
This weekend the IMSA circus descends on the Monterey Peninsula and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca for the America’s Tire 250. A total of 34 entries will take part in the race, with 13 Prototypes, 8 GTLM and 13 GTD cars comprising the total.
The DPi Cadillacs have been given a bit of a BoP break, while the P2 cars (which have been on a tear lately) have been throttled back somewhat.
The point standings in Prototype are tight. In the manufacturer’s battle Cadillac has 269 points, followed by Acura with 254, Nissan with 239 and Mazda with 238. It is still anyone’s championship to win (or lose) and we likely will not know the championship winning manufacturer until the conclusion of the Motul Petit Le Mans in October.
In Prototype drivers, the championship is still wide open with Eric Curran and Felipe Nasr currently holding the top spot with 228 points, followed by Filipe Albuquerque with 221 and then John Bennett and Colin Braun with 218 and Jordan Taylor and Renger Van Der Zande with 216.
In GTLM it is looking to be a classic Ford/Chevy battle for the championship, with both Porsche and BMW still very much in the hunt. The four manufacturers are separated by only 28 points going into the Laguna Seca race.
In GTLM drivers, Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia lead the championship (even without a victory this year) over Ford pilots Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook. This is another championship that looks not to be settled until the conclusion of Petit.
In GTD, Lamborghini holds a decent lead over Acura, Lexus, Mercedes-AMG and Ferrari, but all are still in contention for the championship.
For GTD drivers, Brian Sellers and Madison Snow lead the way, with a 13-point advantage over Katherine Legge who enjoys a 16-point lead over Jeroen Bleekemolen and Ben Keating. As with the other IMSA WeatherTech classes, this one won’t be decided until Petit Le Mans as well.
It has been an outstanding year of close competition in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and without doubt IMSA has put together an outstanding series which once again has not disappointed it’s many fans in the US and around the globe.
With only two races remaining and all three championships still undecided, one could argue that IMSA has produced the most competitive sports car series on the planet – not just North America.
We can’t wait to see how it all turns out.
Jack Webster has been shooting motorsports since the early 1970’s, covering Formula One, CanAm, F5000, TransAm, GrandAm and American Le Mans races, among others. In addition to his photography, he has also worked on racing teams, both in IMSA and IndyCar, so has a complete knowledge of the inner workings of motorsport. Both his photography and writing can be seen here on racingnation.com. Eddie LePine has been involved in motorsports for over 30 years as photographer, columnist, and driver. Eddie also is now a retired racer (well, retired unless a good ride pops up). You can usually find Eddie in the paddock area, deep in conversation with a driver.