At home, Cadillac and Chevrolet triumph on the streets of Detroit

General Motors couldn't have dreamed of a better result. In the narrow streets of Motor City, at the foot of the imposing buildings of the Renaissance Center, the American giant saw its two brands competing in the North American championship.Endurance to win this Saturday evening, for the fifth match of the seasonIMSACadillac triumphed in GTP with the #31 V-Series.R of Earl Bamber and Jack Aitken's Action Express Racing team, while Corvette won the GTD Pro class with the #3 Z06.R of Alexander Sims and Antonio Garcia. Both cars started from pole position.

The American manufacturer thus dominated this Chevrolet Grand Prix from start to finish. In the prototype class, Bamber and then Aitken were never challenged. It must be said that the race was quite calm for most of its length, despite its 90-degree turns reminiscent of certain sections of the Baku street circuit (Azerbaijan). The New Zealander thus maintained his pole position advantage at the start before handing the wheel to Jack Aitken, a clear winner at the checkered flag. Despite the coordinated comeback of the Porsche With 963 official entries in the field, the podium was completed by the No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8 of Philipp Eng and Marco Wittmann ahead of the No. 10 Cadillac of Wayne Taylor Racing of Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor.

The big loser of this race is Laurin Heinrich (JDC-Miller MotorSport). The championship leader, the German driver, was penalized with a 60-second stop-and-go penalty for deliberately turning on the straight.Aston Martin Valkyrie #23, then driven by Romain De Angelis. More of a scare than anything serious for the Canadian, but the German and his teammate Tijmen van der Helm were therefore condemned to 11th place in the GTP, barring a retirement.

First IMSA podium for the Lamborghini Temerario GT3

In GTD Pro, it was also a complete domination for the No. 3 Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Alexander Sims and Antonio Garcia. Starting from pole position, the duo left nothing for their rivals. The No. 14 Lexus of Ben Barnicoat and Jack Hawksworth posed a real threat during the race, but a collision with Dries Vanthoor (No. 24 BMW M Hybrid) didn't help the Japanese manufacturer's chances. While Hawksworth rejoined the race after touching the wall with his right rear, the Belgian received a drive-through penalty for the incident. The Briton received the same penalty at the very end of the race, costing him a podium finish.

It was in the final moments that the race truly exploded into life. Having rejoined the podium battle thanks to Kévin Estre's efforts in the first hour, the No. 6 Porsche, damaged on its rear wing and diffuser after contact with the No. 24 BMW, lost debris on the track with 18 minutes remaining, triggering a Safety Car and a pit stop for Laurens Vanthoor. Relegated to 8th place at the finish, he crossed the line ahead of his brother Dries, who received a second drive-through penalty following the contact with his older brother's car.

The green flag with 12 minutes remaining was short-lived, as Nick Tandy crashed into the wall in the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche "Rexy". These two successive interruptions brought the field back together, but Aitken and Garcia managed to hold off their pursuers. A drive-through penalty for the No. 4 Corvette at the very end of the race even prevented the manufacturer from achieving a GTD Pro one-two finish. This penalty opened the way for the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Temerario GT3 of Andrea Caldarelli and Sandy Mitchell, who had qualified last. The Italian manufacturer's new car secured its first IMSA podium finish with this performance. Ford Racing completed the podium with the No. 65 Mustang GT3 of Christopher Mies and Frédéric Vervisch.

The next IMSA event will mark the return of Endurance Cup racing with the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen on June 28.

IMSA – Detroit
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