Road America, crucial race for the championship

This Sunday at Road America, the drivers will ride for victory, but also thinking about the title of the 2022 season of theIMSA. The Wisconsin circuit is in fact the scene of the penultimate round of this exercise, the penultimate for the prototypes, since VIR on August 28 will be reserved for GT cars. At Eikhart Lake, the DPi will meet for their penultimate meeting of 2022, before Petit Le Mans on October 2. In the championship, Oliver Jarvis and Tom Blomqvist lead the way for Meyer Shank Racing (2 points) ahead of Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor of Wayne Taylor Racing (737 pts).

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“This weekend is a critical race in the championship, explains the American WTR pilot. Victory is mandatory to allow us to fight for the championship. Road America is a fantastic track for Acura, but we have to capitalize. The track is fast and you have to be opportunistic to overtake in traffic. It’s a track where people can move and make things happen. I expect this to be another epic fight for the victory. Filipe Albuquerque is keen to take his first victory at Road America and head into the finale on a high note. »

“Road America is an incredible track, adds his teammate Filipe Albuquerque. Last year we were unlucky with a puncture, but we were driving well, so we know the car can be good there. We are in a situation where we have to finish ahead of our main rivals, the other Acuras. So our goal is very simple, to finish in front of them and obviously aim for victory. It's all about championship points with only two races left, so we want to maximize that, and Wayne Taylor Racing has never won at Road America, so we're looking to get our fourth win of the season there. We've had a lot of ups and downs in the season, but we have three wins, which is the most of any team this season. It shows we can get the job done. »

For two races, Meyer Shank Racing has not been able to finish the job, after being surprised in the last minutes by Wayne Taylor Racing at Watkins Glen and by Cadillac Racing at Bowmanville. “We ran in the lead, won races, we feel strong, judge the Frenchman Sébastien Bourdais from Cadillac. “Renger (van der Zande, his teammate. Editor’s note) delivered an incredible performance at Mosport (Bowmanville, July 3. Editor’s note) in really difficult conditions. He attacked, especially in traffic, which was really great. Looking forward to trying to repeat this at Road America. »

Le Manceau will return to a track where he won during the Champ Car era, in 2007. “It’s a beautiful circuit, continues the Cadillac driver. I only managed to win there once during the Champ Car days, but I have a lot of great memories. This is one of those places that is extremely rewarding if you take the tour right. It's one of those cases where it's really great when you get a lap, and hopefully we can do it in qualifying and have a great race. »

37 cars are expected for the Road America round, spread across the five categories of the North American championship.

Discover the entry list HERE