The2020 WeatherTech 240was asports car racesanctioned by theInternational Motor Sports Association(IMSA). The race was held at theDaytona International Speedwaycombined road course inDaytona Beach, Florida,on July 4, 2020. This race was the second round of the2020 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship,and the first round of the 2020 WeatherTech Sprint Cup.
Taylor and García's GTLM class victory marked the first victory for the newCorvette C8.R,alongside Corvette Racing's 100th win inIMSAcompetition.[1]The race was also just the 12thcaution-free race since the merger in 2014.[2]
Background
edit
The race was the first for the series following the suspension due to theCOVID-19 pandemic,and was initially announced to be runbehind closed doors.[3]However, it was later announced that a maximum of 5,000 fans were to be admitted, with all required to be residents of the state ofFlorida.[4]The race was also the first time since 2010 that theWeatherTech SportsCar Championshipor its previous series had competed in the Paul Revere 250 Independence Day event.[5]
Before the race,Ryan Briscoe,Renger van der Zande,Scott Dixon,andKamui Kobayashiled the DPi Drivers' Championship with 35 points each, ahead ofOliver Jarvis,Tristan Nunez,andOlivier Plawith 32 points each, andSébastien Bourdais,João Barbosa,andLoïc Duvalwith 30 points each.[6]With 35 points, the GTLM Drivers' Championship was led byJohn Edwards,Jesse Krohn,Augusto Farfus,andChaz Mostertwith a three-point advantage overEarl Bamber,Laurens Vanthoor,andMathieu Jaminet.[6]In GTD, the Drivers' Championship was led byBryan Sellers,Madison Snow,Corey Lewis,andAndrea Caldarelliwith 35 points, ahead ofAndy Lally,John Potter,Spencer Pumpelly,andMarco Mapelliwith 32 points each.[6]Cadillac,BMW,andLamborghiniwere leading their respective Manufacturers' Championships, whileKonica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R,BMW Team RLL,andPaul Miller Racingeach led their own Teams' Championships.[6]
Entries
editA total of 26 cars took part in the event, down from the 39 entries from the season's opening event. There were 8 cars in theDPiclass, 6 cars in theGTLMclass, and 12 cars in the GTD class.[7]In DPi,Gabby Chavesfilled in forFelipe Nasrin theWhelen Engineering Racingentry, due to Nasr testing positive for COVID-19.[8]Multimatic Motorsportstook over the Mazda DPi program fromJoest Racing.[9]TheLMP2class did not participate in the event.[7]In GTLM,Risi Competizionewere absent. In GTD,Paul Miller Racing,the GTD class winner in theRolex 24,didn't enter the event due to effects of the pandemic.[10]Likewise, Pfaff Motorsports also didn't enter, due to travel restrictions surrounding being based inCanada.[11]The No. 19 GEAR Racing powered byGRT Grasserentry, the No. 91 of Wright Motorsports, and the No. 23 Heart of Racing TeamAston Martinall declined to enter the event as well.[12][13][14]Team Hardpoint made their series debut, and Gradient Racing returned for the first time since 2018.[15][16]Prior to the event,Aaron Telitzwas announced as the replacement forParker Chasein the No. 14 entry forAIM Vasser Sullivan.[17]Compass Racingmade their season debut.[7]
Practice
editThere were two practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Saturday, one on Friday and one on Saturday. The first session on Friday lasted one hour while the second session on Saturday lasted 75 minutes.[18]
Practice 1
editThe first practice session took place at 6:15 pmETon Friday and ended withJuan Pablo Montoyatopping the charts forAcura Team Penske,with a lap time of 1:35.960.[19]The GTLM class was topped by the #912Porsche GT TeamPorsche 911 RSR-19ofLaurens Vanthoorwith a time of 1:44.003.Tommy Milnerin the #4Corvette Racingentry was second andNick Tandyrounded out the top 3.[20]The GTD class was topped by the #63Scuderia CorsaFerrari 488 GT3ofToni Vilanderwith a time of 1:47.481.[21]
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DPi | 6 | Acura Team Penske | Juan Pablo Montoya | 1:35.960 | _ |
| 2 | DPi | 31 | Whelen Engineering Racing | Pipo Derani | 1:35.976 | +0.016 |
| 3 | DPi | 55 | Mazda Motorsports | Harry Tincknell | 1:36.013 | +0.053 |
| Sources:[22][23] | ||||||
Practice 2
editThe second and final practice session took place at 10:15 amETon Saturday and ended withOliver Jarvistopping the charts forMazda Motorsports,with a lap time of 1:34.398.[24]The GTLM class was topped by the #911Porsche GT TeamPorsche 911 RSR-19of Nick Tandy with a time of 1:42.990.Oliver Gavinin the #4Corvette Racingentry was second andJordan Taylorrounded out the top 3.[25]The GTD class was topped by the #14AIM Vasser SullivanLexus RC F GT3ofAaron Telitzwith a time of 1:46.694.[26]
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DPi | 77 | Mazda Motorsports | Oliver Jarvis | 1:34.398 | _ |
| 2 | DPi | 7 | Acura Team Penske | Hélio Castroneves | 1:34.646 | +0.248 |
| 3 | DPi | 55 | Mazda Motorsports | Jonathan Bomarito | 1:34.689 | +0.291 |
| Sources:[27][28] | ||||||
Qualifying
edit
Saturday's afternoon qualifying was broken into three sessions, with one session for the DPi, GTLM, and GTD classes, which lasted for 15 minutes each, and a ten minute interval between the sessions.[18]The rules dictated that all teams nominated a driver to qualify their cars, with the Pro-Am (GTD) class requiring a Bronze/Silver Rated Driver to qualify the car. The competitors' fastest lap times determined the starting order. IMSA then arranged the grid to put DPis ahead of the GTLM and GTD cars.[29]
Qualifying was broken into three sessions. The first was for cars in GTD class. Corey Fergus qualified on pole for the class driving the #76 car forCompass Racing,beatingAaron Telitzin the #14AIM Vasser Sullivanentry by less than two tenths of a second.[30]
The second session of qualifying was for cars in the GTLM class.Oliver Gavinqualified on pole driving the #4 car forCorvette Racing,bestingJordan Taylorin the sister #3Corvette Racingentry.[31]
The final session of qualifying was for the DPi class.Hélio Castronevesqualified on pole driving the #7 car forAcura Team Penske,beatingOliver Jarvisin the #77Mazda Motorsportsby less than fifty-hundredths of a second.[32]
Qualifying results
editPole positionsin each class are indicated inboldand by ‡.
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap | Grid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DPi | 7 |  Acura Team Penske
|
 Hélio Castroneves
|
1:34.390 | _ | 1‡ |
| 2 | DPi | 77 |  Mazda Motorsports
|
 Oliver Jarvis
|
1:34.422 | +0.032 | 2 |
| 3 | DPi | 55 | Mazda Motorsports
|
Jonathan Bomarito
|
1:34.454 | +0.064 | 3 |
| 4 | DPi | 6 | Acura Team Penske
|
 Juan Pablo Montoya
|
1:34.532 | +0.142 | 4 |
| 5 | DPi | 10 | Konica Minolta Cadillac |  Ryan Briscoe
|
1:35.061 | +0.671 | 5 |
| 6 | DPi | 31 | Whelen Engineering Racing
|
Gabby Chaves
|
1:35.244 | +0.854 | 6 |
| 7 | DPi | 5 | JDC-Mustang Sampling Racing
|
 João Barbosa
|
1:35.737 | +1.347 | 7 |
| 8 | DPi | 85 | JDC-Miller MotorSports
|
Chris Miller
|
1:35.945 | +1.555 | 8 |
| 9 | GTLM | 4 | Corvette Racing
|
Oliver Gavin
|
1:42.251 | +7.861 | 9‡ |
| 10 | GTLM | 3 | Corvette Racing
|
Jordan Taylor
|
1:42.523 | +8.133 | 10 |
| 11 | GTLM | 24 | BMW Team RLL
|
 Jesse Krohn
|
1:42.628 | +8.238 | 11 |
| 12 | GTLM | 912 | Porsche GT Team
|
 Laurens Vanthoor
|
1:42.629 | +8.239 | 12 |
| 13 | GTLM | 25 | BMW Team RLL
|
Bruno Spengler
|
1:42.674 | +8.284 | 13 |
| 14 | GTLM | 911 | Porsche GT Team
|
Nick Tandy
|
1:42.754 | +8.364 | 14 |
| 15 | GTD | 76 | Compass Racing
|
Corey Fergus
|
1:47.015 | +12.625 | 15‡ |
| 16 | GTD | 14 | AIM Vasser Sullivan
|
Aaron Telitz
|
1:47.152 | +12.762 | 16 |
| 17 | GTD | 96 | Turner Motorsport
|
Robby Foley
|
1:47.468 | +13.078 | 17 |
| 18 | GTD | 12 | AIM Vasser Sullivan
|
Frankie Montecalvo
|
1:47.502 | +13.112 | 18 |
| 19 | GTD | 63 | Scuderia Corsa
|
Cooper MacNeil
|
1:47.595 | +13.205 | 19 |
| 20 | GTD | 86 | Meyer Shank RacingwithCurb-Agajanian
|
Matt McMurry
|
1:47.779 | +13.389 | 20 |
| 21 | GTD | 57 | Heinricher Racing withMSRCurb-Agajanian
|
Misha Goikhberg
|
1:47.799 | +13.409 | 21 |
| 22 | GTD | 16 | Wright Motorsports
|
Ryan Hardwick
|
1:47.839 | +13.449 | 22 |
| 23 | GTD | 74 | Riley Motorsports
|
Gar Robinson
|
1:47.998 | +13.608 | 23 |
| 24 | GTD | 44 | GRTMagnus
|
John Potter
|
1:48.772 | +14.382 | 261 |
| 25 | GTD | 22 | Gradient Racing
|
Till Bechtolsheimer
|
1:48.795 | +14.405 | 24 |
| 26 | GTD | 30 | Team Hardpoint
|
Rob Ferriol
|
1:49.193 | +14.803 | 25 |
| Sources:[33][34] | |||||||
Race
editPost-race
editAs a result of winning the race, Bomarito and Tincknell advanced from sixth to third in the DPi Drivers' Championship. Jarvis and Nunez jumped from second to first while Briscoe and van der Zande dropped from first to second.[35]In GTLM, Bamber and Vanthoor jumped to first after being second coming into the event. Edwards and Krohn dropped from first to third while Antonio García and Jordan Taylor advanced from fourth to second.[35]As a result of winning the race, Hawksworth advanced from eighth to first in the GTD Drivers' Championship. Telitz jumped from twelfth to second while Lally and Potter dropped from second to third. Bell and Montecalvo jumped to fifth after being from twelfth coming into the event.[35]Cadillac, BMW, and Lamborghini continued to top their respective Manufacturers' Championships while Mazda Motorsports, Porsche GT Team, and AIM Vasser Sullivan became the leaders of their respective class Teams' Championships with nine rounds remaining in the season.[35]
Result
editDue to a lightning storm, the race start was delayed. While the race was originally scheduled to end at sunset, a considerable portion of the race ended up running after dark. The race ran full course caution free.
Class winners are denoted inboldand ‡.
Standings after the race
edit
- Note:Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.
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- Note:Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.
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- Note:Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.
References
edit- ^"Corvette Take First Win For C8.R & 100th IMSA Victory".dailysportscar.5 July 2020.Retrieved23 October2020.
- ^"Mazda Maintains Midsummer Magic with 1-2 in IMSA WeatherTech 240 At Daytona".imsa.4 July 2020.Retrieved23 October2020.
- ^"IMSA Announces Updated Return to Racing Plan".imsa.15 May 2020.Retrieved22 October2020.
- ^"IMSA: July 4 race at Daytona will have limited crowd; masks required".motorsports.nbcsports.16 June 2020.Retrieved22 October2020.
- ^"IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Returns to Daytona".daytonainternationalspeedway.15 May 2020.Retrieved22 October2020.
- ^abcd"00_Championship Points - Official.pdf"(PDF).results.imsa.January 28, 2020.RetrievedJuly 30,2023.
- ^abcDagys, John (June 24, 2020)."26 Entries for IMSA's Return to Racing at Daytona".sportscar365.RetrievedJuly 30,2023.
- ^Lloyd, Daniel (July 3, 2020)."Nasr to Miss Daytona after Testing Positive for COVID-19".sportscar365.RetrievedJuly 30,2023.
- ^Lloyd, Daniel (March 19, 2020)."Mazda Confirms Multimatic Takeover from Joest".sportscar365.RetrievedJuly 30,2023.
- ^Dagys, John (June 9, 2020)."Paul Miller Racing to Skip Daytona, Sebring July Races".sportscar365.RetrievedJuly 30,2023.
- ^Dagys, John (June 12, 2020)."Pfaff" Undecided "on Timing of IMSA Return".sportscar365.RetrievedJuly 30,2023.
- ^Dagys, John (June 17, 2020)."GEAR, Grasser Part Ways".sportscar365.RetrievedJuly 30,2023.
- ^Dagys, John (June 18, 2020)."Wright Down to Single Porsche GTD Entry".sportscar365.RetrievedJuly 30,2023.
- ^Dagys, John (June 23, 2020)."The Heart of Racing to Skip Daytona".sportscar365.RetrievedJuly 30,2023.
- ^"Entry List: WeatherTech 240 at Daytona".fronstretch.30 June 2020.Retrieved22 October2020.
- ^Dagys, John (June 17, 2020)."Hardpoint Expands to GTD with Audi Entry for Pumpelly, Ferriol".sportscar365.RetrievedJuly 30,2023.
- ^"Telitz Replaces Chase in AVS Lexus for Remainder of Season".sportscar365.24 June 2020.Retrieved22 October2020.
- ^ab"2020 IMSA Official Schedule and SR Daytona July 4 062420 V1"(PDF).results.imsa /noticeBoard.php.RetrievedJuly 30,2023.
- ^O'Malley, J.J. (July 3, 2020)."Montoya tops opening IMSA Daytona practice".racer.RetrievedJuly 30,2023.
- ^Dagys, John (July 3, 2020)."Montoya Quickest in Opening Practice at Daytona".sportscar365.RetrievedJuly 30,2023.
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- ^O'Malley, J.J. (July 3, 2020)."Mazda's Jarvis fastest in Daytona Practice 2".racer.RetrievedJuly 30,2023.
- ^Dagys, John (July 4, 2020)."Jarvis Rebounds to Put Mazda On Top in Final Practice".sportscar365.RetrievedJuly 30,2023.
- ^Malsher-Lopez, David (July 4, 2020)."Daytona IMSA: Mazda's Jarvis tops second practice".motorsport.RetrievedJuly 30,2023.
- ^"03_Results_Practice 2.PDF"(PDF).results.imsa.July 4, 2020.RetrievedJuly 30,2023.
- ^"06_Fastest Lap By Driver_Practice 2.PDF"(PDF).results.imsa.July 4, 2020.RetrievedJuly 30,2023.
- ^ab"2020 IMSA SPORTING REGULATIONS and SERIES SUPPLEMENTARY REGULATIONS"(PDF).Archived(PDF)from the original on 22 December 2023.Retrieved2023-12-26.
- ^Dagys, John (July 4, 2020)."Castroneves Storms to Daytona Pole".sportscar365.RetrievedJuly 30,2023.
- ^Malsher-Lopez, David (July 4, 2020)."Daytona IMSA: Castroneves' Acura beats Mazdas to pole".motorsport.RetrievedJuly 30,2023.
- ^O'Malley, J.J. (July 4, 2020)."Castroneves takes Daytona IMSA pole for Acura".racer.RetrievedJuly 30,2023.
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- ^"01_Grid_Race_Official.PDF"(PDF).results.imsa.July 4, 2020.RetrievedJuly 30,2023.
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