With two races grueling sports car races remaining, the leaders in the WeatherTech Championship manufacturer standings in both GTLM (FIA Le Mans eligible cars) and GTD (IMSA Daytona cars) have commanding leads.
Fast, Sophisticated and Expensive
In GTLM, Ford leads Chevrolet by a mere 12 points, 295-283, with a maximum of 70 points still available. Barring the unforeseen and unlikely, the manufacturer title will be going to Detroit. Porsche is third and effectively out of mathematical contention with 274 points, as a last-place finish in a GTLM race would deliver 26 manufacturer points at worst.
To pick up its third consecutive GTLM championship, Chevrolet needs to win both final races and Ford would need to score last-place points in both. If Ford does take the championship it will mark the first time since 2010 that Chevrolet hasn’t won an IMSA manufacturer’s title. AutoInformed is betting on Ford.
Chevy’s run includes back-to-back GTLM titles in 2016 and 2017, Prototype manufacturer championships in 2014 and 2015, American Le Mans Series GT and
GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series Daytona Prototype titles in 2012 and 2013, and the GRAND-AM GT championship in 2011.
Fast, Powerful and Costly
In the GTD class, Lamborghini is like Ford. The Italian exotic car manufacturer currently leads the class standings by 18 points, 282-263, over Acura, and Lexus is third with 258 points. A race victory is worth 35 points and with eight competing manufacturers in the class, a last-place result offers 23 points.
For Lexus to win the title, it would need to win both of the last two races and have Lamborghini score last-place points in both. That would result in a tie – each manufacturer would have 328 points – and Lexus would prevail on the most-race wins tiebreaker, four to three.
Legge up?
There are more variations that would allow Acura to take the title away from Lamborghini, but if Lambo were to score last-place points in both of the final two, Acura needs at least one win and could finish no worse than second in the other to take the manufacturer title. AutoInformed is betting on Lamborghini.
When placing your bet, keep in mind that for years AutoInformed has been predicting the demise of the Tesla scam. We haven’t been right. Yet.
AutoInformed.com on IMSA
- IMSA Finale Today at Road Atlanta
- IMSA – Corvette Racing Wins GTLM Class Championship
- First GT Only IMSA Race Saturday at Lime Rock
- Back End of IMSA Season at VIR This Weekend
The 3GT Racing No. 15 Lexus RC F GT3 finished seventh at IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca with drivers Jack Hawksworth and David Heinemeier Hansson. The driver duo had the No. 15 Lexus as high as fourth place, however damage to the grille slowed the RC F GT3 during Hawksworth’s second stint. He went on to run the second-quickest lap in the GTD class on lap 70 (1:25.786) before finishing. 3GT Racing drivers Dominik Baumann and Kyle Marcelli finished Sunday’s race in 10th-place behind the wheel of the No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 at the 11-turn, 2.238-mile circuit. Marcelli was involved in an incident early in the race, but was able to recover and get as high as the second position before turning driving duties over to Baumann. The team however had an issue during its final pit stop and lost track position in the closing laps of the sprint event.
Lexus is the official luxury vehicle at the famous road course with the GS F serving as the pace vehicle for Sunday’s IMSA event. Lexus currently ranks third in the unofficial GTD manufacturer championship standings going into the final race of the season. The season-finale comes at the Motul Petit Le Mans on Saturday 13 October 13 for a 10-hour endurance event at Road Atlanta.