What to Watch For: Motul SportsCar Grand Prix

Four Classes, Energy Management and Championship Battles Tighten Up

July 31, 2025

By David Phillips

IMSA Wire Service

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s annual midsummer tour of North America’s iconic road courses continues with a trip to Road America for the Motul SportsCar Grand Prix. Opened in 1955 and celebrating its 70th anniversary in 2025, the 14-turn, 4.048-mile circuit’s basic layout has had minimal design changes albeit several surface changes. 

Set an hour north of Milwaukee in Elkhart Lake, Wis., the track has rightly earned the nickname “America’s National Park of Speed.” It’s an apt moniker, one that pays homage to the bucolic nature of the facility’s park-like 640 acres along with the breathtaking character of a track where some of the world’s fastest race cars may top 175 mph three times each lap.

In addition to great vantage points and camping sites for throngs who flock to the track, Road America is also known for some of the world’s best “track food” available at nearly a dozen concession stands. Is it any wonder Wisconsin’s Road America vanity plate is the state’s most popular automobile license? 

Beyond the volume of on-site food and beverage options to enjoy the weekend, here’s what we’re watching for on-track:

Another Event, Another Format 

For the first and only time in 2025, all four WeatherTech Championship classes race together under the series’ standard-length two-hour, 40-minute race. They’ll do so for the last time at Road America – for now – with a bump up to a six-hour race in 2026. 

A whopping 49 cars will joust for position along pit lane during green flag pit stops as well as on the track, including the flat-out blasts on the long Road America Straightaway, the Moraine Sweep and Kettle Bottoms, and the heavy braking zones at Turn 5, Hurry Downs and Canada Corner, not to mention the ultra-fast Kink and Carousel corners. The Kink, too, has a new “grasscrete” surface on corner exit this year, with a mix of grass and concrete on curbing at track-out. 

The track’s long straightaways and overall length should make life a bit easier than some circuits for the drivers when it comes to dealing with the disparate performance characteristics of the various categories, particularly compared to the winding, corner-heavy Watkins Glen International where all four classes last raced together. 

“I would say the traffic, having several cars on track is always what brings more of the race excitement in Road America,” said Felipe Nasr, co-driver of the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963. “Depending on where you catch cars or traffic, it's always changing from time to time. And I've seen the good and the bad sides of it, but it's definitely a place that can really, I would say more than the tire itself, like tire strategy or tire deg, I would say it’s just depending where you are in traffic and how you manage yourself there, it can make a big difference.”

“The whole track is a bit like Spa,” added Louis Deletraz, co-driver of the No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V-Series.R. “If you compare, it has a lot of elevation, high grip, pretty smooth. So, there's a lot of nice corners like the Carousel. It's a good mix between technical, low speed, and high speed. It is a challenge to put a big lap in. It's always rewarding when you see a good lap time and you’re up front to have made a lap there.”

Energy Management

Road America presents unique challenges to WeatherTech Championship race strategists, because it takes no prisoners when it comes to fuel mileage and energy usage calculations. Get it wrong, and your driver will have to coax their thirsty car around the track’s 4-plus miles. The last corner onto the front straight and pit-in is an uphill climb, compared to downhill finishers at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca’s Corkscrew, VIRginia International Raceway’s Hog Pen or Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta’s Turn 12 where you can coast to the pits. Run out of energy here, and you’re toast. 

“You need more energy accelerating out of the last corner to the start/finish,” said Tom Blomqvist, co-driver of the No. 60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian Acura ARX-06, who finished at Watkins Glen with one percent of usable energy per IMSA telemetry. 

“It is not one where – for example – if you’re running out of energy you can coast to the line. So that’s the stuff that’s all well-factored in; the guys behind the computers are the ones who are really on top of that stuff. It’s a bigger lap, so you need more energy to do the whole lap. It’s not going to change anything but obviously, it’s one where you need more energy to get to the line.”

With one lap at Road America roughly equal to two laps at most tracks on length, the pressure is on the strategists to nail the stop timing and the pit crews to best service their cars on stops. Pit windows aren’t the tightest, but they’re not as open as other tracks. This may limit alternative strategies. May the best crew win.

Championship Ch-Ch-Changes

Since the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, all four WeatherTech Championship categories have undergone shakeups, and all four class championship leads are less than 100 points – only a handful of positions on-track. 

In Grand Touring Prototype (GTP), early-season leaders Felipe Nasr and Nick Tandy in the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 now find themselves second in the championship, 12 points behind teammates Matt Campbell and Mathieu Jaminet in the sister No. 6 Porsche. After an incident at Watkins Glen, will the No. 7 car be able to recover from this setback? 

AO Racing used its first Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) win at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park to its advantage, with PJ Hyett and Dane Cameron in “Spike,” the No. 99 ORECA LMP2 07, only 78 behind Daniel Goldburg in the No. 22 United Autosports USA ORECA. Don’t look now, but Felipe Fraga, Gar Robinson and the No. 74 Riley ORECA are also in the hunt, just 46 points back of AO Racing in third. 

Just 53 points cover the top three in Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO). The No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims are clinging to a 39-point lead over Laurin Heinrich and Klaus Bachler in AO’s “Rexy,” the No. 77 Porsche 911 GT3 R, with Albert Costa lurking in third in DragonSpeed’s No. 81 Ferrari 296 GT3.

In Grand Touring Daytona (GTD), Philip Ellis and Russell Ward have won twice this year aboard Winward Racing’s No. 57 Mercedes-AMG GT3 and lead Jack Hawksworth and Parker Thompson in the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3 by 93 points. Ellis and Ward bounced back with a runner-up finish at CTMP, crucially one spot ahead of the No. 12 Lexus which has been a consistent top scorer this year but hasn’t won its first race.  

Will the championship battles tighten at Road America, or will the points leaders stretch their advantage as the WeatherTech Championship nears its stretch run? Will all the drivers of nearly 50 of the fastest sports cars on the planet behave at Road America, or will they trade gallons of paint (or acres of wrap)? Will the race engineers get their sums right, or will drivers cruelly coast to a stop just a short, steep walk from the pits?

The Motul SportsCar Grand Prix streams at 2 p.m. ET on Peacock with international coverage via IMSA.TV and IMSA’s Official YouTube channel. 

Lamborghini Super Trofeo Ready to Roll at Road America

Four-Day Weekend with Four Classes Starts Second Half of 2025

July 29, 2025

By Tony DiZinno

IMSA Wire Service

Entry List (Click Here)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – For the first and only time in 2025, the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America series competes over four days at the 4.048-mile Road America circuit. Competitors tested in July in advance of the weekend with practice and qualifying split between Thursday and Friday, and the two 50-minute races taking place on Saturday and Sunday. The series returns to the track for the first time since 2023 after skipping 2024. 

A total of 35 cars are entered across the four classes of Pro (nine cars), ProAm (nine), Am (nine) and LB Cup (eight) continue the momentum for Rounds 7 and 8 of the 2025 season.

Watkins Glen International’s pair of races reshuffled the deck in the championship as teams adapted well to the new Hankook L63H tire and fought through a mix of heat and humidity at the high-grip, high-cornering speed circuit.

Pro

TR3 Racing ascended to the top of the Pro class at Watkins Glen with Will Bamber and Elias De La Torre completing a perfect weekend in their No. 29 TR3 Racing, Lamborghini Miami, Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo Evo2. With pole and victory in both races, Bamber and De La Torre scored a maximum 32 points – 16 apiece per race – to move to the Pro class championship lead. 

Wayne Taylor Racing, which won the opening four races of 2025, seeks a bounce back weekend. Nick Persing now sits second in his No. 8 WTR, Lamborghini Palm Beach, Huracán and eight points adrift while early season points leaders Danny Formal and Hampus Ericsson in their No. 1 WTR, Lamborghini Palm Beach, Huracán are third, 12 back. 

Fourth-placed Scott Huffaker and Jaden Conwright in their No. 22 World Speed Motorsports, Lamborghini Hawaii, Huracán have an outside championship shot at 18 points behind but will need a strong weekend at Road America to close that gap.

ProAm

Just 12 points separate the top five entries in ProAm after Watkins Glen. Darius Trinka and Tadas Karlinskas have adapted to three different team environments in their No. 11 Huracán and head to their second weekend with MLT Motorsports and Lamborghini Charlotte at Road America. They’re tied for the class lead with Conrad Geis and Jason Hart in the No. 67 TR3 Racing, Lamborghini Miami, Huracán; Geis and Hart have three podiums this season including back-to-back ones in Watkins Glen.

Both Flying Lizard Motorsports, Lamborghini Newport Beach, teammates are next up and charging. Marc Miller and Paul Nemschoff (No. 41 Huracán) are third, six points back of the lead while Andy Lee and Slade Stewart (No. 14 Huracán) are fourth, 10 back. The Lee/Stewart duo is the highest-scoring ProAm pair the last four races. Watkins Glen Round 6 winners Nicky Hays and Antoine Comeau (No. 30 ANSA Motorsports, Lamborghini Orlando, Huracán) have now entered the title fight too, 12 points back.

Am

Glenn McGee and Graham Doyle roll into Road America having won five of six Am class races in their No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing, Lamborghini Palm Beach, Huracán and with a series-high 26-point lead. There’s a good battle brewing for second, as David Staab (No. 48 Precision Performance Motorsports, Lamborghini Palm Beach, Huracán) and Lindsay Brewer and Jem Hepworth (No. 2 RAFA Racing, Lamborghini Austin, Huracán) are separated by only one point. Staab has three podiums and a win this year; Brewer and Hepworth have four podiums and no wins.

LB Cup

LB Cup has turned into a three-horse race. Mark Brummond’s consistency in the No. 52 Forty7 Motorsports, Lamborghini Philadelphia, Huracán sees him now two points clear of last year’s champion and early-season points leader Nick Groat in his No. 57 ONE Motorsports, Lamborghini Newport Beach, Huracán. Watkins Glen Round 6 winner Rocky T. Bolduc entered the title fight on the heels of three straight podiums and sits just six points back in his No. 99 RAFA Racing, Lamborghini Greenwich, Huracán.

Lamborghini Super Trofeo holds two 45-minute practice sessions on Thursday with qualifying end of day on Friday. Races are set for 11:55 a.m. CT and local time Saturday and 9:25 a.m. CT and local time Sunday.

2023 Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Road America Race 1 Winners:

• Pro: Danny Formal/Kyle Marcelli, No. 1 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti
• ProAm: Nate Stacy/Nick Persing, No. 8 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti
• Am: Dominic Starkweather, No. 12 Valkyrie Velocity
• LB Cup: Graham Doyle, No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti

2023 Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Road America Race 2 Winners:

• Pro: Danny Formal/Kyle Marcelli, No. 1 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti 
• ProAm: Keawn Tandon/Luke Berkeley, No. 42 NTE Sport LLC
• Am: Anthony McIntosh/Glenn McGee, No. 69 Precision Performance Motorsports
• LB Cup: Mark Wilgus, No. 50 Forte Racing Powered by US RaceTronics

Entry List Notebook – Michelin Pilot Challenge Road America 120

Title Battles Close Leaving CTMP Heading to Wisconsin

July 28, 2025

By Tony DiZinno

IMSA Wire Service

Entry List (Click Here)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Both IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge class championship battles got closer in Canada, but the degree in which they did so varied.

RS1, is, in fact, human in Grand Sport (GS). After five podiums in five races to start 2025, Jan Heylen and Luca Mars left Canadian Tire Motorsport Park with a ninth-place finish in the No. 28 Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS. CTMP winners Jeff Westphal and Sean McAlister ascended to second in points aboard the No. 39 CarBahn with Peregrine racing BMW M4 GT4 EVO but sit 260 points back with four races remaining.

In Touring Car (TCR), a rare podium-less race for the Bryan Herta Autosport w/Curb-Agajanian team saw the No. 76 Hyundai Elantra N TCR pair of Denis Dupont and Preston Brown gain 30 points to tie Harry Gottsacker in the No. 98 Herta Hyundai atop the TCR charts.

Those title battles are worth watching entering the Road America 120, Round 7, as well as to see if others riding the wave of form will keep momentum at the longest venue of the season.