# 2018 Continental Tire Road Race Showcase

The 2018 Continental Tire Road Race Showcase sports car race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The Race was held at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin on August 5, 2018. The race was the ninth round of the 2018 IMSA SportsCar Championship.

## Background

International Motor Sports Association's (IMSA) president Scott Atherton confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the 2018 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2017. It was the fifth consecutive year the event was held as part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The 2018 Continental Tire Road Race Showcase was the ninth of twelve scheduled sports car races of 2018 by IMSA, and was the sixth round not held on the held as part of the North American Endurance Cup. The race was held at the fourteen-turn 4.048 mi (6.515 km) Road America on August 5, 2018.
After the Northeast Grand Prix 2 weeks earlier, Eric Curran and Felipe Nasr led the Prototype Drivers' Championship with 198 points, ahead of Filipe Albuquerque with 197 points, and Jordan Taylor and Renger van der Zande with 188 points. With 208 points, the GTLM Drivers' Championship was led by Joey Hand and Dirk Müller with a one-point advantage over Antonio García and Jan Magnussen. In GTD, the Drivers' Championship was led by Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow with 218 points ahead of Katherine Legge with 208 points. Cadillac, Ford, and Lamborghini were leading were leading their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while Whelen Engineering Racing, Ford Chip Ganassi Racing, and Paul Miller Racing each led their own Teams' Championships.
During this race weekend, IMSA holds their "State of the Series" annual press conference, in which they confirm and announce their future plans for the series they sanction.
After having Daytona Prototype International and Le Mans Prototype 2 competing in the Prototype class for 2 seasons, IMSA announced the two styles of prototypes would split into two separate classes.
IMSA also announced the WeatherTech Sprint Cup for GTD beginning in 2019. Additionally, any bronze/silver rated driver had to qualify and start races.
On July 26, 2018, IMSA released the latest technical bulletin outlining Balance of performance for the event. In P, the Cadillac DPi-V.R gained a 0.9 mm larger air restrictor while the Mazda RT24-P and Nissan Onroak DPi got an increase of turbo boost. Additionally, the Mazda also received a 10 kilogram weight reduction.

## Entries

A total of 33 cars took part in the event split across three classes. 13 cars were entered in P, 8 in GTLM, and 12 in GTD. In P, João Barbosa returned to the #5 Mustang Sampling Racing after missing the previous two rounds due to injury. Tequila Patrón ESM brought its #2 entry back after it skipped the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park round. Performance Tech Motorsports skipped the event. In GTD, Squadra Corse Garage Italia and Park Place Motorsports made their first appearances since the Watkins Glen round. Wright Motorsports withdrew its #16 entry after Michael Schein had a scheduling conflict. Markus Palttala joined Robby Foley in the Turner Motorsport entry. Alessandro Pier Guidi joined Cooper MacNeil in the #63 Scuderia Corsa entry. David Heinemeier Hansson returned to the #15 3GT Racing entry.

## Practice

There were three practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Sunday, two on Friday and one on Saturday. The first two one-hour sessions were on Friday morning and afternoon. The third on Saturday morning lasted an hour.

### Practice 1

The first practice session took place at 11:15 am CT on Friday and ended with Oliver Jarvis topping the timing sheets for Mazda Team Joest, with a lap time of 1:52.627.
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap |
| 1 | P | 77 | Mazda Team Joest | Oliver Jarvis | 1:52.627 | _ |
| 2 | P | 2 | Tequila Patrón ESM | Scott Sharp | 1:52.816 | +0.189 |
| 3 | P | 85 | JDC-Miller MotorSports | Stephen Simpson | 1:52.957 | +0.330 |
| Source: |||||||

### Practice 2

The second practice session took place at 4:10 pm CT on Friday and ended with Jordan Taylor topping the timing sheets for Wayne Taylor Racing, with a lap time of 1:52.402.
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap |
| 1 | P | 10 | Wayne Taylor Racing | Jordan Taylor | 1:52.402 | _ |
| 2 | P | 6 | Acura Team Penske | Juan Pablo Montoya | 1:52.755 | +0.353 |
| 3 | P | 85 | JDC-Miller MotorSports | Robert Alon | 1:52.773 | +0.371 |
| Source: |||||||

### Practice 3

The third and final practice session took place at 8:55 am CT on Saturday and ended with Simon Trummer topping the timing sheets for JDC-Miller MotorSports, with a lap time of 1:51.644.
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap |
| 1 | P | 85 | JDC-Miller MotorSports | Simon Trummer | 1:51.644 | _ |
| 2 | P | 2 | Tequila Patrón ESM | Ryan Dalziel | 1:52.399 | +0.755 |
| 3 | P | 77 | Mazda Team Joest | Oliver Jarvis | 1:52.470 | +0.826 |
| Source: |||||||

## Qualifying

Saturday afternoon's 65-minute qualifying session was divided into three groups. All three categories had 15-minute individual sessions, and regulations stipulated teams to nominate a single driver to qualify their cars. The competitors' fastest lap times determined the starting order with the grid arranged to put the Prototype and GTLM cars ahead of all GTD entries.

### Qualifying results

Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and by ‡.
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap | Grid |
| 1 | P | 85 | JDC-Miller MotorSports | Robert Alon | 1:51.933 | _ | 1‡ |
| 2 | P | 7 | Acura Team Penske | Ricky Taylor | 1:52.140 | +0.207 | 2 |
| 3 | P | 54 | CORE Autosport | Colin Braun | 1:52.340 | +0.407 | 13 |
| 4 | P | 10 | Wayne Taylor Racing | Renger van der Zande | 1:52.430 | +0.497 | 3 |
| 5 | P | 6 | Acura Team Penske | Juan Pablo Montoya | 1:52.780 | +0.847 | 4 |
| 6 | P | 77 | Mazda Team Joest | Oliver Jarvis | 1:52.813 | +0.880 | 5 |
| 7 | P | 5 | Mustang Sampling Racing | João Barbosa | 1:52.867 | +0.934 | 6 |
| 8 | P | 55 | Mazda Team Joest | Harry Tincknell | 1:53.161 | +1.228 | 7 |
| 9 | P | 31 | Whelen Engineering Racing | Eric Curran | 1:53.257 | +1.324 | 8 |
| 10 | P | 99 | JDC-Miller MotorSports | Misha Goikhberg | 1:53.435 | +1.502 | 9 |
| 11 | P | 52 | AFS/PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports | Gustavo Yacamán | 1:53.545 | +1.612 | 10 |
| 12 | P | 2 | Tequila Patrón ESM | Scott Sharp | 1:53.626 | +1.693 | 11 |
| 13 | P | 22 | Tequila Patrón ESM | Johannes van Overbeek | 1:54.092 | +2.159 | 12 |
| 14 | GTLM | 66 | Ford Chip Ganassi Racing | Dirk Müller | 2:02.479 | +10.546 | 14‡ |
| 15 | GTLM | 67 | Ford Chip Ganassi Racing | Ryan Briscoe | 2:02.650 | +10.717 | 15 |
| 16 | GTLM | 3 | Corvette Racing | Antonio García | 2:02.746 | +10.813 | 16 |
| 17 | GTLM | 912 | Porsche GT Team | Laurens Vanthoor | 2:03.114 | +11.181 | 17 |
| 18 | GTLM | 4 | Corvette Racing | Oliver Gavin | 2:03.170 | +11.237 | 18 |
| 19 | GTLM | 24 | BMW Team RLL | Jesse Krohn | 2:03.331 | +11.398 | 19 |
| 20 | GTLM | 25 | BMW Team RLL | Alexander Sims | 2:03.645 | +11.712 | 20 |
| 21 | GTLM | 911 | Porsche GT Team | Nick Tandy | 2:03.673 | +11.740 | 21 |
| 22 | GTD | 58 | Wright Motorsports | Patrick Long | 2:06.593 | +14.660 | 22‡ |
| 23 | GTD | 14 | 3GT Racing | Dominik Baumann | 2:06.850 | +14.917 | 23 |
| 24 | GTD | 48 | Paul Miller Racing | Madison Snow | 2:07.226 | +15.293 | 24 |
| 25 | GTD | 63 | Scuderia Corsa | Cooper MacNeil | 2:07.317 | +15.384 | 25 |
| 26 | GTD | 33 | Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsport | Ben Keating | 2:07.561 | +15.628 | 26 |
| 27 | GTD | 73 | Park Place Motorsports | Patrick Lindsey | 2:07.944 | +16.011 | 27 |
| 28 | GTD | 86 | Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin | Katherine Legge | 2:08.220 | +16.347 | 28 |
| 29 | GTD | 96 | Turner Motorsport | Robby Foley | 2:08.402 | +16.469 | 29 |
| 30 | GTD | 44 | Magnus Racing | John Potter | 2:08.947 | +17.014 | 30 |
| 31 | GTD | 93 | Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin | Justin Marks | 2:12.272 | +20.339 | 31 |
| 32 | GTD | 15 | 3GT Racing | did not participate | did not participate | did not participate | 32 |
| 33 | GTD | 51 | Squadra Corse Garage Italia | did not participate | did not participate | did not participate | 33 |
| Sources: ||||||||
* The No. 54 CORE Autosport entry was moved to the back of the P field as per Article 43.5 of the Sporting regulations (Change of starting driver).
* The No. 15 3GT Racing entry was moved to the back of the GTD field as per Article 43.5 of the Sporting regulations (Change of starting driver).
* The No. 51 Squadra Corse Garage Italia entry was moved to the back of the GTD field as per Article 43.6 of the Sporting regulations (Change of starting tires).

## Warm Up

A 20-minute morning warm-up session was held on the morning of August 5, and several entries did not get a time in due to Jack Hawksworth crashing at turn 8 after brake failure which brought a red flag that ended the session. The #22 Nissan Onroak DPi of Pipo Derani lapped fastest at 1:53.080 ahead of Ricky Taylor in the #7 Acura. The fastest GTLM lap was a 2:04.597, set by Antonio García in the #3 Corvette, and Jörg Bergmeister's #73 Porsche paced GTD. 3GT Racing withdrew its #15 entry from the event after sustaining too much damage in warm up.

## Race
### Post-race

As a result of winning the race, Bennett and Braun moved from fourth to third in the Prototype Drivers' Championship. Goikhberg and Simpson advanced from seventh to fifth. As a result of winning the race, Briscoe and Westbrook took the lead of the GTLM Drivers' Championship. Hand and Müller dropped from first to third while Gavin and Milner jumped from fifth to fourth. The result kept Sellers and Snow atop the GTD Drivers' Championship with 250 points, 18 points ahead of Legge. Cadillac, Ford, and Lamborghini continued to top their respective Manufacturers' Championships while Whelen Engineering Racing, and Paul Miller Racing kept their respective advantages in the Teams' Championships. The #67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing entry took the lead of the GTLM Teams' Championship with three rounds remaining.

### Results

Class winners are denoted in bold and ‡.
Final race classification :
| Pos | Class | No. | Team | Drivers | Chassis | Tire | Laps | Time/Retired |
| Pos | Class | No. | Team | Drivers | Engine | Tire | Laps | Time/Retired |
| 1 | P | 54 | CORE Autosport | Jon Bennett Colin Braun | Oreca 07 | C | 69 | 2:40.44.562‡ |
| 1 | P | 54 | CORE Autosport | Jon Bennett Colin Braun | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 | C | 69 | 2:40.44.562‡ |
| 2 | P | 99 | JDC-Miller MotorSports | Misha Goikhberg Stephen Simpson | Oreca 07 | C | 69 | +2.389 |
| 2 | P | 99 | JDC-Miller MotorSports | Misha Goikhberg Stephen Simpson | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 | C | 69 | +2.389 |
| 3 | P | 31 | Whelen Engineering Racing | Felipe Nasr Eric Curran | Cadillac DPi-V.R | C | 69 | +2.397 |
| 3 | P | 31 | Whelen Engineering Racing | Felipe Nasr Eric Curran | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 | C | 69 | +2.397 |
| 4 | P | 10 | Wayne Taylor Racing | Jordan Taylor Renger van der Zande | Cadillac DPi-V.R | C | 69 | +10.573 |
| 4 | P | 10 | Wayne Taylor Racing | Jordan Taylor Renger van der Zande | Cadillac 5.5 L V8 | C | 69 | +10.573 |
| 5 | P | 6 | Acura Team Penske | Dane Cameron Juan Pablo Montoya | Acura ARX-05 | C | 69 | +17.056 |
| 5 | P | 6 | Acura Team Penske | Dane Cameron Juan Pablo Montoya | Acura AR35TT 3.5 L Turbo V6 | C | 69 | +17.056 |
| 6 | P | 22 | Tequila Patrón ESM | Pipo Derani Johannes van Overbeek | Nissan Onroak DPi | C | 69 | +21.512 |
| 6 | P | 22 | Tequila Patrón ESM | Pipo Derani Johannes van Overbeek | Nissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Turbo V6 | C | 69 | +21.512 |
| 7 | P | 5 | Mustang Sampling Racing | Filipe Albuquerque João Barbosa | Cadillac DPi-V.R | C | 69 | +23.862 |
| 7 | P | 5 | Mustang Sampling Racing | Filipe Albuquerque João Barbosa | Cadillac 5.5 L V8 | C | 69 | +23.862 |
| 8 | P | 55 | Mazda Team Joest | Jonathan Bomarito Harry Tincknell | Mazda RT24-P | C | 69 | +32.276 |
| 8 | P | 55 | Mazda Team Joest | Jonathan Bomarito Harry Tincknell | Mazda MZ-2.0T 2.0L Turbo I4 | C | 69 | +32.276 |
| 9 | P | 2 | Tequila Patrón ESM | Ryan Dalziel Scott Sharp | Nissan Onroak DPi | C | 69 | +33.229 |
| 9 | P | 2 | Tequila Patrón ESM | Ryan Dalziel Scott Sharp | Nissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Turbo V6 | C | 69 | +33.229 |
| 10 | P | 7 | Acura Team Penske | Hélio Castroneves Ricky Taylor | Acura ARX-05 | C | 69 | +33.983 |
| 10 | P | 7 | Acura Team Penske | Hélio Castroneves Ricky Taylor | Acura AR35TT 3.5 L Turbo V6 | C | 69 | +33.983 |
| 11 | P | 77 | Mazda Team Joest | Oliver Jarvis Tristan Nunez | Mazda RT24-P | C | 69 | +34.619 |
| 11 | P | 77 | Mazda Team Joest | Oliver Jarvis Tristan Nunez | Mazda MZ-2.0T 2.0L Turbo I4 | C | 69 | +34.619 |
| 12 | P | 85 | JDC-Miller MotorSports | Robert Alon Simon Trummer | Oreca 07 | C | 68 | +1 lap |
| 12 | P | 85 | JDC-Miller MotorSports | Robert Alon Simon Trummer | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 | C | 68 | +1 lap |
| 13 | GTLM | 67 | Ford Chip Ganassi Racing | Ryan Briscoe Richard Westbrook | Ford GT | M | 66 | +3 Laps‡ |
| 13 | GTLM | 67 | Ford Chip Ganassi Racing | Ryan Briscoe Richard Westbrook | Ford EcoBoost 3.5 L Turbo V6 | M | 66 | +3 Laps‡ |
| 14 | GTLM | 4 | Corvette Racing | Oliver Gavin Tommy Milner | Chevrolet Corvette C7.R | M | 66 | +3 Laps |
| 14 | GTLM | 4 | Corvette Racing | Oliver Gavin Tommy Milner | Chevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V8 | M | 66 | +3 Laps |
| 15 | GTLM | 3 | Corvette Racing | Antonio García Jan Magnussen | Chevrolet Corvette C7.R | M | 66 | +3 Laps |
| 15 | GTLM | 3 | Corvette Racing | Antonio García Jan Magnussen | Chevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V8 | M | 66 | +3 Laps |
| 16 | GTLM | 912 | Porsche GT Team | Earl Bamber Laurens Vanthoor | Porsche 911 RSR | M | 66 | +3 Laps |
| 16 | GTLM | 912 | Porsche GT Team | Earl Bamber Laurens Vanthoor | Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | M | 66 | +3 Laps |
| 17 | GTLM | 911 | Porsche GT Team | Patrick Pilet Nick Tandy | Porsche 911 RSR | M | 66 | +3 Laps |
| 17 | GTLM | 911 | Porsche GT Team | Patrick Pilet Nick Tandy | Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | M | 66 | +3 Laps |
| 18 | GTD | 58 | Wright Motorsports | Patrick Long Christina Nielsen | Porsche 911 GT3 R | C | 66 | +3 Laps‡ |
| 18 | GTD | 58 | Wright Motorsports | Patrick Long Christina Nielsen | Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | C | 66 | +3 Laps‡ |
| 19 | GTD | 48 | Paul Miller Racing | Bryan Sellers Madison Snow | Lamborghini Huracán GT3 | C | 66 | +3 Laps |
| 19 | GTD | 48 | Paul Miller Racing | Bryan Sellers Madison Snow | Lamborghini 5.2 L V10 | C | 66 | +3 Laps |
| 20 | GTD | 63 | Scuderia Corsa | Alessandro Pier Guidi Cooper MacNeil | Ferrari 488 GT3 | C | 66 | +3 Laps |
| 20 | GTD | 63 | Scuderia Corsa | Alessandro Pier Guidi Cooper MacNeil | Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 | C | 66 | +3 Laps |
| 21 | GTD | 96 | Turner Motorsport | Robby Foley Markus Palttala | BMW M6 GT3 | C | 66 | +3 Laps |
| 21 | GTD | 96 | Turner Motorsport | Robby Foley Markus Palttala | BMW 4.4 L Turbo V8 | C | 66 | +3 Laps |
| 22 | GTD | 33 | Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsport | Jeroen Bleekemolen Ben Keating | Mercedes AMG GT3 | C | 66 | +3 Laps |
| 22 | GTD | 33 | Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsport | Jeroen Bleekemolen Ben Keating | Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 | C | 66 | +3 Laps |
| 23 | GTD | 14 | 3GT Racing | Dominik Baumann Kyle Marcelli | Lexus RC F GT3 | C | 66 | +3 Laps |
| 23 | GTD | 14 | 3GT Racing | Dominik Baumann Kyle Marcelli | Lexus 5.0L V8 | C | 66 | +3 Laps |
| 24 | GTD | 86 | Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin | Katherine Legge Álvaro Parente | Acura NSX GT3 | C | 66 | +3 Laps |
| 24 | GTD | 86 | Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin | Katherine Legge Álvaro Parente | Acura 3.5 L Turbo V6 | C | 66 | +3 Laps |
| 25 | GTD | 93 | Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin | Justin Marks Lawson Aschenbach | Acura NSX GT3 | C | 66 | +3 Laps |
| 25 | GTD | 93 | Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin | Justin Marks Lawson Aschenbach | Acura 3.5 L Turbo V6 | C | 66 | +3 Laps |
| 26 DNF | GTD | 44 | Magnus Racing | John Potter Andy Lally | Audi R8 LMS GT3 | C | 65 | Crash |
| 26 DNF | GTD | 44 | Magnus Racing | John Potter Andy Lally | Audi 5.2L V10 | C | 65 | Crash |
| 27 DNF | GTLM | 25 | BMW Team RLL | Connor De Phillippi Alexander Sims | BMW M8 GTE | M | 64 | Out of Fuel |
| 27 DNF | GTLM | 25 | BMW Team RLL | Connor De Phillippi Alexander Sims | BMW S63 4.0 L Turbo V8 | M | 64 | Out of Fuel |
| 28 | GTLM | 66 | Ford Chip Ganassi Racing | Joey Hand Dirk Müller | Ford GT | M | 63 | +6 Laps |
| 28 | GTLM | 66 | Ford Chip Ganassi Racing | Joey Hand Dirk Müller | Ford EcoBoost 3.5 L Turbo V6 | M | 63 | +6 Laps |
| 29 | GTD | 51 | Squadra Corse Garage Italia | Francesco Piovanetti Oswaldo Negri Jr. | Ferrari 488 GT3 | C | 63 | +6 Laps |
| 29 | GTD | 51 | Squadra Corse Garage Italia | Francesco Piovanetti Oswaldo Negri Jr. | Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 | C | 63 | +6 Laps |
| 30 DNF | GTLM | 24 | BMW Team RLL | John Edwards Jesse Krohn | BMW M8 GTE | M | 52 | Mechanical |
| 30 DNF | GTLM | 24 | BMW Team RLL | John Edwards Jesse Krohn | BMW S63 4.0 L Turbo V8 | M | 52 | Mechanical |
| 31 DNF | P | 52 | AFS/PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports | Sebastián Saavedra Gustavo Yacamán | Ligier JS P217 | C | 47 | Crash |
| 31 DNF | P | 52 | AFS/PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports | Sebastián Saavedra Gustavo Yacamán | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 | C | 47 | Crash |
| 32 DNF | GTD | 73 | Park Place Motorsports | Jörg Bergmeister Patrick Lindsey | Porsche 911 GT3 R | C | 39 | Crash |
| 32 DNF | GTD | 73 | Park Place Motorsports | Jörg Bergmeister Patrick Lindsey | Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | C | 39 | Crash |
| 33 DNS | GTD | 15 | 3GT Racing | Jack Hawksworth David Heinemeier Hansson | Lexus RC F GT3 | C | -- | Did Not Start |
| 33 DNS | GTD | 15 | 3GT Racing | Jack Hawksworth David Heinemeier Hansson | Lexus 5.0L V8 | C | -- | Did Not Start |
| Sources: |||||||||
Tyre manufacturers :
| Key ||
| Symbol | Tyre manufacturer |
| C | Continental |
| M | Michelin |

## Standings after the race

* Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.
* Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.
* Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.