# 2018 Sports Car Challenge of Mid-Ohio

The 2018 Acura Sports Car Challenge of Mid-Ohio was a sports car race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The race was held at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio on May 6, 2018. The race was the fourth 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. The race marked IMSA's return to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the first time since 2013 as the track replaced Circuit of the Americas after the 2017 season. The 2018 Acura Sports Car Challenge of Mid-Ohio was the fourth of twelve scheduled sports car races of 2018 by IMSA, and it was the second round not held as part of the North American Endurance Cup. The race was held at the thirteen-turn 2.258 mi (3.634 km) Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on May 6, 2018. On April 11, 2018, Acura was announced as a title sponsor for the event. On April 30, 2018, IMSA announced NBC Sports as its broadcasting partner from 2019 onwards. Michael Shank Racing was renamed to Meyer Shank Racing following Jim Meyer becoming a co-owner of the team.
After the BUBBA Burger Sports Car Grand Prix three weeks earlier, Filipe Albuquerque and João Barbosa led the Prototype Drivers' Championship with 91 points, ahead of Eric Curran and Felipe Nasr with 86 points, and Jon Bennett and Colin Braun with 79 points. With 95 points, the GTLM Drivers' Championship was led by Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook with a seven-point advantage over Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner. In GTD, the Drivers' Championship was led by Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow with 65 points, ahead Jeroen Bleekemolen, Ben Keating, and Luca Stolz with 58 points. Cadillac, Ford, and Lamborghini were leading their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while Mustang Sampling Racing, Ford Chip Ganassi Racing and Paul Miller Racing each led their own Teams' Championships.
On April 27, 2018, IMSA released the latest technical bulletin outlining Balance of Performance for the prototype class. The Acura ARX-05, Mazda RT24-P, and Nissan Onroak DPi received less turbo boost. The Cadillac DPi-V.R received a 0.6 mm smaller air restrictor while the LMP2 cars didn't get any changes. In GTD, The BMW M6 GT3 received a 20 kilogram weight break and a fuel capacity reduction of 2 liters.

## Entries

A total of 34 cars took part in the event split across 3 classes. 14 cars were entered in P, 8 in GTLM, and 12 in GTD. In P, Spencer Pigot subbed for Harry Tincknell in the Mazda Team Joest #55 entry due to a clash with the FIA World Endurance Championship round at Spa-Francorchamps. In GTD, Park Place Motorsports, and Montaplast by Land-Motorsport, CJ Wilson Racing, and Sqaudra Corse Garage Italia were absent. HART skipped due to a lack of funding. Álvaro Parente joined Katherine Legge in the Meyer Shank Racing #86 entry. Wright Motorsports added a second entry featuring Wolf Henzler and Michael Schein. Bill Auberlen joined Dillon Machavern in the Turner Motorsport entry. Maro Engel replaced Thomas Jäger in the SunEnergy1 Racing entry.

## Practice

There were three practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Saturday, 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 9:45 am ET on Friday and ended with Ricky Taylor topping the charts for Acura Team Penske, with a lap time of 1:13.601.
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap |
| 1 | P | 7 | Acura Team Penske | Ricky Taylor | 1:13.601 | _ |
| 2 | P | 6 | Acura Team Penske | Juan Pablo Montoya | 1:14.089 | +0.488 |
| 3 | P | 5 | Mustang Sampling Racing | Filipe Albuquerque | 1:14.608 | +1.007 |
| Source: |||||||

### Practice 2

The second practice session took place at 3:00 pm ET on Friday and ended with Juan Pablo Montoya topping the charts for Acura Team Penske, with a lap time of 1:36.867.
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap |
| 1 | P | 6 | Acura Team Penske | Juan Pablo Montoya | 1:36.867 | _ |
| 2 | P | 7 | Acura Team Penske | Hélio Castroneves | 1:36.997 | +0.130 |
| 3 | P | 10 | Wayne Taylor Racing | Jordan Taylor | 1:37.215 | +0.348 |
| Source: |||||||

### Practice 3

The third and final practice session took place at 8:35 am ET on Saturday and ended with Dane Cameron topping the charts for Acura Team Penske, with a lap time of 1:12.675.
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap |
| 1 | P | 6 | Acura Team Penske | Dane Cameron | 1:12.675 | _ |
| 2 | P | 7 | Acura Team Penske | Hélio Castroneves | 1:12.763 | +0.457 |
| 3 | P | 55 | Mazda Team Joest | Jonathan Bomarito | 1:13.767 | +0.566 |
| 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 | 7 | Acura Team Penske | Hélio Castroneves | 1:11.837 | _ | 1‡ |
| 2 | P | 6 | Acura Team Penske | Dane Cameron | 1:11.984 | +0.147 | 2 |
| 3 | P | 77 | Mazda Team Joest | Oliver Jarvis | 1:12.339 | +0.502 | 3 |
| 4 | P | 55 | Mazda Team Joest | Jonathan Bomarito | 1:12.596 | +0.759 | 4 |
| 5 | P | 10 | Wayne Taylor Racing | Renger van der Zande | 1:12.600 | +0.763 | 5 |
| 6 | P | 5 | Mustang Sampling Racing | João Barbosa | 1:12.943 | +1.106 | 6 |
| 7 | P | 52 | AFS/PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports | Gustavo Yacamán | 1:12.982 | +1.145 | 15 |
| 8 | P | 99 | JDC-Miller MotorSports | Misha Goikhberg | 1:13.035 | +1.198 | 7 |
| 9 | P | 85 | JDC-Miller MotorSports | Robert Alon | 1:13.156 | +1.319 | 16 |
| 10 | P | 38 | Performance Tech Motorsports | James French | 1:13.365 | +1.528 | 8 |
| 11 | P | 22 | Tequila Patrón ESM | Johannes van Overbeek | 1:13.532 | +1.695 | 9 |
| 12 | P | 31 | Whelen Engineering Racing | Eric Curran | 1:13.583 | +1.746 | 10 |
| 13 | P | 2 | Tequila Patrón ESM | Scott Sharp | 1:14.347 | +2.510 | 11 |
| 14 | P | 54 | CORE Autosport | Jon Bennett | 1:14.351 | +2.514 | 12 |
| 15 | GTLM | 24 | BMW Team RLL | John Edwards | 1:17.853 | +6.016 | 13‡ |
| 16 | GTLM | 911 | Porsche GT Team | Nick Tandy | 1:17.919 | +6.082 | 14 |
| 17 | GTLM | 25 | BMW Team RLL | Alexander Sims | 1:17.932 | +6.095 | 17 |
| 18 | GTLM | 912 | Porsche GT Team | Earl Bamber | 1:18.021 | +6.184 | 18 |
| 19 | GTLM | 3 | Corvette Racing | Antonio García | 1:18.114 | +6.277 | 19 |
| 20 | GTLM | 66 | Ford Chip Ganassi Racing | Dirk Müller | 1:18.207 | +6.370 | 20 |
| 21 | GTLM | 67 | Ford Chip Ganassi Racing | Ryan Briscoe | 1:18.333 | +6.496 | 21 |
| 22 | GTLM | 4 | Corvette Racing | Tommy Milner | 1:18.452 | +6.615 | 22 |
| 23 | GTD | 15 | 3GT Racing | Jack Hawksworth | 1:19.317 | +7.480 | 23‡ |
| 24 | GTD | 14 | 3GT Racing | Kyle Marcelli | 1:19.370 | +7.533 | 24 |
| 25 | GTD | 48 | Paul Miller Racing | Madison Snow | 1:19.882 | +8.045 | 25 |
| 26 | GTD | 86 | Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin | Katherine Legge | 1:19.933 | +8.096 | 26 |
| 27 | GTD | 96 | Turner Motorsport | Dillon Machavern | 1:20.339 | +8.502 | 27 |
| 28 | GTD | 93 | Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin | Justin Marks | 1:20.477 | +8.640 | 28 |
| 29 | GTD | 58 | Wright Motorsports | Christina Nielsen | 1:20.748 | +8.911 | 29 |
| 30 | GTD | 63 | Scuderia Corsa | Cooper MacNeil | 1:20.846 | +9.009 | 30 |
| 31 | GTD | 16 | Wright Motorsports | Michael Schein | 1:21.043 | +9.206 | 31 |
| 32 | GTD | 33 | Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsport | Ben Keating | 1:21.244 | +9.407 | 32 |
| 33 | GTD | 44 | Magnus Racing | John Potter | 1:21.379 | +9.542 | 33 |
| 34 | GTD | 75 | SunEnergy1 Racing | Kenny Habul | 1:21.733 | +9.896 | 34 |
| Sources: ||||||||
* The No. 33 Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsport entry was moved to the back of the GTD field after the team elected to change tires after qualifying.
* The No. 44 Magnus Racing entry was moved to the back of the GTD field after the team elected to change tires after qualifying.
* The No. 75 SunEnergy1 Racing entry was moved to the back of the GTD field after the team elected to change tires after qualifying.

## Race
### Post-race

The result kept Albuquerque and Barbosa atop the Prototype Drivers' Championship with 119 points, 10 points ahead of second-place finishers Nasr and Curran. Hélio Castroneves and Ricky Taylor advanced from tenth to fourth while Bennett and Braun dropped from third to fifth. The result kept Briscoe and Westbrook atop the GTLM Drivers' Championship with 121 points. Bamber and Vanthoor advanced from sixth to second. The result kept Sellers and Snow atop the GTD Drivers' Championship with 95 points. Legge and Parente advanced from third to second. Cadillac and Lamborghini continued to top their respective Manufacturers' Championships. Porsche took the lead of the GTLM Manufactures' Championship while Mustang Sampling Racing, Ford Chip Ganassi Racing, and Paul Miller Racing kept their respective advantages in the Teams' Championships with eight 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 | 7 | Acura Team Penske | Hélio Castroneves Ricky Taylor | Acura ARX-05 | C | 125 | 2:40.59.579‡ |
| 1 | P | 7 | Acura Team Penske | Hélio Castroneves Ricky Taylor | Acura AR35TT 3.5 L Turbo V6 | C | 125 | 2:40.59.579‡ |
| 2 | P | 6 | Acura Team Penske | Dane Cameron Juan Pablo Montoya | Acura ARX-05 | C | 125 | +8.464 |
| 2 | P | 6 | Acura Team Penske | Dane Cameron Juan Pablo Montoya | Acura AR35TT 3.5 L Turbo V6 | C | 125 | +8.464 |
| 3 | P | 77 | Mazda Team Joest | Oliver Jarvis Tristan Nunez | Mazda RT24-P | C | 125 | +26.774 |
| 3 | P | 77 | Mazda Team Joest | Oliver Jarvis Tristan Nunez | Mazda MZ-2.0T 2.0L Turbo I4 | C | 125 | +26.774 |
| 4 | P | 5 | Mustang Sampling Racing | Filipe Albuquerque João Barbosa | Cadillac DPi-V.R | C | 125 | +56.826 |
| 4 | P | 5 | Mustang Sampling Racing | Filipe Albuquerque João Barbosa | Cadillac 5.5 L V8 | C | 125 | +56.826 |
| 5 | P | 10 | Wayne Taylor Racing | Jordan Taylor Renger van der Zande | Cadillac DPi-V.R | C | 125 | +57.825 |
| 5 | P | 10 | Wayne Taylor Racing | Jordan Taylor Renger van der Zande | Cadillac 5.5 L V8 | C | 125 | +57.825 |
| 6 | P | 52 | AFS/PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports | Sebastián Saavedra Gustavo Yacamán | Ligier JS P217 | C | 125 | +1:13.876 |
| 6 | P | 52 | AFS/PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports | Sebastián Saavedra Gustavo Yacamán | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 | C | 125 | +1:13.876 |
| 7 | P | 99 | JDC-Miller MotorSports | Misha Goikhberg Stephen Simpson | Oreca 07 | C | 125 | +1:15.636 |
| 7 | P | 99 | JDC-Miller MotorSports | Misha Goikhberg Stephen Simpson | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 | C | 125 | +1:15.636 |
| 8 | P | 31 | Whelen Engineering Racing | Felipe Nasr Eric Curran | Cadillac DPi-V.R | C | 124 | +1 lap |
| 8 | P | 31 | Whelen Engineering Racing | Felipe Nasr Eric Curran | Cadillac 5.5 L V8 | C | 124 | +1 lap |
| 9 | P | 22 | Tequila Patrón ESM | Pipo Derani Johannes van Overbeek | Nissan Onroak DPi | C | 124 | +1 lap |
| 9 | P | 22 | Tequila Patrón ESM | Pipo Derani Johannes van Overbeek | Nissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Turbo V6 | C | 124 | +1 lap |
| 10 | P | 2 | Tequila Patrón ESM | Ryan Dalziel Scott Sharp | Nissan Onroak DPi | C | 123 | +2 Laps |
| 10 | P | 2 | Tequila Patrón ESM | Ryan Dalziel Scott Sharp | Nissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Turbo V6 | C | 123 | +2 Laps |
| 11 | P | 38 | Performance Tech Motorsports | James French Kyle Masson | Oreca 07 | C | 123 | +2 Laps |
| 11 | P | 38 | Performance Tech Motorsports | James French Kyle Masson | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 | C | 123 | +2 Laps |
| 12 | P | 85 | JDC-Miller MotorSports | Robert Alon Simon Trummer | Oreca 07 | C | 123 | +2 Laps |
| 12 | P | 85 | JDC-Miller MotorSports | Robert Alon Simon Trummer | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 | C | 123 | +2 Laps |
| 13 | P | 54 | CORE Autosport | Jon Bennett Colin Braun | Oreca 07 | C | 123 | +2 Laps |
| 13 | P | 54 | CORE Autosport | Jon Bennett Colin Braun | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 | C | 123 | +2 Laps |
| 14 | GTLM | 912 | Porsche GT Team | Earl Bamber Laurens Vanthoor | Porsche 911 RSR | M | 118 | +7 Laps‡ |
| 14 | GTLM | 912 | Porsche GT Team | Earl Bamber Laurens Vanthoor | Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | M | 118 | +7 Laps‡ |
| 15 | GTLM | 25 | BMW Team RLL | Connor De Phillippi Alexander Sims | BMW M8 GTE | M | 118 | +7 Laps |
| 15 | GTLM | 25 | BMW Team RLL | Connor De Phillippi Alexander Sims | BMW S63 4.0 L Turbo V8 | M | 118 | +7 Laps |
| 16 | GTLM | 3 | Corvette Racing | Antonio García Jan Magnussen | Chevrolet Corvette C7.R | M | 118 | +7 Laps |
| 16 | GTLM | 3 | Corvette Racing | Antonio García Jan Magnussen | Chevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V8 | M | 118 | +7 Laps |
| 17 | GTLM | 66 | Ford Chip Ganassi Racing | Joey Hand Dirk Müller | Ford GT | M | 118 | +7 Laps |
| 17 | GTLM | 66 | Ford Chip Ganassi Racing | Joey Hand Dirk Müller | Ford EcoBoost 3.5 L Turbo V6 | M | 118 | +7 Laps |
| 18 | GTLM | 67 | Ford Chip Ganassi Racing | Ryan Briscoe Richard Westbrook | Ford GT | M | 118 | +7 Laps |
| 18 | GTLM | 67 | Ford Chip Ganassi Racing | Ryan Briscoe Richard Westbrook | Ford EcoBoost 3.5 L Turbo V6 | M | 118 | +7 Laps |
| 19 | GTLM | 911 | Porsche GT Team | Patrick Pilet Nick Tandy | Porsche 911 RSR | M | 118 | +7 Laps |
| 19 | GTLM | 911 | Porsche GT Team | Patrick Pilet Nick Tandy | Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | M | 118 | +7 Laps |
| 20 | GTLM | 24 | BMW Team RLL | John Edwards Jesse Krohn | BMW M8 GTE | M | 118 | +7 Laps |
| 20 | GTLM | 24 | BMW Team RLL | John Edwards Jesse Krohn | BMW S63 4.0 L Turbo V8 | M | 118 | +7 Laps |
| 21 | GTLM | 4 | Corvette Racing | Oliver Gavin Tommy Milner | Chevrolet Corvette C7.R | M | 118 | +7 Laps |
| 21 | GTLM | 4 | Corvette Racing | Oliver Gavin Tommy Milner | Chevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V8 | M | 118 | +7 Laps |
| 22 | GTD | 14 | 3GT Racing | Dominik Baumann Kyle Marcelli | Lexus RC F GT3 | C | 116 | +9 Laps‡ |
| 22 | GTD | 14 | 3GT Racing | Dominik Baumann Kyle Marcelli | Lexus 5.0L V8 | C | 116 | +9 Laps‡ |
| 23 | GTD | 86 | Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin | Katherine Legge Álvaro Parente | Acura NSX GT3 | C | 116 | +9 Laps |
| 23 | GTD | 86 | Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin | Katherine Legge Álvaro Parente | Acura 3.5 L Turbo V6 | C | 116 | +9 Laps |
| 24 | GTD | 48 | Paul Miller Racing | Bryan Sellers Madison Snow | Lamborghini Huracán GT3 | C | 115 | +10 Laps |
| 24 | GTD | 48 | Paul Miller Racing | Bryan Sellers Madison Snow | Lamborghini 5.2 L V10 | C | 115 | +10 Laps |
| 25 | GTD | 15 | 3GT Racing | Jack Hawksworth David Heinemeier Hansson | Lexus RC F GT3 | C | 115 | +10 Laps |
| 25 | GTD | 15 | 3GT Racing | Jack Hawksworth David Heinemeier Hansson | Lexus 5.0L V8 | C | 115 | +10 Laps |
| 26 | GTD | 93 | Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin | Justin Marks Lawson Aschenbach | Acura NSX GT3 | C | 115 | +10 Laps |
| 26 | GTD | 93 | Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin | Justin Marks Lawson Aschenbach | Acura 3.5 L Turbo V6 | C | 115 | +10 Laps |
| 27 | GTD | 96 | Turner Motorsport | Dillon Machavern Bill Auberlen | BMW M6 GT3 | C | 115 | +10 Laps |
| 27 | GTD | 96 | Turner Motorsport | Dillon Machavern Bill Auberlen | BMW 4.4 L Turbo V8 | C | 115 | +10 Laps |
| 28 | GTD | 58 | Wright Motorsports | Patrick Long Christina Nielsen | Porsche 911 GT3 R | C | 115 | +10 Laps |
| 28 | GTD | 58 | Wright Motorsports | Patrick Long Christina Nielsen | Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | C | 115 | +10 Laps |
| 29 | GTD | 63 | Scuderia Corsa | Alessandro Balzan Cooper MacNeil | Ferrari 488 GT3 | C | 115 | +10 Laps |
| 29 | GTD | 63 | Scuderia Corsa | Alessandro Balzan Cooper MacNeil | Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 | C | 115 | +10 Laps |
| 30 | GTD | 33 | Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsport | Jeroen Bleekemolen Ben Keating | Mercedes AMG GT3 | C | 115 | +10 Laps |
| 30 | GTD | 33 | Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsport | Jeroen Bleekemolen Ben Keating | Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 | C | 115 | +10 Laps |
| 31 | GTD | 44 | Magnus Racing | John Potter Andy Lally | Audi R8 LMS GT3 | C | 115 | +10 Laps |
| 31 | GTD | 44 | Magnus Racing | John Potter Andy Lally | Audi 5.2L V10 | C | 115 | +10 Laps |
| 32 | GTD | 16 | Wright Motorsports | Michael Schein Wolf Henzler | Porsche 911 GT3 R | C | 113 | +12 Laps |
| 32 | GTD | 16 | Wright Motorsports | Michael Schein Wolf Henzler | Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | C | 113 | +12 Laps |
| 33 | GTD | 75 | SunEnergy1 Racing | Kenny Habul Maro Engel | Mercedes AMG GT3 | C | 99 | +26 Laps |
| 33 | GTD | 75 | SunEnergy1 Racing | Kenny Habul Maro Engel | Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 | C | 99 | +26 Laps |
| 34 DNF | P | 55 | Mazda Team Joest | Jonathan Bomarito Spencer Pigot | Mazda RT24-P | C | 73 | Rear End |
| 34 DNF | P | 55 | Mazda Team Joest | Jonathan Bomarito Spencer Pigot | Mazda MZ-2.0T 2.0L Turbo I4 | C | 73 | Rear End |
| 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.