Ford GT earns third straight GTLM win with Briscoe, Westbrook
Even with BoP changes ahead of this weekend's race at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, Ford could not be denied.
Photo by: Action Sports Photography
Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook took their third straight IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar victory. The Corvettes took the final two spots on the podium with the No. 4 second and the No. 3 third.
The No. 25 BMW and the No. 66 Ford GT rounded out the top five.
Chip Ganassi Racing took the lead late during the final cycle of pit stops, getting an 11 second cushion. Tommy Milner tried running down Briscoe, but could get no closer than six seconds.
Very early in the race, the No. 100 BMW had issues that caused the team to take it behind the wheel. It eventually returned to the race several laps down and in the closing stages, held up Joey Hand to the point where he sent the car around. Race control investigated the incident, but no action was taken.
In GTD, Alex Job Racing had the advantage early, but their race eventually unravelled with a loose wheel that caused a full-course caution.
The lead changed hands multiple times during the final set of pit stops with the No. 33 Riley Motorsports Viper emerging in the catbird seat. They were scored in second, but would inherit the lead once the No. 27 Dream Racing Lamborghini pitted.
However, things got complicated with just over 30 minutes to go in the race when Jeroen Bleekemolen ran down the Lamborghini, piloted by Fabio Babini. Bleekemolen couldn't waste any time with the No. 96 Turner BMW of Jens Klingmann breathing down his neck.
Once the BMW got past, Bleekemolen hit the back of Babini in apparent frustration. With the water pressure suddenly dropping after the contact, he was forced to pit and give up a podium finish.
Turner went on to take a much-need win, several seconds clear of the Audi of Stevenson Motorsports (No. 6) and Lamborghini of Paul Miller Racing (No. 48).
With just over a minute left in the race, a full-course yellow was displayed after the No. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche of Andy Lally crashed, ending the race behind the safety car.
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