2015 Lone Star Le Mans

Map of the Circuit of the Americas - Grand Prix Circuit

The 2015 Lone Star Le Mans was a sports car race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The race was held at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on September 19, 2015. The race was the eleventh round of the 2015 United SportsCar Championship.

Background

[edit]
Circuit of the Americas (pictured in 2015), where the race was held.

Preview

[edit]

International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) president Scott Atherton confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the 2015 IMSA Tudor United SportsCar Championship (IMSA TUSC) in August 2014.[1] It was the second consecutive year the event was held as part of the United SportsCar Championship. The 2015 Lone Star Le Mans was the eleventh of twelve scheduled sports car races of 2015 by IMSA, and was the eighth round not held as part of the North American Endurance Cup.[2] The race was held at the twenty-turn 3.426 mi (5.514 km) Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas on September 19, 2015.[2]

Entry list

[edit]

Thirty-eight cars were officially entered for the Lone Star Le Mans. Action Express Racing (AER) fielded two Chevrolet Corvette DP cars while VisitFlorida Racing (VFR) and Wayne Taylor Racing (WTR) fielded one. Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) entered one Ford-powered Riley MkXXVI. Mazda Motorsports had two Lola B12/80 cars and Michael Shank Racing (MSR) entered one Ligier JS P2 chasis with Honda HR28TT twin-turbocharged 2.8-liter V6 engine.[3][4] They were joined by DeltaWing. The Prototype Challenge (PC) class was composed of Nine Oreca FLM09 cars: two from BAR1 Motorsports and two from Starworks Motorsport. CORE Autosport, JDC-Miller MotorSports, Performance Tech, PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports, and RSR Racing entered one car each.[3] GTLM was represented by eight entries from four different brands. In the list of GTD entrants, twelve GT-specification vehicles were represented by six different manufacturers. The No. 45 Flying Lizard Motorsports Audi R8 LMS ultra was reinstated to the Tudor United SportsCar Championship after making its first appearance since the Laguna Seca round.[5] Lone Star Racing made their series debut.[6]

Qualifying

[edit]

Friday afternoon's 90-minute four-group qualifying session gave 15-minute sessions to all categories. Cars in GTD were sent out first before those grouped in GTLM, PC, and Prototype had three separate identically timed sessions. Regulations stipulated teams to nominate one qualifying driver, with the fastest laps determining each classes starting order. IMSA would arranged the grid to put all Prototypes ahead of the PC, GTLM, and GTD cars.[7]

Qualifying results

[edit]

Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and by ‡. P stands for Prototype, PC (Prototype Challenge), GTLM (Grand Touring Le Mans) and GTD (Grand Touring Daytona).

Pos. Class No. Team Driver Time Gap Grid
1 P 01 United States Chip Ganassi Racing United States Scott Pruett 1:58.441 _ 1‡
2 P 60 United States Michael Shank Racing with Curb/Agajanian Brazil Oswaldo Negri Jr. 1:58.512 +0.071 2
3 P 5 United States Action Express Racing Brazil Christian Fittipaldi 1:59.008 +0.567 3
4 P 10 United States Wayne Taylor Racing United States Jordan Taylor 1:59.033 +0.592 4
5 P 31 United States Action Express Racing United States Eric Curran 2:00.011 +1.570 5
6 P 90 United States VisitFlorida.com Racing Canada Michael Valiante 2:00.111 +1.670 6
7 P 0 United States DeltaWing Racing Cars with Claro/TracFone Mexico Memo Rojas 2:01.570 +3.129 7
8 PC 11 United States RSR Racing Canada Chris Cumming 2:02.222 +3.781 8‡
9 PC 85 United States JDC-Miller MotorSports United States Matt McMurry 2:02.697 +4.256 9
10 P 70 United States SpeedSource United States Tristan Nunez 2:02.779 +4.338 10
11 P 07 United States SpeedSource United States Tom Long 2:03.484 +5.043 11
12 PC 38 United States Performance Tech Motorsports United States James French 2:03.586 +5.145 12
13 PC 54 United States CORE Autosport United States Jon Bennett 2:03.697 +5.256 13
14 PC 8 United States Starworks Motorsport United States Mike Hedlund 2:04.009 +5.568 14
15 GTLM 911 United States Porsche North America France Patrick Pilet 2:04.396 +5.955 17‡
16 PC 52 United States PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports United States Mike Guasch 2:04.432 +5.991 15
17 GTLM 25 United States BMW Team RLL Germany Dirk Werner 2:04.490 +6.049 18
18 GTLM 912 United States Porsche North America New Zealand Earl Bamber 2:04.625 +6.184 19
19 GTLM 3 United States Corvette Racing Spain Antonio García 2:04.651 +6.210 20
20 GTLM 17 United States Team Falken Tire Germany Wolf Henzler 2:04.813 +6.372 21
21 GTLM 24 United States BMW Team RLL United States John Edwards 2:04.968 +6.527 22
22 GTLM 4 United States Corvette Racing United States Tommy Milner 2:05.245 +6.804 23
23 GTLM 62 United States Risi Competizione Italy Giancarlo Fisichella 2:05.996 +7.555 24
24 PC 61 United States BAR1 Motorsports United States Don Yount 2:08.350 +9.909 16
25 GTD 48 United States Paul Miller Racing South Africa Dion von Moltke 2:11.097 +12.656 25‡
26 GTD 33 United States Riley Motorsports United States Ben Keating 2:11.658 +13.217 26
27 GTD 63 United States Scuderia Corsa United States Bill Sweedler 2:11.729 +13.288 27
28 GTD 007 United States TRG-AMR North America Denmark Christina Nielsen 2:11.761 +13.320 28
29 GTD 73 United States Park Place Motorsports United States Patrick Lindsey 2:12.213 +13.772 29
30 GTD 44 United States Magnus Racing United States John Potter 2:12.478 +14.037 30
31 GTD 80 United States Lone Star Racing United States Dan Knox 2:12.835 +14.394 31
32 GTD 23 United States Team Seattle / Alex Job Racing United Kingdom Ian James 2:12.935 +14.494 32
33 GTD 97 United States Turner Motorsport United States Michael Marsal 2:13.054 +14.613 33
34 GTD 22 United States Alex Job Racing United States Cooper MacNeil 2:13.126 +14.685 34
35 GTD 45 United States Flying Lizard Motorsports United States Mike Vess 2:16.353 +17.912 35
36 GTD 76 Canada Compass360 Racing United States Ray Mason 2:16.518 +18.077 36
37 PC 16 United States BAR1 Motorsports No Time Established 37
38 PC 88 United States Starworks Motorsport No Time Established 38
Sources:[8][9]

Race

[edit]

Race Results

[edit]

Class winners are denoted in bold and ‡. P stands for Prototype, PC (Prototype Challenge), GTLM (Grand Touring Le Mans) and GTD (Grand Touring Daytona).

Final race classification
Pos Class No. Team Drivers Chassis Tire Laps Time/Retired
Engine
1 P 01 United States Chip Ganassi Racing United States Joey Hand
United States Scott Pruett
Ford EcoBoost Riley DP C 73 2:41:07.039‡
Ford EcoBoost 3.5 L V6 Turbo
2 P 10 United States Wayne Taylor Racing United States Jordan Taylor
United States Ricky Taylor
Corvette Daytona Prototype C 73 +16.910
Chevrolet 5.5 L V8
3 P 90 United States VisitFlorida.com Racing United Kingdom Richard Westbrook
Canada Michael Valiante
Corvette Daytona Prototype C 73 +44.212
Chevrolet 5.5 L V8
4 P 60 United States Michael Shank Racing with Curb/Agajanian United States John Pew
Brazil Oswaldo Negri Jr.
Ligier JS P2 C 73 +44.575
Honda HR28TT 2.8 L V6 Turbo
5 P 31 United States Action Express Racing United States Eric Curran

United States Dane Cameron

Corvette Daytona Prototype C 73 +1:06.753
Chevrolet 5.5 L V8
6 PC 54 United States CORE Autosport United States Jon Bennett
United States Colin Braun
Oreca FLM09 C 73 +1:28.158‡
Chevrolet 6.2 L V8
7 PC 11 United States RSR Racing Canada Chris Cumming
Brazil Bruno Junqueira
Oreca FLM09 C 73 +1:53.822
Chevrolet 6.2 L V8
8 PC 38 United States Performance Tech Motorsports United States Conor Daly
United States James French
Oreca FLM09 C 73 +1:57.517
Chevrolet 6.2 L V8
9 PC 52 United States PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports United States Mike Guasch
United Kingdom Tom Kimber-Smith
Oreca FLM09 C 73 +1:58.239
Chevrolet 6.2 L V8
10 P 5 United States Action Express Racing Portugal João Barbosa
Brazil Christian Fittipaldi
Corvette Daytona Prototype C 72 +1 lap
Chevrolet 5.5 L V8
11 P 0 United States DeltaWing Racing Cars with Claro/TracFone Mexico Memo Rojas
United Kingdom Katherine Legge
DeltaWing DWC13 C 72 +1 lap
Élan (Mazda) 1.9 L I4 Turbo
12 GTLM 25 United States BMW Team RLL United States Bill Auberlen
Germany Dirk Werner
BMW Z4 GTE M 72 +1 lap‡
BMW 4.4 L V8
13 GTLM 62 United States Risi Competizione Germany Pierre Kaffer
Italy Giancarlo Fisichella
Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 M 72 +1 lap
Ferrari 4.5 L V8
14 PC 85 United States JDC-Miller MotorSports Canada Misha Goikhberg
United States Matt McMurry
Oreca FLM09 C 72 +1 lap
Chevrolet 6.2 L V8
15 GTLM 911 United States Porsche North America France Patrick Pilet

United Kingdom Nick Tandy

Porsche 911 RSR M 72 +1 lap
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
16 GTLM 17 United States Team Falken Tire United States Bryan Sellers
Germany Wolf Henzler
Porsche 911 RSR F 72 +1 lap
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
17 GTLM 912 United States Porsche North America New Zealand Earl Bamber
Germany Jörg Bergmeister
Porsche 911 RSR M 72 +1 lap
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
18 GTLM 3 United States Corvette Racing Spain Antonio García
Denmark Jan Magnussen
Chevrolet Corvette C7.R M 72 +1 lap
Chevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V8
19 GTLM 24 United States BMW Team RLL United States John Edwards
Germany Lucas Luhr
BMW Z4 GTE M 72 +1 lap
BMW 4.4 L V8
20 GTLM 4 United States Corvette Racing United Kingdom Oliver Gavin
United States Tommy Milner
Chevrolet Corvette C7.R M 72 +1 lap
Chevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V8
21

DNF

PC 8 United States Starworks Motorsport United States Mike Hedlund
Netherlands Renger van der Zande
Oreca FLM09 C 70 Suspension
Chevrolet 6.2 L V8
22 GTD 33 United States Riley Motorsports Netherlands Jeroen Bleekemolen
United States Ben Keating
Dodge Viper GT3-R C 69 +4 Laps‡
Dodge 8.3 L V10
23 GTD 97 United States Turner Motorsport United States Michael Marsal

Finland Markus Palttala

BMW Z4 GT3 C 69 +4 Laps
BMW 4.4 L V8
24 GTD 48 United States Paul Miller Racing Germany Christopher Haase
South Africa Dion von Moltke
Audi R8 LMS ultra C 69 +4 Laps
Audi 5.2 L V10
25 GTD 23 United States Team Seattle / Alex Job Racing Germany Mario Farnbacher
United Kingdom Ian James
Porsche 911 GT America C 69 +4 Laps
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
26 GTD 73 United States Park Place Motorsports United States Patrick Lindsey
United States Spencer Pumpelly
Porsche 911 GT America C 69 +4 Laps
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
27 GTD 63 United States Scuderia Corsa United States Bill Sweedler
United States Townsend Bell
Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 C 69 +4 Laps
Ferrari 4.5 L V8
28 GTD 80 United States Lone Star Racing Belgium Marc Goossens

United States Dan Knox

Dodge Viper GT3-R C 69 +4 Laps
Dodge 8.3 L V10
29 GTD 007 United States TRG-AMR North America Denmark Christina Nielsen
Canada Kuno Wittmer
Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 C 69 +4 Laps
Aston Martin 6.0 L V12
30 GTD 22 United States Alex Job Racing United States Leh Keen
United States Cooper MacNeil
Porsche 911 GT America C 68 +5 Laps
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
31 GTD 76 Canada Compass360 Racing Brazil Pierre Kleinubing
United States Ray Mason
Audi R8 LMS ultra C 68 +5 Laps
Audi 5.2 L V10
32 GTD 45 United States Flying Lizard Motorsports United States Jason Hart

United States Mike Vess

Audi R8 LMS ultra C 66 +7 Laps
Audi 5.2 L V10
33

DNF

P 70 United States SpeedSource United States Jonathan Bomarito

United States Tristan Nunez

Mazda Prototype C 65 Belt
Mazda Skyactiv-D 2.2 L Turbo I4 (Diesel)
34 GTD 44 United States Magnus Racing United States John Potter
United States Andy Lally
Porsche 911 GT America C 46 +27 Laps
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
35

DNF

PC 61 United States BAR1 Motorsports United Kingdom Ryan Lewis

United States Don Yount

Oreca FLM09 C 33 Accident
Chevrolet 6.2 L V8
36

DNF

P 07 United States SpeedSource United States Tom Long
United States Joel Miller
Mazda Prototype C 23 Belt
Mazda Skyactiv-D 2.2 L Turbo I4 (Diesel)
37

DNS

PC 16 United States BAR1 Motorsports United States John Falb

United States Todd Slusher

Oreca FLM09 C -- Did Not Start
Chevrolet 6.2 L V8
38

DNS

PC 88 United States Starworks Motorsport Venezuela Alex Popow

United States Sean Rayhall

Oreca FLM09 C -- Did Not Start
Chevrolet 6.2 L V8
Sources:[10][11]
Tyre manufacturers
Key
Symbol Tyre manufacturer
C Continental
M Michelin
F Falken Tire


References

[edit]
  1. ^ Dagys, John (10 August 2014). "2015 TUSC, CTSC Schedules Released". Sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media, LLC. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  2. ^ a b Pruett, Marshall (August 10, 2014). "IMSA: 2015 TUDOR Championship schedule revealed". Racer. Archived from the original on March 23, 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  3. ^ a b DiZinno, Tony (9 September 2015). "38 Cars on COTA TUSC Entry List". Sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media, LLC. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  4. ^ Dagys, John (15 September 2015). "Mazda Returns to Two-Car Diesel Prototype Effort for COTA". Sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media, LLC. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  5. ^ "Vess, Hart to Drive Flying Lizard Audi at COTA". Sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media, LLC. 8 September 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  6. ^ Dagys, John (9 September 2015). "Lone Star Viper to Debut at COTA; Goossens Named Driver". Sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media, LLC. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  7. ^ Dagys, John (16 September 2015). "Continental Tire Keys to the Race: COTA". Sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media, LLC. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  8. ^ "Qualifying" (PDF). IMSA. 18 September 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 September 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  9. ^ "United SportsCar Championship Austin 2015 Grid Positions". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  10. ^ "Unofficial Race Report" (PDF). IMSA. 19 September 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  11. ^ "2015 Lone Star Le Mans". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
[edit]
United SportsCar Championship
Previous race:
Oak Tree Grand Prix
2015 season Next race:
Petit Le Mans