2022 IMSA Review By the Numbers - LMP2

NOTE: IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY READ DPi, PLEASE GO BACK AND READ THAT ONE FIRST. IT GIVES IMPORTANT BACKGROUND ON THE NUMBERS.

In yesterday’s article, we dove into the DPi class and broke that down. Today on the menu: the next quickest speed-wise category of LMP2.

28 drivers earned trophies in the LMP2 class in 2022, but John Farano and Louis Deletraz were a bit greedier than most, taking home five a piece on the year. There were 7 races total for the class: Farano won the championship by winning at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and Petit Le Mans, two were won by the endurance-only line up in the 52 PR1 Mathiasen, two went the way of DragonSpeed (although with two different lineups), and the final saw Era victorious. It’s also worth noting no other team sat on pole this year aside from PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports. Steven Thomas took pole 4 times, while the driver of the 52 claimed it three times.

Qualifying Points:

LMP2
Earned		W/O Q Pts
8	158	1860
52	199	1740
18	162	1730
11	192	1690
81	168	1710
20	168	1660

 

This was possibly the most intriguing qualifying points chart of the year. John Farano won the championship but scored the fewest points for a full season driver. He lost 41 points to the 52 CAR (not a consistent driver line up!). Although he won the title by 120 points, think about those 41 points lost in qualifying. If he returns to the series and class next year, qualifying be the focal point of the team. Improve John’s performance here and perhaps wrap up the championship before the last race! It’s Steven Thomas’ qualifying performance that proves this point. His effort on Saturdays vaulted him from 5^th to 4^th in the championship.

 

Qualifying to Race:

As noted above, Farano was the least successful driver in qualifying, but this allowed he and his co-drivers to gain 17 spots through races. Compare this to the 52, a car which had 3 poles but lost 16 spots.

On Track by Driver Performances:

It’s fair to say that the Konica Minolta team knows how to spot talent and hire good drivers. Thus, it comes as no surprise they’ve hired the standout driver from LMP2 from 2022, Louis Deletraz. Louis is a superstar, as anyone who paid attention to Le Mans in 2020 knows. He was by far the cream of the crop in LMP2 for Average Position in regards to Fast Lap, racking up 3.4 to his name. He had 3 Fastest Laps of the season. Compare Deletraz’s speed to Merriman, who’s average Fast Lap position was 17.71…big difference! Louis was also the fastest driver pace wise as well, averaging 0.33 seconds off the fastest lap and 0.021 off his co-drivers…when they’d be faster than he was! Stupendous season for Mr. Deletraz, and very well noted and rewarded! It’s no wonder than the driver who was furthest off pace and off their codriver was Farano, who frequently had to compare to Deletraz’s impressive pace. Farano was 4.75 seconds off the Fast Lap on average, and similarly 4.489 seconds off his often pace setting codriver. But at the end of the year, he’s got the last laugh, the championship, and a solid outlook on next year!

I’m going to give a second accolade for this class, as I think it really should be highlighted. The strongest driver of the year in the bronze category for full season was Steven Thomas. Steven had a superior 2022, winning Le Mans in the Pro-Am class, taking 4 poles in IMSA (as noted above) and is still fighting for a world championship in the WEC. He was never the slowest driver in the class, and his average time off pace was substantially separated from the rest of the pack. I would love to see a full season of Keating vs Thomas to demonstrate how far these two gentlemen could push each other.

By Avg. Pos FL		D24	S12	LS	MO	WG6	RAm	PLM		FL	Avg. P
8	Deletraz	6	6	1		3	1	1		3	3.4
18	Dalziel	11	7	3	3	6	4	4			5.429
81	Montoya		19	2	2	10	2	5			6.667
52	Huffaker	19	8			2					9.667
20	Scherer	16	10			8	6	10			10
20	Fjordbach	21	15	4	6	7		7			10
52	Jensen	20	2			9					10.33
11	Pierson	31	11	6	4	13	3	8			10.86
11	Bomarito	29	13	5	5	11					12.6
81	Hedman		17	9	12	19	10	16			13.83
11	Thomas	32	18	7	7	14	9	11			14
20	Anderson	30	20	12	8	17	11	14			16
8	Farano	36	21	10	10	20	12	12			17.29
18	Merriman	39	22	11	11	18	8	15			17.71
52	Keating	33	16			15		13			21.33

* Bold Denotes Slowest Driver of Class

By Avg Time Off FL				By Avg Time Off Co-driver
8	Deletraz	0.33		8	Deletraz	0.021
18	Dalziel	0.709		20	Scherer	0.064
52	Huffaker	0.813		11	Bomarito	0.102
52	Jensen	1.118		52	Huffaker	0.13
20	Fjordbach	1.273		18	Dalziel	0.181
81	Montoya	1.319		20	Fjordbach	0.191
11	Bomarito	1.383		11	Pierson	0.222
20	Scherer	1.389		52	Jensen	0.436
11	Pierson	1.418		81	Montoya	0.801
52	Keating	2.933		52	Keating	1.685
11	Thomas	3.113		11	Thomas	1.939
20	Anderson	3.92		20	Anderson	3.795
18	Merriman	4.522		18	Merriman	3.994
81	Hedman	4.681		81	Hedman	4.163
8	Farano	4.75		8	Farano	4.489

 

 

Coming tomorrow: a review of the LMP3 class!