2023 By the Numbers - LMP2

 LMP2:

Podiums – 28 drivers. Most – Kurtz/Hanley 5

Wins –Proton Competition 1, Tower 1, PR1 1, Crowdstrike by APR 2, TDS Racing 2

Champions – Ben Keating (2^nd ) & Paul-Loup Chatin

MEC Champions – George Kurtz & Ben Hanley

10 cars entered, 7 full season. Only High Class did not get a podium.

 

Qualifying – Poles – Keating 4, Kurtz 2.

Car	Driver	Avg. Q
52	Keating	1.67
0.4	Kurtz	2.83
11	Thomas	2.83
35	Heriau (3) Falb (2) Sales (1)	3.67
88	Perrodo (2)	4.5
8	Farano (3) Sales (1) Goldburg (1) Balogh (1)	6
51	Lux (3)	6
20	Andersen	6.17
18	Merriman	7.17

 

Most Positions Gained Q to F: 18 Era Motorsport + 10

Most Positions Lost Q to F: 11 TDS Racing -11

Most Points gained in qualifying: 52 PR1 Mathiasen +165

Fewest Points earned in qualifying: 18 Era Motorsport + 120

Driver	ToP			Driver	#
Jensen	0.28			Hanley	3.86
Hanley	0.436			Jensen	4.14
Chatin	0.675			Chatin	5.43
Dalziel	0.811			Dalziel	7.43
van der Garde	0.901			van der Garde	8.86
Jones	2.296			Jones	13.14
Keating	2.619			Keating	15.14
Kurtz	3.036			Kurtz	16.29
Thomas	3.358			Thomas	17.86
Andersen	4.009			Andersen	20.50
Merriman	4.604			Merriman	21.29

 

Driver of the year: Mikkel Jensen

Mikkel very narrowly takes this, by dint of his incredible consistency to be on pace at all 7 tracks across the year. He set the fastest lap of the race in both of the last races, Indy and Petit. His most off pace races were Daytona and Watkins, strangely enough. He was consistent, fast, and kept himself and Steven Thomas in the championship hunt until the very last race. The only reason he gets Driver of the Year over Ben Hanley is a slightly closer time off pace average than Hanley; Jensen had the advantage by a tenth and a half.

Honorable mention: Hanley (almost won 3/4 enduros in ’23, 1 FL, 2 wins), Chatin (1 win, Champion in first full IMSA season).

Bronze Driver of the Year: Ben Keating

This comes as no surprise, but Ben’s pace relative to the back of the LMP2 pros was impressive. He pulled a gap to the rest of his competition in terms of consistency and pace. His four poles this year weren’t always statements, a few of them coming down to the wire, but his race pace was often closer to Ed Jones, a man who’s had 3 IndyCar podiums, than any other Bronze.

Honorable mention: Kurtz (2 wins, MEC champion, 2 poles), Thomas (tied for 2^nd in qualifying average despite no poles, 2 wins, showing marked improvement year on year).

2023 By the Numbers - GTP

 

GTP:

Podiums – 25 drivers. Most – Blomqvist/Braun/CDP/Yelloly 5

Wins – 3 MSR Acura, 3 Penske Porsche, 2 Cadillac, 1 BMW

Champions – Pipo Derani (2^nd) & Alexander Sims

MEC Champions – Pipo Derani (2^nd), Jack Aitken, and Alexander Sims

6955.74 miles, almost 95 miles less than 2022.

11 cars entered, 8 full season. Only non podium car 24 BMW.

 

 

Qualifying - Poles – 2 Blomqvist/Derani/Campbell/WTR Cadillac

01 - Bourdais did all. Avg. Q 3.5

6 – Tandy 4 (Avg 6.75) Jaminet 4 (Avg. 4.25) Car avg 5.5

7 – Nasr 4 (Avg. 5.5)  Campbell 4 (Avg. 2.75) Car avg. 4.125

10 – Taylor 5 (Avg. 3.6) Albuquerque 2 (Avg. 2.5) Car avg. 3

24 – Eng 4 (Avg. 7.25) Farfus (Avg. 5) Car avg. 6.125

25 – Yelloly 4 (Avg. 6.5) CDP 4 (6.5)  Car avg. 6.5

31 – Derani 7 (Avg. 4.429) Car avg. 4.75

60 – Blomqvist 6 (Avg. 2.67) Braun 2 (Avg. 4.5) Car avg. 3.125

Car	Driver	# of Qs	Avg. Q
10	Albuquerque	2	2.5
60	Blomqvist	6	2.67
7	Campbell	4	2.75
0.1	Bourdais	8	3.5
10	Taylor	5	3.6
6	Jaminet	4	4.25
31	Derani	7	4.429
60	Braun	2	4.5
24	Farfus	4	5
7	Nasr	4	5.5
25	Yelloly	4	6.5
25	CDP	4	6.5
6	Tandy	4	6.75
24	Eng	4	7.25

 

Car	Average Q
10	3
60	3.125
0.1	3.5
7	4.125
31	4.75
6	5.5
24	6.125
25	6.5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most Positions Gained Q to F: +21 for 5 JDC Miller Motorsports Porsche

Most Positions Lost Q to F: -15 WTRAndretti Acura

Most Points gained in qualifying: 10 WTRAndretti Acura +242

Fewest Points earned in qualifying: 25 BMW M Team RLL +197

               If 25 had earned as many points in Q as the 10, they would’ve finished 2^nd in championship by 1 point to the 31.

Driver	ToP			Driver	#
Albuquerque	0.417			Albuquerque	4.78
Blomqvist	0.483			Blomqvist	6.44
Campbell	0.51			RvdZ	7.25
Derani	0.554			Campbell	7.33
RvdZ	0.596			Taylor	8.78
Bourdais	0.632			Derani	8.89
Braun	0.655			Jaminet	9.44
Taylor	0.658			Bourdais	9.63
Tincknell	0.662			Braun	9.67
Jaminet	0.69			Tincknell	10.00
Tandy	0.781			Nasr	11.22
CDP	0.806			CDP	11.63
Sims	0.85			Tandy	11.78
Nasr	0.888			Sims	12.11
Yelloly	0.906			Yelloly	13.13
Bruni	1.092			Eng	15.75
Rocky	1.132			Rocky	15.83
Eng	1.187			Farfus	17.13
Farfus	1.267			TvdH	17.33
TvdH	1.323			Bruni	18.00

 

 

Driver of the Year – Filipe Albuquerque

When people think about the 2023 season in years to come, they’ll remember all the could’ve been moments for WTRAndretti. The entanglement at the end of Sebring with the Porsches. The DNF in the Turn 1 barriers towards the end of Long Beach. The DNF at Watkins Glen. And of course, the pass attempt into Turn 1 at Petit. What they should remember is the battling at Daytona with the MSR Acura (where if they would’ve been awarded the 1^st place points for that race after the disqualification of the 60, they would’ve won the season long championship by 9). They should remember the sheer pace of the car with both drivers at CTMP, where a race could’ve been won if not for a late yellow. They should be stunned that at Road America, the site of their previous victory a year before, both Albuquerque and Taylor were the fastest two drivers and due to strategy ended up third. If a few little things had gone differently, Filipe and Ricky would’ve been co-champions. But it’s racing. And every lap, every corner, every breath counts. Over the course of the season, Albuquerque was on average 0.417 off the fastest lap. His ranking amongst his peers based on this pace was nearly HALF of Derani’s. THAT is impressive.

Honorable mention: Blomqvist (2 poles, 3 wins, 1FL), Campbell (2 poles, 1 win, 1 FL, fastest Porsche driver 5/9 races), Bourdais (qualified every race, 1 FL).

 

What to make of the first year of GTP. Well, reliability was not an issue, after so many people thought that would be the story of the year. Instead, variety was the real story. Of the 10 cars that ran more than one race, 8 of them got to the podium, and 7 of those got trophies at least 3 times. That level of diversity hasn’t been seen for a long time!

This class sets the bar for what could-have-been. If the 60 hadn’t been penalized for Daytona, they would’ve taken the full season championship by a serious mark, with their three victories. If the 7 Porsche of Nick Tandy and Mathieu Jaminet hadn’t been disqualified from plank wear at Watkins and been allowed to retain their victory, they would’ve been 2^nd if not champions. BMW with their number 25 car of Connor De Phillippi and Nick Yelloly earned more podium spots than any others with 5, yet the sister car didn’t get a single one. A lot of their trophies, you could argue, came from being smart and staying out of danger rather than flat out pace. They were only the fastest car at Long Beach, and only had 3 occasions all year where their drivers were among the top 3 fastest of the race. What would’ve happened if WTR hadn’t failed to finish Sebring, Long Beach, Petit Le Mans, Watkins Glen. And then there’s Cadillac. Championship winners, yes. Fastest cars in 5 of the 9 races. Yet only 2 wins and 6 podiums.

What did we learn? Every team is capable of so much more than they demonstrated this year. No one put together a perfect season. The first year of any new formula is a growing and learning experience. To win the GTP championship for drivers, teams, and manufacturers in 2024 onwards will demand much more than what we saw this season. We saw great racing this year, but I’m expecting 2024 to be on another level.