2023 By the Numbers - LMP3

 

LMP3:

Podiums – 26 drivers. Most – Robinson 6

Wins – Riley 4, AWA 2, JR III 1

Champion – Gar Robinson (2^nd )

MEC Champions – Gar Robinson (3^rd), Felipe Fraga (3^rd), Josh Burdon

13 cars entered, 4 full season, 7 cars got podiums.

 

Qualifying – Poles – 2 Pino/Garg

Car	Driver	Avg Q		Car	Car Avg
33 SCM	Pino (2)	1		36 Andretti	1.34
36 Andretti	van Berlo (2)	1		30 JR III	3.6
JR III	Garg	2		74 Riley	4.34
30 JR III	Balogh (3)	4.34		85 JDC	4.5
74 Riley	Robinson	4.34		13 AWA	4.67
13 AWA	Fidani	4.67		17 AWA	5
17 AWA	Mantella	5		33 SCM	5
33 SCM	Willsey (3)	7.67		38 Perf Tech	5
				4 Ave	6.5

 

Most Positions Gained Q to F: 17 AWA +16

Most Positions Lost Q to F: 36 Andretti Autosport -8 in 4 races!

Most Points gained in qualifying: 30 JR III +145

Fewest Points earned in qualifying: 17 AWA +130

               *The two AWA cars finished 12 points apart in the season long championship, and the 13 outscored the 17 by 12 points in qualifying. If they’d tied for third, the 17 would’ve taken the position on countback for race wins…

 

Driver	ToP		Driver	#
Varrone	0.184		Grist	1.83
Grist	0.217		Varrone	2.33
Fraga	0.429		Fraga	3.250
Bell	0.574		Boyd	5.14
Boyd	0.591		Burdon	5.20
Burdon	0.597		Bell	5.57
Barbosa	0.608		Barbosa	6.17
Chaves	0.644		Pino	7.00
Pino	0.660		Dickerson	7.40
Dickerson	0.750		Chaves	9.00
Garg	1.028		Garg	9.00
Andretti	1.544		Balogh	11.00
Robinson	2.128		Andretti	13.50
Balogh	2.362		Robinson	14.29
Fidani	2.443		Fidani	17.14
Mantella	3.108		Mantella	19.57
Willsey	3.982		Willsey	22.60

 

 

Driver of the Year: Garrett Grist

               Out of the 6 race weekends Garrett participated in this year, he brought home 4 trophies. The win at Petit was his second career and second Petit victory. He was in close quarters with the car that would be victorious in more races than not, including a few that resulted with him not getting the position he felt he earned. JR III Racing is not a powerhouse championship dominant team like Riley. The fact that Garrett was able to get within striking distance of the championship after sharing the car with a slew of co-drivers, none of whom was faster than he, is super impressive. Garrett finished the year with Fastest Laps at Petit, CTMP, and Sebring, and was never outside of the top 3! He should be disappointed with 2^nd in the LMP3 championship because this year, he was in a league of his own.

Honorable mention: Nico Varrone (Daytona win, lowest average Time off Pace for the class, FL at Watkins Glen, fastest driver in the 17 every race he drove).

Bronze Driver of the Year: Gar Robinson

               Gar racked up his 4^th and 5^th IMSA championships this year by sweeping the LMP3 class offerings for MEC championships (2021, 2022, 2023) and his second LMP3 class championship out of 3 years. He finished 2^nd last year. With the Sebring win this year, Gar has now won every major endurance race in North America. The LMP3 class has been wonderful for him. He’s gotten 16 podiums and 12 wins in the class, as well as 4 pole positions. Gar thrived driving these cars. Next year he steps into the LMP2 category and it won’t be long before he’s winning in those as well!

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).