2016 Lone Star Le Mans

Map of the Circuit of the Americas - Grand Prix Circuit

The 2016 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 17, 2016. The race was the eleventh round of the 2016 IMSA SportsCar Championship.

Background

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

Preview

International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) president Scott Atherton confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the 2016 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2015. It was the third consecutive year the event was held as part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The 2016 Lone Star Le Mans was the eleventh of twelve scheduled sports car races of 2016 by IMSA, and was the eighth round not held on the held as part of the North American Endurance Cup. The race was held at the twenty-turn 3.426 mi (5.514 km) Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas on September 17, 2016.

IMSA altered the balance of performance to try to create parity within the Prototype, GTLM, and GTD categories. The Ligier JS P2 had its weight lowered by 10 kg (22 lb). The DeltaWing DWC13 received an increase in turbo boost pressure. The Lola B12/80 had its refueling hose restrictor increased by 1 mm (0.039 in). The BMW M6 GTLM had its weight increased by 10 kg (22 lb) and received a 0.5 mm (0.020 in) larger refueling hose restrictor while the Ford GT had a 1 mm (0.039 in) refueling restrictor reduction. The Ferrari 488 GTE received an increase in turbo boost pressure, a 1 liter fuel capacity increase, and a 0.5 mm (0.020 in) larger refueling hose restrictor. The Ferrari 488 GT3 received an increase in turbo boost pressure and a 1 liter fuel capacity increase. The Porsche 911 GT3 R received a 2 mm (0.079 in) larger air restrictor, a 1 liter fuel capacity increase, and a 1 mm (0.039 in) larger refueling hose restrictor. The BMW M6 GT3 and Lamborghini Huracán GT3 had their refueling restrictors increased by 1 mm (0.039 in) while the Dodge Viper GT3-R and Ferrari 488 GT3 received their fuel restrictors reduced by 0.5 mm (0.020 in).

Before the race, João Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi led the Prototype Drivers' Championship with 253 points, ahead of Eric Curran and Dane Cameron in second by one point, and Jordan Taylor and Ricky Taylor in third with 242 points. With 293 points, Alex Popow and Renger van der Zande led the Prototype Challenge Drivers' Championship over Robert Alon and Tom Kimber-Smith by 7 points. In GTLM, Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner led the Drivers' Championship with 287 points, 7 ahead of Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook. In GTD, the Drivers' Championship was led by Alessandro Balzan and Christina Nielsen with 268 points; the duo held an twenty-point advantage over Jeroen Bleekemolen and Ben Keating. Chevrolet and Audi were leading their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while Action Express Racing, Starworks Motorsport, Corvette Racing, and Scuderia Corsa each led their own Teams' Championships.

Entry list

Thirty-nine cars were officially entered for the Lone Star Le Mans, with most of the entries in the Prototype Challenge (PC), Grand Touring Le Mans (GTLM) and Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) categories. Action Express Racing (AER) fielded two Chevrolet Corvette DP cars while VisitFlorida Racing (VFR) and Wayne Taylor Racing (WTR) fielded one. Mazda Motorsports had two Lola B12/80 cars and Michael Shank Racing (MSR) entered one Ligier JS P2 chassis with a Honda HR35TT twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 engine. Panoz brought the DeltaWing car to Circuit of the Americas for the fourth successive year. The Prototype Challenge (PC) class was composed of eight Oreca FLM09 cars: three from Starworks Motorsports and two from BAR1 Motorsports. JDC-Miller MotorSports, Performance Tech and PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports entered one car each. Although it was listed as an entrant, CORE Autosport's No. 54 car withdrew from the event due to the team prepping for 2017. GTLM was represented by nine entries from five different brands. In the list of GTD entrants, fourteen GT3-specification vehicles were represented by seven different manufacturers. The No. 007 The Racer's Group Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 was reinstated to the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship after making its first appearance since the Laguna Seca round.

Practice

There were three practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Saturday, two on Thursday and one on Friday. The first two one-hour sessions were on Thursday morning and afternoon. The third on Friday morning lasted an hour.

Qualifying

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.

Qualifying results

Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and by ‡.

Pos.	Class	No.	Team	Driver	Time	Gap	Grid
1	P	10	Wayne Taylor Racing	Ricky Taylor	1:58.712	_	1‡
2	P	55	Mazda Motorsports	Tristan Nunez	1:58.715	+0.003	2
3	P	70	Mazda Motorsports	Joel Miller	1:59.120	+0.408	3
4	P	31	Action Express Racing	Eric Curran	1:59.199	+0.487	4
5	P	5	Action Express Racing	Christian Fittipaldi	1:59.421	+0.709	5
6	P	0	Panoz DeltaWing Racing	Sean Rayhall	2:00.030	+1.318	6
7	P	90	VisitFlorida Racing	Marc Goossens	2:00.506	+1.794	7
8	PC	52	PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports	Robert Alon	2:01.847	+3.135	8‡
9	PC	7	Starworks Motorsport	José Gutiérrez	2:02.271	+3.559	9
10	PC	8	Starworks Motorsport	Alex Popow	2:02.274	+3.562	10
11	PC	20	BAR1 Motorsports	Matt McMurry	2:02.305	+3.593	11
12	P	60	Michael Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian	John Pew	2:02.595	+3.883	161
13	PC	38	Performance Tech Motorsports	Nicholas Boulle	2:03.420	+4.708	12
14	PC	85	JDC-Miller MotorSports	Misha Goikhberg	2:03.527	+4.815	13
15	GTLM	67	Ford Chip Ganassi Racing	Ryan Briscoe	2:04.188	+5.476	17‡
16	GTLM	62	Risi Competizione	Toni Vilander	2:04.694	+5.982	18
17	GTLM	911	Porsche North America	Patrick Pilet	2:04.874	+6.162	19
18	GTLM	912	Porsche North America	Frédéric Makowiecki	2:05.002	+6.290	20
19	GTLM	66	Ford Chip Ganassi Racing	Dirk Müller	2:05.084	+6.372	21
20	GTLM	4	Corvette Racing	Oliver Gavin	2:05.190	+6.478	22
21	GTLM	25	BMW Team RLL	Dirk Werner	2:05.230	+6.518	23
22	GTLM	3	Corvette Racing	Jan Magnussen	2:05.461	+6.749	24
23	GTLM	100	BMW Team RLL	John Edwards	2:05.737	+7.025	25
24	PC	26	BAR1 Motorsports	Don Yount	2:05.971	+7.259	14
25	GTD	23	Team Seattle/Alex Job Racing	Alex Riberas	2:08.568	+9.856	26‡
26	GTD	9	Stevenson Motorsports	Lawson Aschenbach	2:08.944	+10.232	27
27	GTD	73	Park Place Motorsports	Patrick Lindsey	2:09.009	+10.297	28
28	PC	88	Starworks Motorsport	Mark Kvamme	2:09.6162	+10.904	15
29	GTD	6	Stevenson Motorsports	Andrew Davis	2:09.744	+11.032	29
30	GTD	63	Scuderia Corsa	Christina Nielsen	2:09.756	+11.044	30
31	GTD	48	Paul Miller Racing	Madison Snow	2:09.841	+11.129	31
32	GTD	27	Dream Racing	Paolo Ruberti	2:09.913	+11.201	32
33	GTD	16	Change Racing	Corey Lewis	2:10.174	+11.462	33
34	GTD	96	Turner Motorsport	Bret Curtis	2:10.612	+11.900	34
35	GTD	33	Riley Motorsports	Ben Keating	2:10.979	+12.267	393
36	GTD	44	Magnus Racing	John Potter	2:11.089	+12.377	35
37	GTD	97	Turner Motorsport	Michael Marsal	2:11.357	+12.645	36
38	GTD	80	Lone Star Racing	Dan Knox	2:11.536	+12.824	37
39	GTD	007	TRG-AMR	David Calvert-Jones	2:12.181	+13.469	38
Sources:

• ¹ The No. 60 MSR Ligier was sent to the back of the Prototype grid as per 43.1 of the Sporting regulations (Starting driver change).
• ² The No. 88 Starworks Motorsport had its fastest lap deleted as penalty for causing a red flag during its qualifying session.
• ³ The No. 33 Riley Motorsports Dodge was sent to the back of the GTD grid as per 40.1.5 of the Sporting regulations (Tire change).

Race

Race Results

Class winners are denoted in bold and ‡.

Final race classification Pos Class No. Team Drivers Chassis Tire Laps Time/Retired Engine 1 P 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Jordan Taylor Ricky Taylor Corvette Daytona Prototype C 75 2:41:55.076‡ Chevrolet 5.5 L V8 2 P 31 Action Express Racing Eric Curran Dane Cameron Corvette Daytona Prototype C 75 +1.421 Chevrolet 5.5 L V8 3 P 5 Action Express Racing João Barbosa Christian Fittipaldi Corvette Daytona Prototype C 75 +47.256 Chevrolet 5.5 L V8 4 P 70 Mazda Motorsports Tom Long Joel Miller Mazda Prototype C 75 +1:46.420 Mazda MZ-2.0T 2.0 L I4 Turbo 5 PC 8 Starworks Motorsport Alex Popow Renger van der Zande Oreca FLM09 C 74 +1 lap‡ Chevrolet 6.2 L V8 6 PC 52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Robert Alon Tom Kimber-Smith Oreca FLM09 C 74 +1 lap Chevrolet 6.2 L V8 7 PC 38 Performance Tech Motorsports James French Nicholas Boulle Oreca FLM09 C 74 +1 lap Chevrolet 6.2 L V8 8 P 0 Panoz DeltaWing Racing Katherine Legge Sean Rayhall DeltaWing DWC13 C 74 +1 lap Élan (Mazda) 1.9 L I4 Turbo 9 PC 20 BAR1 Motorsports Matt McMurry Bruno Junqueira Oreca FLM09 C 74 +1 lap Chevrolet 6.2 L V8 10 GTLM 912 Porsche North America Earl Bamber Frédéric Makowiecki Porsche 911 RSR M 74 +1 lap‡ Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 11 PC 7 Starworks Motorsport José Gutiérrez Gustavo Yacamán Oreca FLM09 C 74 +1 lap Chevrolet 6.2 L V8 12 GTLM 911 Porsche North America Patrick Pilet Nick Tandy Porsche 911 RSR M 73 +1 lap Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 13 GTLM 3 Corvette Racing Antonio García Jan Magnussen Chevrolet Corvette C7.R M 73 +1 lap Chevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V8 14 GTLM 25 BMW Team RLL Bill Auberlen Dirk Werner BMW M6 GTLM M 73 +2 Laps BMW 4.4 L Turbo V8 15 GTLM 4 Corvette Racing Oliver Gavin Tommy Milner Chevrolet Corvette C7.R M 73 +2 Laps Chevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V8 16 PC 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Misha Goikhberg Stephen Simpson Oreca FLM09 C 73 +2 Laps Chevrolet 6.2 L V8 17 GTLM 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Dirk Müller Joey Hand Ford GT M 73 +2 Laps Ford EcoBoost 3.5 L Twin-turbo V6 18 GTLM 100 BMW Team RLL John Edwards Lucas Luhr BMW M6 GTLM M 73 +2 Laps BMW 4.4 L Turbo V8 19 GTLM 62 Risi Competizione Toni Vilander Giancarlo Fisichella Ferrari 488 GTE M 73 +2 Laps Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 20 PC 26 BAR1 Motorsports Don Yount John Falb Oreca FLM09 C 73 +2 Laps Chevrolet 6.2 L V8 21 P 60 Michael Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian John Pew Oswaldo Negri Jr. Ligier JS P2 C 72 +3 Laps Honda HR35TT 3.5 Turbo V6 22 GTD 96 Turner Motorsport Bret Curtis Jens Klingmann BMW M6 GT3 C 71 +4 Laps‡ BMW 4.4 L Turbo V8 23 GTD 48 Paul Miller Racing Bryan Sellers Madison Snow Lamborghini Huracán GT3 C 71 +4 Laps Lamborghini 5.2 L V10 24 GTD 63 Scuderia Corsa Christina Nielsen Alessandro Balzan Ferrari 488 GT3 C 71 +4 Laps Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 25 GTD 44 Magnus Racing John Potter Andy Lally Lamborghini Huracán GT3 C 71 +4 Laps Lamborghini 5.2 L V10 26 GTD 73 Park Place Motorsports Jörg Bergmeister Patrick Lindsey Porsche 911 GT3 R C 71 +4 Laps Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 27 GTD 007 TRG-AMR Ben Barker David Calvert-Jones Aston Martin Vantage GT3 C 71 +4 Laps Aston Martin 6.0 L V12 28 GTD 23 Team Seattle/Alex Job Racing Mario Farnbacher Alex Riberas Porsche 911 GT3 R C 70 +5 Laps Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 29 GTD 80 Lone Star Racing Dan Knox Mike Skeen Dodge Viper GT3-R C 70 +5 Laps Dodge 8.3L V10 30 GTD 16 Change Racing Corey Lewis Spencer Pumpelly Lamborghini Huracán GT3 C 70 +5 Laps Lamborghini 5.2 L V10 31 GTD 6 Stevenson Motorsports Andrew Davis Robin Liddell Audi R8 LMS C 70 +5 Laps Audi 5.2L V10 32 GTD 27 Stevenson Motorsports Luca Persiani Paolo Ruberti Audi R8 LMS C 70 +5 Laps Audi 5.2L V10 33 GTD 9 Stevenson Motorsports Lawson Aschenbach Matt Bell Audi R8 LMS C 70 +5 Laps Audi 5.2L V10 34 GTD 33 Riley Motorsports Jeroen Bleekemolen Ben Keating Dodge Viper GT3-R C 67 +8 Laps Dodge 8.3L V10 35 PC 88 Starworks Motorsport Mark Kvamme Richard Bradley Oreca FLM09 C 65 +10 Laps Chevrolet 6.2 L V8 36 GTLM 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ryan Briscoe Richard Westbrook Ford GT M 58 +17 Laps Ford EcoBoost 3.5 L Twin-turbo V6 37 GTD 97 Turner Motorsport Michael Marsal Markus Palttala BMW M6 GT3 C 58 +17 Laps BMW 4.4 L Turbo V8 38 P 90 VisitFlorida Racing Marc Goossens Ryan Dalziel Corvette Daytona Prototype C 39 +36 Laps Chevrolet 5.5 L V8 39 P 55 Mazda Motorsports Jonathan Bomarito Tristan Nunez Mazda Prototype C 35 Did Not Finish Mazda MZ-2.0T 2.0 L I4 Turbo Sources:

Tyre manufacturers Key Symbol Tyre manufacturer C Continental M Michelin