2020 WeatherTech 240
The 2020 WeatherTech 240 was a sports car race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The race was held at the Daytona International Speedway combined road course in Daytona Beach, Florida on July 4th, 2020. This race was the second round of the 2020 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and the first round of the 2020 WeatherTech Sprint Cup.
Taylor and García's GTLM class victory marked the first victory for the new Corvette C8.R, alongside Corvette Racing's 100th win in IMSA competition.[1] The race was also just the 12th caution-free race since the merger in 2014.[2]
Background
The race was the first for the series following the suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and was initially announced to be run behind closed doors.[3] However, it was later announced that a maximum of 5,000 fans were to be admitted, with all required to be residents of the state of Florida.[4] The race was also the first time since 2010 that the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship or its previous series had competed in the Paul Revere 250 Independence Day event.[5]
Entries
A total of 26 cars took part in the event, down from the 39 entries from the season's opening event. There were 8 cars in the DPi class, 6 cars in the GTLM class, and 12 cars in the GTD class. The LMP2 class would not be participating in the event. Paul Miller Racing, the GTD class winner in the Rolex 24, didn't enter the event due to effects of the pandemic. Likewise, Pfaff Motorsports also didn't enter, due to travel restrictions surrounding being based in Canada. The #19 GEAR Racing powered by GRT Grasser entry, the #91 of Wright Motorsports, and the #23 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin all declined to enter the event as well. Team Hardpoint made their series debut, and Gradient Racing returned for the first time since 2018.[6]
Prior to the event, Aaron Telitz was announced as the replacement for Parker Chase in the #14 entry for AIM Vasser Sullivan.[7]
Qualifying
Qualifying results
Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and by 
.
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap | Grid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DPi | 7 | Acura Team Penske | Hélio Castroneves | 1:34.390 | _ | 1 |
| 2 | DPi | 77 | Mazda Motorsports | Oliver Jarvis | 1:34.422 | +0.032 | 2 |
| 3 | DPi | 55 | Mazda Motorsports | Jonathan Bomarito | 1:34.454 | +0.064 | 3 |
| 4 | DPi | 6 | Acura Team Penske | Juan Pablo Montoya | 1:34.532 | +0.142 | 4 |
| 5 | DPi | 10 | Konica Minolta Cadillac | Ryan Briscoe | 1:35.061 | +0.671 | 5 |
| 6 | DPi | 31 | Whelen Engineering Racing | Gabby Chaves | 1:35.244 | +0.854 | 6 |
| 7 | DPi | 5 | JDC-Mustang Sampling Racing | João Barbosa | 1:35.737 | +1.347 | 7 |
| 8 | DPi | 85 | JDC-Miller MotorSports | Chris Miller | 1:35.945 | +1.555 | 8 |
| 9 | GTLM | 4 | Corvette Racing | Oliver Gavin | 1:42.251 | +7.861 | 9 |
| 10 | GTLM | 3 | Corvette Racing | Jordan Taylor | 1:42.523 | +8.133 | 10 |
| 11 | GTLM | 24 | BMW Team RLL | Jesse Krohn | 1:42.628 | +8.238 | 11 |
| 12 | GTLM | 912 | Porsche GT Team | Laurens Vanthoor | 1:42.629 | +8.239 | 12 |
| 13 | GTLM | 25 | BMW Team RLL | Bruno Spengler | 1:42.674 | +8.284 | 13 |
| 14 | GTLM | 911 | Porsche GT Team | Nick Tandy | 1:42.754 | +8.364 | 14 |
| 15 | GTD | 76 | Compass Racing | Corey Fergus | 1:47.015 | +12.625 | 15 |
| 16 | GTD | 14 | AIM Vasser Sullivan | Aaron Telitz | 1:47.152 | +12.762 | 16 |
| 17 | GTD | 96 | Turner Motorsport | Robby Foley | 1:47.468 | +13.078 | 17 |
| 18 | GTD | 12 | AIM Vasser Sullivan | Frankie Montecalvo | 1:47.502 | +13.112 | 18 |
| 19 | GTD | 63 | Scuderia Corsa | Cooper MacNeil | 1:47.595 | +13.205 | 19 |
| 20 | GTD | 86 | Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian | Matt McMurry | 1:47.779 | +13.389 | 20 |
| 21 | GTD | 57 | Heinricher Racing with MSR Curb-Agajanian | Mikhail Goikhberg | 1:47.799 | +13.409 | 21 |
| 22 | GTD | 16 | Wright Motorsports | Ryan Hardwick | 1:47.839 | +13.449 | 22 |
| 23 | GTD | 74 | Riley Motorsports | Gar Robinson | 1:47.998 | +13.608 | 23 |
| 24 | GTD | 44 | GRT Magnus Racing Team | John Potter | 1:48.772 | +14.382 | 24 |
| 25 | GTD | 22 | Gradient Racing | Till Bechtolsheimer | 1:48.795 | +14.405 | 25 |
| 26 | GTD | 30 | Team Hardpoint | Rob Ferriol | 1:49.193 | +14.803 | 26 |
| Source:[8] | |||||||
Results
Class winners are denoted in bold and .
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References
- "Corvette Take First Win For C8.R & 100th IMSA Victory". dailysportscar.com. 5 July 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
- "Mazda Maintains Midsummer Magic with 1-2 in IMSA WeatherTech 240 At Daytona". imsa.com. 4 July 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
- "IMSA Announces Updated Return to Racing Plan". imsa.com. 15 May 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- "IMSA: July 4 race at Daytona will have limited crowd; masks required". motorsports.nbcsports.com. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- "IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Returns to Daytona". daytonainternationalspeedway.com. 15 May 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- "Entry List: WeatherTech 240 at Daytona". fronstretch.com. 30 June 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- "Telitz Replaces Chase in AVS Lexus for Remainder of Season". sportscar365.com. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- "03_Results_Qualifying" (PDF). Retrieved 22 October 2020.
External links
| WeatherTech SportsCar Championship | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous race: 2020 24 Hours of Daytona |
2020 season | Next race: 2020 Cadillac Grand Prix of Sebring |