MICHELIN 2021: LONG BEACH POST-RACE
Michelin Styles Track to Street Performance for Teams and Fans at IMSA ACURA Grand Prix of Long Beach
- Whelen Cadillac, Milner-Tandy Corvette, Paul Miller Lamborghini Take Wins
- Strong Pace and Consistency Lap after Lap
LONG BEACH, CA, September 25, 2021— Michelin celebrated the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship’s return to the streets of Long Beach after a 29-month hiatus in style, both on and off the track.
“Southern California has a great lifestyle and car culture that are a great match for both our tires and our iconic MICHELIN® Guides to great food,” said Tony Ménard, director of motorsports, Michelin North America.
“We often talk of our track to street technology transfer and here at Long Beach the streets are literally the track,” said Ménard,
Comprised of several different track surfaces and evolving with use during the weekend, the IMSA teams experienced different conditions every time that they took to the 1.968-mile street circuit.
With cars and tire makes from six different types of racing the interactions of the various tire compounds produced unknown variables, but MICHELIN tires delivered impressively consistent pace and performance as the top finishers all ran long green flag stints.
Cadillac continues dominance on the street with podium sweep at Long Beach
Felipe Nasr and Pipo Derani won their third race of the 2021 season for Whelen Engineering Racing in the Cadillac DPi.
This is the fourth straight victory on the streets of Long Beach for Cadillac as well as a full sweep of the 2021 season on the streets. Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing won at the Detroit Grand Prix.
Renger van der Zande and Kevin Magnussen with Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing took second. Rounding out the podium in DPi was Cadillac Mustang Sampling / JDC-Miller MotorSports with Tristan Vautier and Loic Duval.
Corvette Racing duels to finish in GTLM but No. 4 team prevails
Tommy Milner won his fourth race on the circuit in Long Beach all with Michelin tires. This marked the second consecutive victory for the No. 4 Corvette C8.R on the season for Milner and his teammate Nick Tandy.
The No. 3 Corvette C8.R with Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor finished runner up 0.751 behind. Cooper MacNeil and Mathieu Jaminet with Porsche WeatherTech Racing took third.
Lamborghini Paul Miller Racing wins first race of season in GTD
Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow took the No.1 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo took victory in IMSA for the first time in 2021. The team ended Porsche Pfaff Motorsports’ win streak at two. The No. 9 Porsche 911 GT3.R raced strong, finishing second with Zacharie Robichon and Laurens Vathoor. Patrick Long and Trent Hindman with Wright Motorsports crossed the finish line third in a Porsche 911 GT3.R.
Iconic MICHELIN Guide connects Acura drivers with delicious meal
Michelin consistently provides drivers with premium race tires. But this weekend we delivered delicious food to a pair of drivers using the iconic MICHELIN Guide. The guide recognizes restaurants and chefs around the world and encompasses all of California. Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque with Acura Wayne Taylor Racing sampled food from Bib Gourmand rated Amor Y Tacos. Watch here to see how the two trust Michelin on the track and also when picking a restaurant.
Two Southern California past winners race again at Long Beach
Two notable names in IMSA were back home in SoCal. The IMSA GTD class returned to Long Beach for first time since 2017 – giving Wright Motorsports’ Patrick Long and Turner Motorsports’ Bill Auberlen the chance to race. Both are two-time winners at the circuit. Watch here to see the two share their spirit for Southern California and racing in Long Beach.
Michelin Post-Race Notes
- The NBC Sports Network Michelin Tech Minute shows how the track was the street this weekend in Long Beach making the track-to-street connection used frequently by manufacturers never more clear. Watch here.
- New qualifying and race lap records were set in GTD. Laurens Vanthoor in the Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3.R set the mark in qualifying with a 1:18.957 lap. Bryan Sellers in his Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo broke the race record with a 1:20.138 lap.
Next Up:
The 2021 IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship heads to VIRginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia for the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR. The race starts at 12:10 pm ET on Saturday, October 9th. The event can be seen live on NBC or on Track Pass on NBC Sports Gold.