Jeremy Clarke and Tom Dillmannn took victory for Inter Europol Competition in the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
The duo, who started on pole in the #43 ORECA LMP2 07, earned redemption after faltering in last year’s race, and did so by taking a splash of fuel in the closing minutes en route to winning the 2h40m sprint by 9.796s on the 10-turn, 2.459-mile natural terrain road course.
Dillmann, who was involved in a hard crash that left him with a fractured vertebra and required surgery in this race a year ago, closed out the race to take the emotional result.
“Coming into this weekend, it didn’t change me. I want to win every race,” said Dillmannn, who also won at ‘Mosport’ in 2024. “The fact that I had the problem I did last year didn’t change the fact that I wanted to win, but yeah, it’s a cool story. Having a back injury, coming back to win it again, I think without that (crash) we could have made it three wins in a row here.”
Crowdstrike Racing by APR’s George Kurtz and Alex Quinn ended up second, ahead of AO Racing’s PJ Hyett and Dane Cameron.
The GTD Pro class was won by Vasser Sullivan’s Ben Barnicoat and Jack Hawksworth, making it back-to-back wins after the previous round at Watkins Glen International. Winward Racing’s Russell Ward and Philip Ellis took the class win in GTD.
The Race
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🟢: Sunday, July 12 | 2:00PM ET
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Clarke led the field to the green flag as the LMP2 class filled in behind. It was also a smooth start for GTD Pro as class pole-sitter Neil Verhagen (Paul Miller Racing) got a clean jump.
There was an early close call in the fight for second in GTD as Lorenzo Patrese (Conquest Racing) attempted a late push to the inside of Benjamin Pedersen (Vasser Sullivan) in Turn 10. The two made contact but were able to continue on, with Pedersen holding the spot as Patrese dropped to fourth.
Roughly 10 minutes into the race, Verhagen’s GTD Pro lead came under fire by Max Esterson (RLL Team McLaren), with Alexander Sims (Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports) hanging close in third.
Clarke held a 2s lead in LMP2, with Dudu Barrichello (Heart of Racing) out front in GTD by 0.44s.
However, the event’s first caution happened moments later after John Farano (Tower Motorsports) went wide and ended up off course in Turn 3, causing right-front damage to his #8 ORECA LMP2 07. Ultimately, the damage was severe enough for him to go behind the wall.
Clarke led the field to the restart with 2h20m remaining, and pulled out a couple of car lengths on second-place runner Misha Goikhberg (Bryan Herta Autosport with PR1/Mathiasen).
Pit stops began about 13 minutes later, with AO Racing’s PJ Hyett the first to dive in for service; no driver change. Barrichello pitted from the GTD class lead shortly after and endured a slow stop, with Pedersen taking over the top spot.
With just under two hours to go, Tobi Lutke (TDS Racing) crashed into the Turn 8 tire barriers and brought out the second caution.
Following the remaining pit stops, the cycle saw George Kurtz (Crowdstrike Racing by APR) elevated from seventh to first in LMP2, with Jack Hawksworth (Vasser Sullivan) out front in GTD Pro, and Trent Hindman (Wayne Taylor Racing) ahead in GTD.
While the field took the green flag for the restart with 1h48m to go, Robert Wickens (DXDT Racing) was still on pit lane with a throttle spring issue. He was able to return, but fell two laps down to the rest of the GTD class.
Through another run of pit stops and driver changes for LMP2, Dillmannn took over for Clarke, with Alex Quinn in for Kurtz, and Dane Cameron in for Hyett. Goikhberg had yet to pit and took over the race lead.
In GTD Pro, Ben Barnicoat took over from Hawksworth as the #14 Lexus RC F GT3 retained the class lead. Hindman continued to lead in GTD, with a 0.4s lead over Philip Ellis (Winward Racing).
Near the halfway point, Ellis was able to push by Hindman to take the GTD lead coming out of Turn 5 and quickly built up a 2s gap.
Contact!
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The Gradient Racing Ford Mustang takes a ride off track.🫣
🟢: Sunday, July 12 | 2:00PM ET
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While Ellis continued to lead in GTD at the halfway point, Barnicoat built up a lead of 5.2s over Nikita Johnson, who was in for Esterson in the #59 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo for RLL Team McLaren. Goikhberg pitted from the top spot in LMP2, handing the lead to Quinn.
Just five minutes past the halfway mark, Mikkel Jensen (United Autosports USA) was stuffed into Turn 8, but was able to reverse out of the tire barrier and return to pit lane and keep from bringing out another caution.
At the same time, Quinn got held up briefly in traffic, which allowed Dillmannn to get the overall lead.
With an hour remaining and a run of pit stops for both GTD classes, Barnicoat remained out front in GTD Pro by a sizable 6s over Nick Tandy (AO Racing). Ellis led by 0.6s over Aaron Telitz, in for Pedersen in Vasser Sullivan’s GTD entry. Dillmann continued to lead in LMP2 - and overall - over Quinn, holding a 1.2s advantage.
Quinn pitted from second with 52m to go, with Dillmann and Cameron coming in the next lap. Additionally, GTP regular Ricky Taylor, moonlighting in the #52 machine for Bryan Herta Autosport with PR1/Mathiasen, inherited the top spot through the run of rivals pitting. Taylor pitted with 43m left, handing the lead back to Dillmann.
The race was in a well-established rhythm with 30m to go due to fuel saving, with Dillmannn continuing to lead by 3.1s over Quinn. Barnicoat remained out front in GTD Pro, roughly 8.2s ahead of Tandy. Meanwhile, the closest battle was Telitz clawing into the GTD lead of Ellis, with 1.2s separating them.
With 22m to go, Cameron dove to pit lane and came out with no fuel concerns and clear race track with which to optimize his pace compared to Dillmannn and Quinn, who were dealing with traffic. Quinn hit pit lane 11 minutes later for a quick splash of fuel, but was able to retain second over Cameron. Dillmannn pitted the following lap, and was able to retain the lead after a fast fuel stop.
Barnicoat continued to hold firm in GTD Pro, with Ellis still leading in GTD.
The overall and class leaders remained unchanged to the finish.
