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INSIDE TRACK MOTORSPORT NEWS I 45
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By J. Wally Nesbitt //
Photos by Tim McGill & Richard Coburn
n 30 previous occasions, IMSA-sanctioned sports
cars have brought their championship battles to
the four-kilometre Canadian Tire Motorsport Park facility. And rarely, if ever, has the outcome of these endurance contests been a foregone conclusion.
Based on all indications, and to the benefit of the
Canadian fans, this year’s Mobil 1TM SportsCar Grand
Prix should continue that tradition as no one single
race team has yet proven to hold a competitive advantage. Round 7 (of 12) of the newly re-branded WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will see all four IMSA
divisions, the Prototypes, Prototype Challenge (PC),
Grand Touring Le Mans (GTLM) and Grand Touring
Daytona (GTD) cars challenge CTMP’s ten turns in a
two hour, 40 minute scramble for race supremacy.
In last year’s event, Wayne Taylor Racing, with drivers Jordan and Ricky Taylor, battled power steering
issues in their No. 10 Dallara Corvette to outlast, by
barely a half-second, the quickly closing No. 31 Action
Express Corvette of Dane Cameron and Eric Curran.
Over the course of the first four races of this season, the Taylor brothers have recorded one race victory, on the streets of Long Beach, and earned a
runner-up finish in the season opening Rolex 24 at
Daytona. Over the same period, The No. 31 car has
scored a second place finish at Sebring plus a pair of
third place results. Adding another element to the
Prototype championship mixture has been the
Honda/ Ligier marque. Michael Shank Racing’s No.
60 was the victor at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca,
while the No. 2 Tequila Patron Honda/ Ligier swept
to victory in the opening two rounds of the year.
Toss in the perennially front-running No. 5 Action
Express and the No. 90 VisitFlorida.com Corvettes to
the list of potential winners, and even the Las Vegas
odds-makers would dispute a favourite. And things will
most certainly be just as unpredictable in the other
IMSA divisions. In the Prototype Challenge class, the
No. 85 JDC Miller Oreca team seems to hold a slight
advantage over the No. 52 Mathiason Motorsports
car and the reigning champion, the No. 54 CORE Autosport entry. The Miller squad has scored two race
victories in four attempts, reaching victory lane at Sebring and Long Beach. Still, there is a four-way tie for
the points lead with one of those drivers, Vancouver’s
Misha Goikhberg, firmly in the lead pack.
The perennial Canadian favourite Corvette GTLM effort is currently leading their division standings as the
Ollie Gavin/ Tommy Milner No. 4 Corvette has topped
the scoring charts at Daytona and Sebring, with a second place result at Long Beach. The No. 911 Porsche
broke the Corvette winning streak in California while
the Ganassi Racing Ford GT scored their first victory
in round 4 at Laguna Seca.
The GT Daytona class will be a relative unknown entity when it hits the tarmac as this division bypassed
the 2015 event. So far this year, in three race appearances class wins have been secured by an Audi (Daytona), a Ferrari (Sebring) and a Porsche (Mazda
Raceway). All bets are off when the Daytona class
sports cars attack the CTMP track.
Continued on page 48...
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(Main) 2014 event winner
Corvette Racing will be looking
to get back into the winner’s
circle at Bowmanville, ON’s
Canadian Tire Motorsport
Park after Porsche (opposite
page) beat them to the checkered flag in 2015. (Below,
middle) The Ford GT will make
its Canadian debut at the
Mobil 1 SportsCar GP.
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...Continued from page 47
Canadian content may not be as prevalent as it has
been in past years with several hometown drivers
moving on to other edndeavours. However, such competitors as Chris Cumming, Misha Goikhberg, Mark
Wilkins, Bruno Spengler and Kyle Marcelli have
proudly carried the Maple Leaf onto the podium this
year. But the two entrants from north of the 49th parallel that are certain to catch the attention of the
Canadian race fans are the Ganassi Racing Ford EcoBoost GT cars co-driven by Dirk Muller and Joey Hand
(No. 66) and teammates Richard Westbrook and
Ryan Briscoe (No. 67).
Designed, built and tested by Markham, ON’s Multimatic Motorsports, the No. 67 Ford GT recorded the
first win for the marque at Laguna Seca and the team
would like nothing better than to repeat that success
at the car’s sole Canadian appearance. Even the most
casual of race fans will identify the profile of the new
car with its legendary predecessor, the GT-40 cars
that dominated at Le Mans in the mid-1960s.
It is obvious that Sunday’s Mobil 1 WeatherTech
SportsCar Grand Prix will be the weekend’s headlining
event, but with three days of track time available, the
race organizers have filled the schedule with an
equally appealing lineup of supporting contests.
The Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge is guaranteed to provide 150 minutes of door-handle-to-doorhandle action with (hopefully) Toronto’s own Scott
Maxwell leading the Grand Sport parade aboard his
No. 15 Ford Shelby GT350. Other Canadian drivers
to watch for include Winnipeg’s Daniel Burkett,
Cameron Cassels, local resident James Vance and
former Prototype winner Michael Valiante.
The Cooper Tires Prototype Lites series is the development division for the WeatherTech championship, as is the IMSA Porsche GT3 Challenge
presented by Yokohama. Both of these divisions will
enjoy multiple race appearances over the July 7-10
race weekend, as will the Mazda MX-5 Cup series.
Canada’s newest racing attraction, the Nissan
Micra Cup, is in its sophomore season of operation,
and large fields, close racing action and frantic finishes have become the norm for this ‘spec’ division.
Making its Canadian Tire Motorsport Park debut as
their 2016 season winds down, there may be a certain element of desperation creeping into some of the
championship chasers.
The best part of any Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix
weekend is that the entertainment is not limited to the
track. The CTMP Marketplace will be in full swing, offering a wide variety of souvenirs and collectibles, and
food vendors will provide fare that will satisfy even the
most discriminating of palates. Add in the open paddock access and the almost-mandatory, pre-race grid
walk, and the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix will leave
each and every attendee satisfied.
Few motorsports facilities can boast the racing heritage enjoyed by CTMP, and the 2016 Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix will most certainly add another
chapter to that long and storied history. Building on
its legacy of being ‘for the fans’, the Mobil 1 SportsCar
Grand Prix will certainly do just that, providing race
goers with a weekend not soon forgotten. •
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(Main) Wayne Taylor Racing won the 2015 Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and is
among the favourites to win again at the 2016 event. Action
Express (below, left) and Rolex 24 and Sebring 12 Hours
winners Patron Racing (below, middle) are a pair of strong
teams who could unseat the defending overall race winners.
(Above) Markham, ON-based Multimatic Motorsports will be
looking for another win in its Ford Mustang GT350RC on
their home track. (Top) Corvette Racing engineers and driver
Antonio Garcia watch the 2015 Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand
Prix from the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park pit lane.
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By J. Wally Nesbitt // Photos Courtesy Ed Moody
n June 24, 1961, Stirling Moss piloted his pale green Lotus
19 to victory in the inaugural Players 200 sports car race
held on the newly opened Mosport Park racetrack. Besting 18
competitors, including fourth place finisher Ludwig Heimrath
and fellow Canadians Francis Bradley and Oliver Clubine, Moss
completed the 40 lap event at an average speed of 88.851
miles per hour (142.992 km/h).
Following his initial appearance on the 2.459-mile Bowmanville, ON-area circuit, Moss proclaimed that no driver could
hope to beat a one-minute, 30 second lap around the challenging, ten turn track.
While Sir Stirling would ultimately be proven wrong in his lap
time predictions, his appearance in that initial contest would
begin a tradition of world-class sports car competition that continues to this day. Over the past 55 racing seasons, CTMP has
hosted events for the Group 7 Sports Cars (more commonly
known as Can-Am), the FIA World Endurance Championship and
the IMSA Camel GT Series. In 1999, then-owner of Canadian
Tire Motorsport Park, Dr. Don Panoz, envisioned a resurgence
of North American sports car racing, and utilizing the same
basic rules package as employed by the Automobile Club de
L’Ouest (ACO), the organizers of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, created the American Le Mans Series.
With his obvious business association to the then-called Mosport Raceway, it came as no surprise when the track was
awarded the sole Canadian date on the ALMS calendar. As the
series grew and prospered, it attracted the attention of many
serious sponsors. The CTMP date in particular became the race
of choice for the backing of Mobil 1, the oil company becoming
the title sponsor in 2006 and continuing this association to the
present, the annual event branded as the Mobil 1 SportsCar
Grand Prix. Since its inception, the American Le Mans Series
has gone through several changes related to its class designations, with up to five distinct divisions competing on the track at
one time, all in pursuit of individual victory. Naturally, the highperformance, high-speed Prototypes have been the primary
race day attraction, but the production-based GT machinery has
often provided equally exciting, inter-class racing.
In 1999, the American Le Mans Series made its CTMP debut
for the Grand Prix of Mosport with 35 cars in attendance, 18
of those Prototypes. Included in the LMP ranks were a pair of
BMW V-12 cars fresh from their victory in the Le Mans classic
at ‘la Sarthe,’ five Ferrari 333SPs, several Riley and Scott Lolas,
and a pair of odd-looking Panoz LMP-01 roadsters. In Saturday’s
qualifying session, Panoz driver Jan Magnussen secured the
pole position with a time of 1 minute,10.514 seconds, just .005
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seconds faster than his Panoz teammate David Brabham. That qualifying effort translated into the overall victory for the Magnussen/
Johnny O’Connell duo. At the same time, the GT class victory was
claimed by Olivier Beretta and David Donohue aboard their Viper
GTS-R. Beretta would duplicate his GT win one year later, but there
was a dramatic changing of the guard in Prototypes as the North
American series was introduced to the all-conquering Audi R8.
For the next four years (2000-2003) the Audi R8 carried such
notable drivers as Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen, Rinaldo ‘Dindo’
Capello, Frank Biela, Emanuele Pirro and Marco Werner into the
CTMP winner’s circle, the marque eventually rolling up eight consecutive ALMS LMP class championships. The driving tandem of Butch
Leitzinger and James Weaver snapped the Audi winning streak by
commandeering their Dyson Racing MG-Lola to back-to-back LMP1
wins (2004/ 05), but in 2006, the German make would once again
return to CTMP’s victory lane.
Aboard the refined Audi R10 TDI, Dindo Capello and Allan McNish
took the overall and LMP1 class victories in 2006 and 2007. With
new teammate Emanuele Pirro joining him for the 2008 campaign,
Capello returned to the Ontario facility and in a breathtaking display
of nerve and talent, shattered the qualifying lap record, circulating
the four-kilometre circuit in a time of 1m, 04.094s, averaging
222.254 km/h. Unfortunately for Capello, it was Lucas Luhr and
Marco Werner in the Audi sister car who ascended to the top step
of the podium at the drop of the checkered flag. In 2009, the Audi
factory cut back on its North America racing appearances, and their
all-powerful Prototypes would not be seen again on the Canadian
Tire Motorsport Park track.
Replacing them in the winner’s circle that year were David Brabham and Scott Sharp, drivers of the Hillcroft Racing Acura ARX-02a.
In 2010, another dominating streak commenced, as the Muscle
Milk Pickett Racing team, led by Klaus Graf forged to the front.
Teamed with Romain Dumas, Graf helped guide the Porsche RS-Spyder into victory lane in 2010, but for the next season, the Pickett
team opted to enter an Aston Martin Lola in the Canadian race, and
with new running mate Lucas Luhr, he repeated his race success
in 2011. The Graf/ Luhr duo concluded a four year sweep of the
LMP class by earning the Mobil 1 Trophy in 2012 and 2013.
Somehow undeservingly relegated to almost an afterthought, over
the same 15 year span, the GT cars were engaged in their own ontrack wars around the dauntingly high-speed CTMP circuit. The
Beretta/ Wendlinger Viper repeated as GT class champions in
2000, but a new marque and a new and talented Canadian driver
were quickly charging to the fore. Following a runner-up GT finish in
2000, Mississauga, ON’s Ron Fellows and teammate Johnny O’Connell began a three year victory streak in their yellow C5-R Corvette.
The success of the Chevrolets at CTMP continued for another two
years, although it was Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta in the No. 4
Corvette taking top spot over the Fellows/ O’Connell duo.
In 2006, the streak was temporarily halted as Pedro Lamy and
Stephane Sarrazin snatched the GT class victory in an Aston Martin,
but the Corvette squad, with O’Connell and Jan Magnussen at the
controls of the new C6.R race car, went on to claim the next three
consecutive CTMP victories.
Over the final four years of the American Le Mans Series appearances at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, the GT race winners would
alternate between Corvette (2010), Jorg Bergmeister and Pat Long
in the Flying Lizard Porsche 997 (2011) and the Scott Sharp/ Johannes van Overbeek Ferrari 458 Italia (2012), before the Corvette
brand returned to the front with Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner
earning the victor’s laurels in the final appearance of the ALMS GT
division at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
The 2014 edition of the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix opened a
new chapter in the sports car racing history book of Canadian Tire
Motorsport Park.
During the preceding season, the American Le Mans Series and
the Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series announced that they would
combine forces, now known as the IMSA Weathertech SportsCar
Championship, who put on a nail-biter of a race in 2015.
Whatever the name, Canadian racing fans may rest assured that
the on-track performances will remain at the same level as that of
its high-calibre predecessor, and that Canadian Tire Motorsport
Park and the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix will be the place to continue the remarkable history of Canadian sports car competition. •
(Main) David Hobbs and Graham Hill battle at the 1967 Canadian
Grand Prix. (Right) CTMP has tested the limits of some of the most
successful racers of all time, including Bruce McLaren, driving in the
Can-Am series, and NASCAR stars Dale Jarrett and Benny Parsons.
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Photos courtesy Richard Coburn (inset)
// McLaren Media Centre (main)
obil 1™ engine oils have long been the lubricant of
choice for race teams competing in the most demanding and popular motorsports series across the globe.
Mobil 1’s history in motorsport dates back to the early
1970s, competing in rallying; however their involvement in
racing became more official in 1978 through sponsorship of
the Williams Formula 1 team and the 1987 sponsorship of
Rusty Wallace’s No. 27 car in NASCAR. From that time, the
presence of Mobil 1 on racetracks and circuits has grown by
global proportions. Today, Mobil 1 synthetic oil is relied on for
its ability to deliver exceptional engine performance and protection even under the most extreme conditions. Automotive
technicians, race car drivers, team owners and the world’s
leading automotive manufacturers can all testify to the advanced technology delivered by Mobil 1 lubricants.
They enjoy a long association with many of the world's most
popular and successful race teams, including McLarenHonda in Formula 1, Stewart-Haas Racing’s NASCAR Sprint
Cup Series team, and many others such as Porsche Motorsport, where Mobil 1 is the ‘Official Partner’ in global cooperation of all works-supported activities, all international
Carrera Cups and the title partnership of the Porsche Mobil
1 Supercup – the world’s fastest one-make series. Mobil 1
is also the Official Motor Oil of NASCAR and contributes to
the growth of grassroots initiatives all around the world.
M
WHY CHOOSE SYNTHETICS?
Synthetic lubricants such as Mobil 1™ can provide a variety of benefits that help keep your equipment running at optimal performance for years to come. To understand
synthetic oils, let’s look first at the origins of all oils, particularly motor oils. Conventional oils come from crude oil that is
pumped from the ground. Crude oil is made up of a complex
mixture of molecules that form chains and rings of different
sizes and shapes. Long chains of carbon atoms produce a
thick, viscous fluid that flows slowly. Shorter chains produce
fluid that flows more readily.
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BENEFITS OF SYNTHETICS
In an oil refinery, crude oil is separated into various fractions. These become the basis for lubricating oils and fuels.
Thick tangled masses of carbon chains become asphaltic materials used in roofing tar and roadwork. Very short chains
and ring compounds of carbon are volatile and can be refined
to produce gasoline and other products.
All motor oils are made up of base oils and additives. In
general, fully synthetic motor oils contain non-conventional,
high-performance fluids. Synthetic blends usually use some
non-conventional, high-performance fluids in combination with
conventional oil.
To meet the demanding requirements of today's specifications (and our customers' expectations), Mobil 1 uses highperformance fluids, including polyalphaolefins (PAOs), along
with a proprietary system of additives.
Each Mobil 1 viscosity grade uses a unique combination of
synthetic fluids and selected additives in order to tailor the
viscosity grade to its specific application. Imperial Oil offers a
wide range of synthetic lubricants, from compressor oils to
greases, that can help meet the critical or severe needs of
your equipment.
WHAT CAN SYNTHETICS DO FOR YOU?
Synthetic lubricants work where mineral oils reach their
limits, solve specific lubrication problems (e.g. to enable an
under-designed machine to operate properly) and provide enhanced cost and/or performance (e.g. longer drain intervals
and less downtime). Key factors in your decision are the
severity of service, any special requirements and safety or
environmental concerns. Imperial Oil's line of synthetic lubricants, marketed mainly under the Mobil™ brand, can provide
longer oil drains. Thanks to their superior oxidation stability,
synthetic oils can last considerably longer than mineral lubricants. You'll spend less time changing lubricants and less
money on used-oil disposal.
Oxidation stability also reduces the risk of harmful deposits
on components. That means fewer shutdowns for equipment
maintenance and cleaning.
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ENERGY SAVINGS
Compared to mineral oils, whose molecules come in assorted
shapes and sizes, synthetic-oil molecules are relatively uniform.
When they move against each other, it creates less heat and friction. The cooler operating temperature is easier on oil and equipment. Reducing friction can also significantly save energy, further
easing your costs of operation.
SEVERE-SERVICE PROTECTION
Synthetics are ideal for applications involving shock loads or other
severe conditions. Unlike mineral oils, which often fail to stand up
against extreme pressure, synthetics retain their structure - along
with their ability to lubricate and guard against wear. That can save
labour, lubricant and equipment - and lower the risk of lost protection
due to breakdown.
SAFE OPERATION IN EXTREME CONDITIONS
Synthetic oils are free of wax, which can solidify at low temperatures and make mineral oils resistant to flow. Worried about extreme heat? Synthetics resist the oxidation that causes some oils
to leave deposits. That can save you money on repairs and keep your
production running smoothly. •
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