The Chevrolet grand prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park witnessed a thrilling victory for Inter Europol Competition with drivers Tom Dillmann and Jeremy Clarke securing the top spot in the LMP2 class. The duo, piloting the #43 ORECA LMP2 07 not only redeemed themselves from a challenging performance in last year’s race but also demonstrated exceptional skill in the final minutes with a crucial fuel splash.
The 2h40m sprint race on the 10-turn, 2.459-mile natural terrain road course saw Dillmann and Clarke triumph by a margin of 9.796 seconds. This victory held special significance for Dillmann, who had suffered a severe crash in the previous year’s race, resulting in a fractured vertebra and subsequent surgery. His emotional return to the podium marked a remarkable comeback.
Strategic Maneuvers and Close Calls
The race began with Clarke leading the field, setting a strong pace from the green flag. The GTD Pro class also had a smooth start, with class pole-sitter Neil Verhagen from Paul Miller Racing getting a clean jump. However, the early stages of the race were not without drama. An early close call in the fight for second place in GTD saw Lorenzo Patrese from Conquest Racing attempt a late push inside Benjamin Pedersen from Vasser Sullivan in Turn 10. The contact between the two drivers resulted in Patrese dropping to fourth place.
Approximately 10 minutes into the race, Verhagen’s lead in GTD Pro came under threat from Max Esterson of RLL Team McLaren with Alexander Sims from Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports closely following in third. Meanwhile, Clarke maintained a 2-second lead in LMP2, while Dudu Barrichello from Heart of Racing led the GTD class by 0.44 seconds.
The Impact of Cautions and Pit Stops
The first caution of the event occurred when John Farano from Tower Motorsports went off course in Turn 3, causing significant right-front damage to his #8 ORECA LMP2 07. The damage was severe enough to force Farano behind the wall. Clarke led the field to the restart with 2h20m remaining, pulling out a couple of car lengths on second-place runner Misha Goikhberg from Bryan Herta Autosport with PR1/Mathiasen.
Pit stops began about 13 minutes later, with PJ Hyett from AO Racing being the first to dive in for service. Barrichello pitted from the GTD class lead shortly after and endured a slow stop, allowing Pedersen to take over the top spot. With just under two hours to go, Tobi Lutke from TDS Racing crashed into the Turn 8 tire barriers, bringing out the second caution of the race.
Final Laps and Victory
Following the remaining pit stops, the cycle saw George Kurtz from Crowdstrike Racing by APR elevated from seventh to first in LMP2. In GTD Pro, Jack Hawksworth from Vasser Sullivan took the lead, while Trent Hindman from Wayne Taylor Racing led the GTD class. The field took the green flag for the restart with 1h48m to go, but Robert Wickens from 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, Dillmann 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 0.4-second lead over Philip Ellis from 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 2-second gap. While Ellis continued to lead in GTD at the halfway point, Barnicoat built up a lead of 5.2 seconds 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 from United Autosports USA was stuffed into Turn 8 but was able to reverse out of the tire barrier and return to pit lane, avoiding another caution. At the same time, Quinn got held up briefly in traffic, allowing Dillmann to take the
With an hour remaining and a run of pit stops for both GTD classes, Barnicoat remained out front in GTD Pro by a sizable 6 seconds over Nick Tandy from AO Racing. Ellis led by 0.6 seconds over Aaron Telitz in for Pedersen in Vasser Sullivan’s GTD entry. Dillmann continued to lead in LMP2 and 2-second advantage over Quinn.
Quinn pitted from second with 52 minutes 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 43 minutes left, handing the lead back to Dillmann.
The race settled into a well-established rhythm with 30 minutes to go due to fuel saving, with Dillmann continuing to lead by 3.1 seconds over Quinn. Barnicoat remained out front in GTD Pro, roughly 8.2 seconds ahead of Tandy. Meanwhile, the closest battle was Telitz clawing into the GTD lead of Ellis, with 1.2 seconds separating them.
With 22 minutes to go, Cameron dove to pit lane and came out with no fuel concerns and a clear track to optimize his pace compared to Dillmann 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. Dillmann 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
