IMSA has confirmed 36 entries for the Sportscar Championship’s Course de Monterey 160-minute sprint round at Laguna Seca on 11 May.
Following the 100-minute Long Beach race three weeks ago, Laguna Seca marks the second of the sprint races within the 2025 calendar.
Porsche Penske’s #7 963 GTP entrant has won all three races of this year so far, although BMW RLL have claimed all three pole positions in equal taking.
The #7 full-season drivers Nick Tandy and Felipe Nasr sought victory after BMW RLL lost the lead in the pit lane at Long Beach.
Laguna Seca, unlike Long Beach, is a permanent circuit facility, which should open up some racing action with more on-track overtaking opportunities.
The sprint format should allow for closer racing and thus less time for the leaders to establish a gap.
Last year, #01 Chip Ganassi Cadillac V-Series.R driver Sebastien Bourdais took pole position, but it was Porsche’s #6 GTP duo of Tandy and Mathieu Jaminet who won. The #6 Porsche currently trails the #7 in the standings.
Wayne Taylor Racing represent Cadillac this year, so they are looking to close the performance gap to BMW’s qualifying pace meanwhile the #23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Valkyrie continues its maiden GTP season.
Tom Gamble will be busy piloting the Valkyrie in the WEC’s 6 Hours of Spa, thus, seasoned AMR factory driver Darren Turner has taken over in the #27 Vantage GT3 Evo GTD entry since winning Daytona in 2023.
AO Racing’s #77 Porsche 911 GT3.R claimed two consecutive wins across the GTD Pro and GTD categories, and so the team returns to GTD Pro/Laguna Seca with ‘Rexy’s’ sibling, ‘Roxy’, opening up the GTD class honours.
See the full entry list here – READ MORE: Five key storylines from the IMSA Grand Prix of Long Beach
