MONTEREY, Calif. — History comes to mind often when referring to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey. From the iconic Corkscrew to the Mario Andretti Hairpin, Rahal Straight and Rainey Curve, the track often shortened to “Laguna” ranks among North America’s most historic natural terrain road courses.
To be sure, many of the finest in IMSA’s history have contributed to their fair share of that.
Who can forget the iconic trading paint battle between Corvette Racing’s Jan Magnussen and Flying Lizard Porsche’s Jorg Bergmeister on the run to the checkered flag in 2009? Or when Richard Westbrook soft-pedaled the Ford GT on a masterful fuel save run to the 21st century race car’s first IMSA win in 2016? Or even last year when one BMW and Porsche apiece had a last-lap, last-turn battle for a Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) podium spot?
With “throwbacks” on the minds within the 34-car field spread across three IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship classes (GTP, Grand Touring Daytona Pro and Grand Touring Daytona), there’s no shortage of new candidates to add to the history in the freshly renamed StubHub Monterey SportsCar Championship.
A number of teams will honor the sport’s history by adopting retro liveries this weekend in IMSA’s “Throwback” event, the first collective effort since the IMSA 50th Anniversary celebration in 2019.
Although they came out second best in that epic 2009 battle, Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports has enjoyed more success at WeatherTech Raceway than any other current entrant with no less than eight class wins since 2004. Fittingly, the liveries of the No. 3 and No.4 Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs will honor the C5-R ‘Vette that captured Corvette’s maiden win at the track more than two decades ago.
“Obviously, super, super cool livery from the team,” said Tommy Milner, driver of the No. 4 Z06 GT3.R. “A fun thing to do, especially with the history that Corvette Racing has and some of the details.”
It’s been since 2021 that Milner and Corvette last won in Monterey, and in Milner’s case, in IMSA altogether. Milner and Nicky Catsburg have focused on points gathering and enter the weekend third in GTD PRO, net second at 30 points behind with the No. 911 Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) absent and the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO up front.
Speaking of Paul Miller Racing, they’re another entry throwing it back in style. The No. 1 car will honor BMW’s heritage by sporting the red, light and dark blue stripes that distinguished the German brand’s 3.0 CSL when Hans-Joachim Stuck stuck his Bimmer on pole in Monterey back in 1975.
“It’s an incredible honor to carry these colors,” said Neil Verhagen, who co-drives the No. 1 BMW with Connor De Phillippi. “But it also adds a level of responsibility. The pace was there in ’75 and it’s our job to bring it full circle.”
“Seeing the side-by-side shots with the CSL shows where we come from,” added De Phillippi.
While AO Racing is only in its fourth year, the team thought of a creative option to showcase the past for its No. 77 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992). How to adorn “Rexy,” the dinosaur for this race? Go way back in history, to the origins of their Cretaceous theropod.
“Our team doesn’t have much in the way of history to throwback to!” said AO Team Principal Gunnar Jeannette. “So instead of a historic livery, we thought our fans would appreciate seeing Rexy turn into his origin story and first sketch.”
Thus was born “Sketchy” with its rough hand-drawn strokes, green marker scribbles and imperfect concept shading, for all the world appearing as if they were drawn during the creative session that, ultimately, gave us “Rexy.”
There may be more to come across both the WeatherTech Championship and IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge ranks, so stay tuned.
A pole-to-flag win at Long Beach for Renger van de Zande, Nick Yelloly and the No. 93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06 brought the No. 7 Penske Porsche Motorsport Porsche 963’s two-race winning streak to a halt. In the process, it also derailed the No. 7 Porsche’s effort to secure a third straight “double” after repeating its 2025 opening wins in the Rolex 24 At Daytona and the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.
Porsche still has a chance of a “triple double” in both GTP and GTD PRO at Monterey – both PPM and AO Racing have won the last two races here apiece, as has Winward Racing in GTD with its No. 57 Mercedes-AMG GT3. But whether Acura, BMW, Cadillac, Porsche or Aston Martin wins overall remains to be seen.
“Just getting the basics right of setup, long runs and tire degradation strategy and I think that’s important,” said Laurens Vanthoor, co-driver of the No. 6 Porsche 963 and a two-time Monterey winner back for the first time since 2021. “In GTP (tire degradation) always plays a big role, because we need to use the tires quite long. And with quite powerful cars it’s still always a challenge. You need to be smart, treat them carefully, and try not to overheat them.”
BMW was third here last year behind the two Porsches and Cadillac nearly won in 2024 with Jack Aitken in the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R, leading late before traffic woes.
“Laguna Seca is always a track I look forward to,” said Aitken, who’s back driving with Earl Bamber after the latter missed Long Beach due to other driving commitments.
“The elevation (changes) and high-speed nature make it an awesome lap. We had a strong race last year, even if the pace wasn’t the best, so we’re definitely looking to build on that this year and put down a fast car.”
GTD has been “feast or famine.” After a pair of podiums to start the year, the points-leading No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo finished 10th at Long Beach after a pit lane speeding penalty. The two-time defending champions Winward Racing won the Rolex 24 At Daytona but have finished 18th and ninth since.
Turner Motorsport has methodically improved with a runner-up finish in Long Beach, and its No. 96 BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher is second in points behind Eduardo “Dudu” Barrichello. Long Beach winners Vasser Sullivan Racing is now third thanks to Aaron Telitz and Benjamin Pedersen in the venerable No. 12 Lexus RC F GT3.
“You just gotta have consistent results, and that’s how IMSA always works out,” Telitz explained. “A lot of times the peaks and the valleys approach to it doesn’t end up playing out for you very well.
“The reason why it’s so wide open this year is because it seems like all the championship-contending teams have done that in the first three races. They’ve had maybe one good race and two bad races, and that’s kind of how we’re still in it.
“We’ve had two not great races, and then one win, and we’re in it. We’re in third. Just maximize every weekend you can. Maybe you don’t have a car to win. And that’s all right. Take whatever position you can get.”
