Here is how they qualified

C8.Rs doing so bad that IMSA had to give them a break with a BoP that may help them
We will see

Three GTD Pro/GTD class cars, including the new BMW M4 GT3 and Chevy Corvette C8.R GTD have been given mid-event Balance of Performance adjustments at the Roar Before the Rolex 24.

Issued by IMSA on Saturday afternoon, one hour prior to qualifying for Sunday’s qualifying race, the BoP changes have been made “to maintain competitive equivalency” according to the sanctioning body.

The Corvette has received a 1.5 mm larger air restrictor and 3-liter increase in fuel capacity, while the new-for-2022 BMW will have increased boost across all RPM levels as well as 5 additional liters of fuel.

Ferrari’s 488 GT3 Evo 2020 has also underwent changes, most notably a 30 kg addition in minimum weight and 3-degree increase in minimum rear wing angle but with a slight increase in boost levels and an added 4 liters of fuel.

The adjustments come in the wake of three timed test sessions at the Roar so far, which have seen the three manufacturers near or at the bottom of the time charts in either the GTD Pro and/or GTD classes.

It’s believed to be the first mid-event BoP change made by IMSA at the Roar pre-season test.

Understood that both BMW and Corvette teams had been concerned about the pace of their new or modified cars under the original BoP, which was released last week.

An additional two-hour test session is on tap for this evening following qualifying for tomorrow’s 100-minute qualifying race, which will be broadcast live on Peacock at 2 p.m. ET.

IMSA TECHNICAL BULLETIN IWSC #22-07

To: All IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Competitors
From: IMSA Competition
Date: January 22, 2022
Re: IMSA ROAR Revised GTD BoP

In accordance with Attachment 2 of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship SSR, the following Balance of Performance values are set for the indicated Car Models.
The column listed as current is the current specification after any adjustment is applied, and thus the required specification for the Event.
These decisions come into immediate effect and are applicable until further notice.

Attachment 2.2.2. General

A. To maintain competitive equivalency between Cars within the Class, and between Classes, IMSA uses the Balance of Performance (BoP) process as outlined
herein to identify and mandate adjustments to the Specification.

i. Evaluation is based on Demonstrated Performance data; including, but not limited to, the IMSA Scrutineering data logger, IMSA technical inspection
measurements, and official Timing and Scoring.

B. These Regulations serve as a guideline for the application of BoP.
C. Cars representing a Car Model must always respect the Specification.
i. Cars outside of technical compliance may be excluded from BoP Analysis.
D. IMSA’s measurements and calculations are the official measurements and calculations

Fourth practice
Still last place even with the BoP changes

Completed the 20-minute warm up laps before the 1 hour 45 minute qualify race at 2 PM ET today

Even with the relaxed BoP, the C8.Rs are still 3-4 seconds a lap slower than lead cars in class.

The beginning of the GTD Pro category is set to bring a “whole new dynamic” to races in the production-based ranks of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, according to Nick Tandy and other drivers in the field.

GTD Pro has replaced GT Le Mans as the top GT class in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, removing GTE machinery from the grid and ensuring that all cars below the prototype classes are now running to the same GT3 spec.

While many other GT racing series around the world use a multi-class structure, including the FIA World Endurance Championship and the Fanatec GT World Challenge powered by AWS, this year marks the first in which such an arrangement has been deployed by IMSA.

Corvette C8.R Racing driver Tandy stated that the establishment of technological parity between the IMSA GT classes is “exciting” because it brings an element of the unknown to drivers and teams that previously competed in the quicker GTLM division.

The Pratt & Miller-run GM factory squad is running its ex-GTLM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R in GTD specification to comply with the new class rules. Both cars are entered in GTD Pro.
“From a GTD & GTD Pro point of view, there’s a whole new dynamic that’s going to play out in the racing,” said Tandy.
Nobody knows how it’s going to work. It’s kind of coming back to Daytona afresh, not knowing how things are going to play out and who’s going to benefit from certain situations and not.

It feels strange coming here, not knowing what we’re going into.
Since the [2014] merger, Corvette Racing and me have come here knowing we’re in GTLM, up against these cars, working to find out when you’re going to put the certain tire compound on and set it up around different compounds.
All of that has disappeared, and we’re kind of the new guys.
People have raced BMWs in GTD before. Even though the BMW is a new car [now], there’s never been a Corvette in GTD running on these tires and specifications.
“It’s exciting because we don’t really know what’s going to happen.”

Fellow GTD Pro driver Maro Engel, who is in one of two WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evos and won the GTD class at Daytona last year, doesn’t feel that the new structure is altering teams’ approaches but reckons the racing could take on a new look.
“There’s a lot more GT[3] cars in the field,”

You get the impression from Lap 1. There’s much more similar-paced cars. That’s definitely something very different to the past.
Clearly we have to look at our class; that’s what matters and that’s where there’s a prize to win.
Right now, race prep is no different. The traffic is a little different.
Whereas previously in GTD, obviously you had the GLTM cars come past you three seconds a lap faster, the LMP3s a little faster and so on.

Now you’ve got more than half the grid that are at the same or similar pace, basically.
“For sure, I’m anxious to see how that’s going to play out in a race situation because it’s going to have an influence for sure.”

Tandy suggested that the mixed class structure could have a “massive” impact on the strategy options for the Pro runners compared to what was possible in GTLM which used faster cars and confidential, rather than commercial, Michelin tires.

Unlike before, the Rolex 24 grid will not be sorted into class order if standard GTD cars finish ahead of GTD Pros in today’s qualifying race.
Full course caution wave-by procedures will cover both GT classes as one.
“For instance, there could be a GTD Pro fight for the class lead that could be a lap up on the GTD field,” said Tandy.

But say it’s the penultimate stop, and you try to take a tank of fuel under yellow, and you come out 12 GTD cars behind someone who has short-filled. It could be massive.

At that point the cars could be all a very similar pace, and it will have a massive effect on the strategy.
If there are late yellows in the race, I can see pit strategy and track position being pretty important.
“In GTLM, you knew that it would take time to get through some GTD cars, but you could pass them because the car was faster.
But now, you might not pass them because they’re all the same speed.”

‘I’m Less Likely to Let a Pro Car By"

Competitors in the GTD class are also anticipating a new dynamic in mixed-class races, as a customer team-focused category now becomes more closely mixed with the Pro tier’s factory and factory-assisted operations.
Turner Motorsport BMW driver Bill Auberlen noted that most lineups in GTD have drivers strong enough to battle those in GTD Pro on an equal technological footing.
I’m in Pro-Am, but I don’t mind showing that I belong,” Auberlen said

I want to beat them. It’s an added carrot for the Pro-Ams to show that they belong there as well.
To win a championship, a race, you have to be smart and know who you’re racing.
But if you let your head get spun out, and you start racing the wrong people for the wrong reasons, it doesn’t do anything for you.

My teammate Robby Foley, who is an Am, one day wants to be in a Pro car. He has a lot to prove against the people he should be racing.
“There are a lot of different objectives and motivations that are going to be working their way into the racing.”

Auberlen also suggested that GTD drivers are less likely to make provisions for drivers in the Pro category to get past under certain racing scenarios.

“Conversely, if I am racing my guy ahead of me, and a Pro is behind me, I’m not going to pull over to let him just get in front of me to then block me,” he said.
But if I let a Pro get between me and the guy I’m racing, I can’t race that guy anymore. So I’m less likely to let him by. This is a really weird thing.
“On the other hand, I think it’s going to make for craziness that is good for fans.

“If all of a sudden there are cars getting into it that don’t belong together, and it makes for controversy and odd stuff. Maybe that’s good.”

End of race, not good at all

C8.R Corvette Racing finished up its first 3 days of official testing & competition in the new GTD PRO class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on Sunday with work to do ahead of the upcoming Rolex 24 At Daytona.

The team finished poorly in eighth & ninth in class and 14th and 18th among GTD cars following a 100-minute qualifying race to set the grid for the Rolex 24 on Jan. 29-30. Sunday’s race was the first for the evolved Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R, which ran for all three days in GTD spec for the first time in a full-field setting.

The results show the uphill battle facing last year’s GT Le Mans (GTLM) race-winning program. Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor last year’s GTLM champions and Rolex 24 winners with Nicky Catsburg in the mid-engine No. 3 Corvette C8.R led the team’s efforts but finished a lap behind the class-winning Lamborghini.

The C8.R has undergone a number of changes from its two-year GTLM campaign to bring it in line with the existing GTD cars. Corvette Racing is running with more weight, less power, a higher level of drag, customer Michelin tires and an ABS system for 2022 compared to 2021.

Even with a mid-week Balance of Performance adjustment by the sanctioning body in an attempt for more evenly balanced competition, the Corvettes still faced a significant performance deficit in Saturday’s qualifying and Sunday’s race.

Sunday’s race ran green for the full 100 minutes. Garcia ran the first half of the race and gained three spots in class in the opening 10 minutes. He remained there before the GTD pit stop cycle began and handed off to Taylor, who rejoined in the same position after Sorensen made the class’ final stop with 45 minutes remaining.

Tommy Milner and Marco Sorensen teamed in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette in their first race together.
Sorensen turned his first laps in competition as a member of Corvette Racing as the pair will drive with Nick Tandy. Milner opened with the longest stint of any GTD PRO drivers at 55 minutes, but the top-speed deficit hurt his progress before the pit cycle began.

Corvette Racing returns to the Daytona track Thursday for the opening practices for the 60tth Rolex 24 At Daytona. The race begins at 1:40 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jan. 29. Television coverage begins at 1:30 p.m. ET on NBC before transitioning between the USA Network and the Peacock streaming service before the final two hours of NBC coverage Sunday afternoon.
The full race will stream on Peacock while live IMSA Radio coverage will air on XM 202, SiriusXM Online 992 and IMSA.com, which also will host live timing and scoring.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R EIGHTH IN GTD PRO:

“Knowing how little testing we did before the Roar, we used this race as a big test for tires.
There are a lot of different things with the tire regulations where you have to run a certain pressure, and we learned a lot about that.
It’s the first experience we’ve had with this. I was driving and learning how to maximize the tire performance.
Even if we didn’t have the overall pace to be farther up, I think we can a lot from here for the race.

Even if it’s only learning how to run a double-stint, it’s better than nothing.
Almost all the other GTD teams have been running this tire on their car for a long time, so there is a lot of catching up we need to do on this little thing.
Let’s see if we can come back stronger in a few days, so we can be where we need to be.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R EIGHTH IN GTD PRO:

“The race was a qualifying race, so you can’t really win too much in that event. It’s pretty much just about setting us up for the Rolex. For us, we know the car we have now. Throughout the Roar, we made some developments and gathered more data to hopefully set us up well for next week.

That’s the one that counts. We still have some more work to do in order to understand the ABS, the new tire and everything.
The guys will have a busy week ahead, but I know we’ll come back strong next week.

Understanding the race craft of this category was important. We’re now mixed into a new class with GTD and Am drivers as well.
Understanding how they race and how we will interact is useful. It’s a lot harder to get by them now that we have the same BoP, so it will make for a long and interesting 24 hours. It will make staying out of trouble that much more important than years past.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R NINTH IN GTD PRO:

“We’re obviously not thrilled with our ultimate pace. There is still a lot to learn with tires and things like that, experience that will help us for the race. Today was good for us as drivers to learn more about the tires and about interacting with the other competitors in GTD. This played out as we probably expected.

The plan, of course, was to learn as much as we could. From my perspective, learning where some other cars are fast and where they aren’t, how they race… that will be a huge part of 24 hours here with 35 cars all near our pace. From that standpoint, it was successful.
The car is in one piece, and we stayed out of trouble. There’s lots of race data for the engineers to pour over and make our Corvettes as fast as they can.”

MARCO SORENSEN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R NINTH IN GTD PRO:

“First off, it’s amazing to drive a whole stint in the Corvette. I got to understand the car in a totally different way.
The tires we are on now are new for the team, so it was good to get some data on how much as a driver you can push on these tires.
I’m still on a very steep learning curve with this car, and I want to keep that curve going up, so we are 100 percent ready for next week.

I was a little surprised it was green all the way. You drive to the limit of the car, and then you just sit on the straights and wait!
There were some silly overtakes out there that people probably didn’t have to make in a qualifying race.
I’m happy to have done my first race in a Corvette now. We have to now keep it going for the next week.”

A few GTD Pro and GTD cars will not start the Rolex 24 where they apparently qualified after they were found to be outside tire usage requirements in the Rolex 24 qualifying race.

Following post-race inspection, the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Porsche and the No. 97 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes AMG GTD Pro entries, along with the No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche GTD car, were given the time equivalent of drive-through penalties for failing to operate within parameters defined by Michelin and IMSA.

Teams were given a warning in-race for the first infraction, before penalties were applied for a second.
The No. 79 Porsche finished second in GTD Pro, while the No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche was third in GTD.

In a tech bulletin issued prior to the start of the Roar, Michelin outlined certain requirements on cambers and pressures.
Negative camber beyond 3.5 degrees is prohibited, and the bulletin specified what minimum stabilized pressures had to be for given camber ranges, starting at 29psi.