IMSA's president Scott Atherton confirmed the Monterey Grand Prix was part of the series' schedule for the 2017 IMSA SportsCar Championship at Road America's victory lane in August 2016.[1] It was the fourth consecutive year the event was held as part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The 2017 Monterey Grand Prix was the eleventh of twelve scheduled sports car races of 2017 by IMSA, and was the eighth round not held on the held as part of the North American Endurance Cup.[2] The race was held at the eleven-turn 2.238 mi (3.602 km) Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey County, California on September 24, 2017.[2] After wrapping up the two "West Coast Swing" rounds also consisting of Long Beach in previous years, Laguna Seca moved to September and swapped places on the calendar with Circuit of the Americas.[1] The event also returned to a single race format after utilizing a split race format the previous year due to the field size.[3] For the first time since the 2009 running of the event, the PC class would not be competing.[4]
On September 19, 2017, IMSA released the latest technical bulletin outlining Balance of performance for the event.[6] In P, the Nissan Onroak DPi received a reduction in turbo boost and a fuel capacity reduction of 1 liter. The Cadillac DPi-V.R received an increase in the cars minimum rear wing angle as well as a fuel restrictor reduction of 1 mm. In GTLM, the Porsche 911 RSR received a 0.6 mm larger air restrictor, 1 extra liter of fuel capacity, and a 0.5 mm larger fuel restrictor. The BMW M6 GTLM received a fuel restrictor reduction of 1 mm while the Chevrolet Corvette C7.R got a fuel restrictor increase of 0.5 mm. In GTD, the Audi R8 LMS and Acura NSX GT3 received fuel restrictor increases of 1mm and 0.5 mm, respectively. The BMW M6 GT3 and Lexus RC F GT3 received fuel capacity increases of 6 and 7 liters, respectively.
On September 20, 2017, Continental Tire announced their exit from IMSA after the 2018 season.[7] Following the announcement, IMSA announced Michelin would replace Continental Tire as their official tire supplier beginning in 2019.[8]
A total of 33 cars took part in the event split across 4 classes. 8 cars were entered in P, 9 in GTLM, and 16 in GTD.[9] In GTD, Ben Keating returned to the #33 Riley Motorsports - Team AMG entry.[10] No changes happened in P and GTLM.
Practice
There were three practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Sunday, two on Friday and one on Saturday. The first two one-hour sessions were on Friday morning and afternoon. The third on Saturday morning lasted an hour.[11]
Saturday afternoon's 65-minute three-group qualifying, each category had separate 15-minute sessions. Regulations stipulated that teams nominate one qualifying driver, with the fastest laps determining each class' starting order. IMSA then arranged the grid to put Prototypes ahead of the GTLM and GTD cars.[26][11]
1 The No. 75 SunEnergy1 Racing entry was moved to the back of the GTD field as per Article 43.6 of the Sporting regulations (Change of starting tires).[26]
Race
Post-race
The result kept Jordan Taylor and Ricky Taylor atop the Prototype Drivers' Championship with 288 points, 29 points ahead of second-place finishers Cameron and Curran. Barbosa and Fittipaldi dropped from second to third in the standings.[32] In the GTLM Drivers' Championship, Briscoe and Westbrook advanced from fourth to second. Hand and Müller dropped from third to fourth.[32] As a result of winning the race, Balzan and Nielsen extended their points lead to twenty-six points ahead of Bleekemolen in the GTD Drivers' Championship. Lally and Legge advanced from seventh to fourth while Aschenbach and Davis dropped from fourth to sixth.[32] Cadillac and Chevrolet continued to top their respective Manufacturers' Championships. Ferrari took the lead of the GTD Manufactures' Championship while Wayne Taylor Racing, Corvette Racing, and Scuderia Corsa kept their respective advantages in the Teams' Championships with one round left in the season.[32]