International Motor Sports Association's (IMSA) president John Doonan confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the 2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2021.[2] It was the ninth consecutive year the event was held as part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The 2022 Hyundai Monterey SportsCar Championship was the fourth of twelve scheduled sports car races of 2022 by IMSA , and it was the second of eight rounds held as part of the WeatherTech Sprint Cup.[3] The race was held at the eleven-turn 2.238 mi (3.602 km) WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on May 1, 2022.[4]
On April 21, 2022, IMSA released the latest technical bulletin outlining Balance of Performance for the event. In DPi, the Acura ARX-05 received a 10 kilogram weight break while the Cadillac DPi-V.R received a 10 kilogram weight increase. In GTD Pro and GTD, the Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD received a 20 kilogram weight increase. The BMW M4 GT3 received a 6 horsepower increase.[5]
A total of 32 cars took part in the event, split across four classes. 6 were entered in DPi, 6 in LMP2, 6 in GTD Pro, and 14 in GTD.[7] In LMP2, Patrick Kelly joined Josh Pierson in the PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports No. 52 entry.[8] In GTD, Gradient Racing and Crucial Motorsports skipped after competing at Long Beach. NTE Sport returned after being forced to withdraw at the previous race. Marco Holzer joined NTE Sport making his first start in the IMSA SportsCar Championship since 2015.[9]Dirk Müller subbed for Mike Skeen, who tested positive for COVID-19, in the Team Korthoff Motorsports No. 32.[10]
Practice
There were two practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Sunday; one on Friday and one on Saturday. The first session on Friday afternoon ran for 90 minutes while the second session on Saturday morning lasted 105 minutes.[11]
Qualifying
Saturday's afternoon qualifying was broken into two sessions, with one session for the DPi and LMP2, GTD Pro and GTD classes, which lasted for 15 minutes each, and a ten minute interval between the sessions.[11] The rules dictated that all teams nominated a driver to qualify their cars, with the Pro-Am (LMP2/GTD) classes requiring a Bronze/Silver Rated Driver to qualify the car. The competitors' fastest lap times determined the starting order. IMSA then arranged the grid to put DPis ahead of the LMP2, GTD Pro, and GTD cars.[12]
Qualifying results
Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and by ‡.
1 The No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Racing entry was moved to the back of the GTD field as per Article 40.1.4 of the Sporting regulations (Change of starting tires).[12]
Race
Post-Race
As a result of finishing in second place, Blomqvist and Jarvis took the lead of the DPi Drivers' Championship. Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor advanced from fourth to second while Bamber and Lynn dropped from first to fourth.[15] Dalziel and Merriman took the lead of the LMP2 Drivers' Championship with 675 points while Farano and Delétraz advanced from eighth to second.[15] Campbell and Jaminet retook the lead of the GTD Pro Drivers' Championship with 1345 points while Antonio García and Jordan Taylor dropped from first to second.[15] Hardwick and Heylen took the lead of the GTD Drivers' Championship with 985 points while McAleer dropped from first to second. Auberlen and Foley advanced from tenth to third while Megennis and Jeff Westphal jumped from seventeenth to fifth.[15] Acura and Porsche became the leaders of their respective Manufactures' Championships while PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports continued to top the LMP2 Teams' Championship. Meyer Shank Racing, Pfaff Motorsports, and Wright Motorsports became the leaders of their respective class Teams' Championships with eight rounds remaining.[15]
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