Front row start, foiled finish at Laguna Seca

The Pratt & Miller team # 4 & # 3 Z06 GT3.R Corvettes started first and second ahead of 7 other rivals in the IMSA GTD PRO class.

While 2 hours and 40 minutes of racing lay ahead to see who would ultimately win at Laguna Seca.

In the first round of pit stops, Oliver Jarvis in the # 9 Pfaff Motorsports McLaren 720S GT3 EVO (note red-and-white livery honoring Ayrton Senna) came out ahead of Tommy Milner in the # 4, taking over for pole-sitter Nicky Catsburg.  

Relying on a different strategy to stop a bit later, Antonio Garcia in the # 3 Corvette, got caught behind the pace car as the pits were suddenly closed under a full course yellow.   

Time lost to re-fuel, change tires and drivers proved too costly to overcome with Alexander Sims conserving fuel to hang on to 5th by the end.

Meanwhile Lauren Heinrich was on the move in the AO Team # 77 Porsche 911 GT3.R 992 (a/k/a T-Rexy), passing the Corvette and the McLaren to win.

 Milner & Catsburg took third for the Pratt & Miller team, ahead of the June 1 Detroit street race not far from the team’s home turf.

Note these clever Pratt & Miller ports for quick-fills.  

The AWA Team # 13 Z06 GT3.R of Matt Bell and Orey Fidani finished 11th in GTD. 

The team got slapped with a drive-through penalty for a pitlane infraction but Bell captured three spots to secure the Bob Akin Award for the highest-finishing GTD entry with a Bronze-rated driver.

The team would earn an automatic bid to the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans if by some miracle they could pull off the GTD championship.

 Photos courtesy of Richard Prince.