Post Long Beach
There’s really nothing quite like the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. The walls are unforgiving, the atmosphere is electric, and the racing is always a bare-knuckle brawl. Coming into the weekend with the #36 DXDT Racing Corvette Z06 GT3.R, we knew we had a car capable of fighting at the front, and the weekend delivered every bit of the rollercoaster experience that street circuits are famous for.
Front Row Speed Right off the truck, the pace was there. Robert [Wickens] put on an absolute clinic during GTD qualifying. With less than a minute left on the clock, he rocketed to the top of the timing sheets. While we got barely edged out for the pole in the final seconds, securing a front-row start (P2) at a track where track position is everything was a massive statement from the whole team.
A Fairytale Opening Stint When the green flag dropped, Robert drove what he perfectly described later as a "fairytale" first stint. He didn't just hold position; he took the overall GTD lead, controlled the pace, and showed the absolute raw speed of the Corvette Z06 GT3.R around those tight concrete canyons. He handed the car over to me in the best possible position, and the DXDT crew executed a flawless, lightning-fast pit stop to send me back out onto the track with a multi-second lead.
Traffic and the Concrete Canyon Shuffle I held the lead early in my stint, and the car felt incredible. But Long Beach multi-class traffic is a completely different beast. Getting cleanly through the slower (or in some cases, out-of-rhythm faster) traffic is a gamble, and unfortunately, we caught a tough break. I got bottled up behind a prototype, scrubbing valuable time and evaporating our gap.
In IMSA, the second you lose momentum, the wolves are at the door. The fiercely competitive GTD field compressed instantly, and things got incredibly chaotic through the tight section from Turns 4 to 8. In the middle of the scramble, we lost our left-side mirror and got shuffled back in the pack.
Fighting to the Checkered Driving a street course without a left mirror with prototypes flying by is an experience in itself, but we kept our heads down. We fought through a caution-heavy final sprint and wrestled the Corvette to a hard-fought P6 finish, crossing the line right in the mix with the podium contenders.
Looking Ahead While P6 isn't the trophy we were aiming for after dominating the first half of the race, the key takeaway from Long Beach is overwhelmingly positive: our raw pace is undeniable. Between the front-row qualifying run, controlling the race lead, and the team's razor-sharp pit execution, we are fully dialed in.
The speed is there. The strategy is there. We proved we have the package to win, and I can't wait to take this momentum into the rest of the season.
A massive thank you to DXDT Racing, Chevrolet, and all the fans who came out to Long Beach. We’ll be back swinging at the next one.