How to watch IMSA sports cars at Laguna Seca: Schedule, TV info, streaming, start times, more
Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande will be defending last year's IMSA victory at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, but the Chip Ganassi Racing duo will race on a very different surface.
The 11-turn, 2.238-mile road course on California's Monterey Peninsula was repaved after last year's IMSA race. The fresh asphalt produced high speeds and total chaos in last year's caution-plagued IndyCar season finale.
But during recent Grand Touring Prototype testing, the Cadillac drivers (who were there with the BMWs and Porsche Penske Motorsport cars) said the conditions had settled.
"Grip has gone up a lot," Bourdais said. "It’s probably going to be at least a couple of seconds faster, and it’s always an awesome feeling when you drive on a repaved track. I’ve always enjoyed Laguna, but tire degradation was high, and grip was quite low at the end of the cycle of the old pavement. So, now it’s full force, maximum attack and commitment, so it’s a ton of fun to muscle those GTPs around.
"You should see some pretty incredible speeds around the weekend.”
His teammate said the racing still could be treacherous.
"We saw Indy cars flying off because there was only one line that was grippy, and anything that was off line was not good," van der Zande said. "When we were testing there, that improved a lot. There was grip everywhere. It’s just the speeds are so much higher that if you have a little off, you’re flying off a lot faster.
"I think you’re going to see if people go off (track), it’s easier to end up in the barrier, which makes it tricky and you can feel that from the car. Laguna Seca is one of those old-school tracks (that) I absolutely love in America. But when they increase the grip, the speed is a lot higher so the risk of flying off is a lot higher."
Bourdais and van der Zande are off to a strong start in 2024, having won the April 20 race at Long Beach with shrewd strategy. The good results matter for the team, which faces an uncertain future with this being its last season with Cadillac.
IMSA Long Beach results: Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac wins without changing tires
The No. 01 capitalizes on a shrewd strategy call as the team earns its fourth victory at the track.
"Right now we see at Ganassi that there’s a good energy at the team," van der Zande said. "It’s the pit stops, it’s the crew, it’s the making the right decision on setup, it’s the driving. There is a good synergy on the team to do well. You’re going race by race, and you win races, you win the championship. And that’s what we’re here for.
"For Ganassi and the crew and everyone, what’s going to bring up the future we’ll see. Hopefully something good for Ganassi. It's it's been a bit of a bummer (with) the (Cadillac) news . The people who are there are really committed. We’ve worked really hard to get the group together as it is now where you can see that everybody works together very well, and you can see that in the results and the pace in the car. I think we’re just enjoying the moment of having a good group of people together and see what the future brings. You can’t do more than that for now.”
Said Bourdais: “All we can do is give it our very best and continue to represent Cadillac to the best of our abilities until the end of the season and position the team in the best possible way to get another program. As far as the team and the drivers are concerned, it’s eyes forward and get the best results possible and try to win the championship.”
Here are the details for the IMSA Motul Course de Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca (all times are ET):
2024 IMSA LAGUNA SECA
WHEN: Sunday, May 12, 3:10 p.m.
DISTANCE: A two-hour, 40-minute race on the 11-turn, 2.238-mile road course in Monterey, California.
FORECAST: According to Wunderground.com, it's expected to be 60 degrees with a 5% chance of rain at the green flag.
ENTRY LIST: Click here for the 34-car field in three categories (GTP, GTD Pro, GTD)
QUALIFYING: Saturday, May 11, 7:30 p.m. ET (coverage on Peacock and IMSA.tv)
RACE BROADCAST
TV: The IMSA Motul Course de Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca will be on NBC k and streamed on Peacock starting at 3 p.m. ET. (Peacock will have flag-to-flag coverage of all IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship events in 2024. Click here for information on how to sign up for Peacock.)
Dave Burns is the announcer with analyst Calvin Fish. Brian Till and Dillon Welch are the pit reporters.
RADIO: All sessions live on IMSA.com and RadioLeMans.com; SiriusXM live race coverage begins Sunday, May 12 at 3 p.m. (Sirius channel 211, XM 206, Web/App 996)
MOTUL COURSE DE MONTEREY DAILY SCHEDULE
FRIDAY, MAY 10
11:30 a.m.-12:10 p.m.: Mazda MX-5 Cup practice
12:25-1:10 p.m.: Lamborghini Trofeo practice
1:25-2:25 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge practice
3:25-3:55 p.m.: Mazda MX-5 Cup practice
4:15-5:45 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice
6:05-6:50 p.m.: Lamborghini Trofeo practice
7:05-8:05 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge practice
8:20-8:40 p.m.: Mazda MX-5 Cup qualifying
SATURDAY, MAY 11
11:20-11:55 a.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge qualifying
12:15-1:45 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice
2:05-2:40 p.m.: Lamborghini Trofeo qualifying
2:55-3:40 p.m.: Mazda MX-5 Cup Race 1
5-7 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge race
7:35-8:15 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship qualifying
8:40-9:30 p.m.: Lamborghini Trofeo Race 1
SUNDAY, MAY 12
11:35 a.m.-12:20 p.m.: Mazda MX-5 Cup Race 2
12:40-1:30 p.m.: Lamborghini Trofeo Race 2
3:10-5:50 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Motul Course de Monterey
IMSA COVERAGE ON NBC SPORTS
Chip Ganassi Racing wins Long Beach without a tire change
Michael Andretti, Wayne Taylor celebrate first win together
Louis Deletraz closes Acura’s first victory at Twelve Hours of Sebring
Porsche wins Rolex 24 at Daytona, ending 55-year drought for Roger Penske
A viewer’s guide to the Rolex 24: Five things to watch this weekend
Jenson Button, Felipe Massa and Josef Newgarden among notable crossovers this year
Inside the sophisticated cockpit of a GTP hybrid prototype
Bubba Wallace wowed by sports car culture
Pipo Derani puts No. 31 Cadillac on pole position with record lap at Daytona
Defending Rolex 24 winner Mike Shank on IMSA comeback: “I work on it every day”
As his team grows bigger than ever, Wayne Taylor keeps an eye on the little things
NASCAR ON NBC PODCAST IMSA COVERAGE
Episode 312: Rolex 24 preview: A world-class field gathers at the World Center of Racing for a race of champions: Listen on Apple Podcasts, Listen on Spotify
Episode 313: Unable to defend Rolex 24 title, Mike Shank plots his IMSA return: Listen on Apple Podcasts, Listen on Spotify
Episode 314: Unable to defend Rolex 24 title, Mike Shank plots his IMSA return: Listen on Apple Podcasts, Listen on Spotify
