Park Place Motorsports ended its day 15 minutes shy of the checkered flag at Road America after contact caused significant damage to the rear and front of the No. 73 Park Place Porsche 911 GT3 R in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race.
Porsche Works Driver Patrick Long was making the pass for eighth place after joining the field from pit lane when the No. 57 Acura made contact with Long pushing him off track. When he rejoined the field, the front of the car was struck. The result was significant damage to the bodywork with pieces of debris scattering the track.
The Park Place Motorsports crew executed quick repairs in the pit lane; however, the 4.05-mile track is unforgiving when gaining back laps. Ultimately, Park Place Motorsports retired when the repairs did not hold and forced Long to pit again. The Dallas team was tied for the lead in the WeatherTech Sprint Championship headed into the weekend.
Calendar
Park Place Motorsports next race is at VIRginia International Raceway for the MICHELIN GT Challenge. The GT-only event takes place Aug. 23-25 in Alton, Virginia. The two hour and 40-minute competition is the penultimate sprint race on the IMSA schedule for the GT classes. For a detailed schedule, visit https://imsa.com.
Driver Quotes
Patrick Long, Porsche Works Driver
“Patrick’s opening stint was really strong, and I got in with the confidence that we were going to be able to advance car forward,” Long said. “The car had good balance, and we had just passed the No. 57 car when, unfortunately, there was a chain reaction of events where we took a huge rear impact. I haven’t seen the film to know what happened, but it ended our day.
“I re-entered the track behind the Lexus, and then there was another sequence of contact between the No. 57 and the other cars in front of me. The common denominator today was a car who spent their day out of control. I’m glad there was a penalty issued, but that doesn’t bring our car back into the race.”
Patrick Lindsey, No. 73 Park Place Porsche 911 GT3 R
“I’m really disappointed in today’s outcome,” Lindsey said. “I was frustrated with my own drive, but I felt Pat was gaining major ground in his stint. I think we easily would have finished within the top ten, maybe higher. Congratulations to Pfaff Motorsport and Porsche on another GTD win.”