IMSA's Controversial GTP Title Fight at the 2023 PETIT Le Mans

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Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti's Acura ARX-06 and Wheelen Engineering's Cadillac v-LMDh clashed in the 2023 season finale at Petit Le Mans (Road Atlanta) while Filipe Albuquerque and Pipo Derani were fighting for IMSA's GTP driver's championship.
Let's relive the action and the drama

[@wendigockel]

WTR vs. Action Express is the rivalry that puts IMSA on the map! Rivalries generate attention. And endurance racing deserves attention!

[@eltonmsn]

i disagree, what put IMSA on the map is its similarity with WEC, several US motor sport championships are full of dirty drivers, they've to make a season in europe to learn how to drive before going back to US and try to become pros lol, those sample weren't disputes

[@joaquingonzalez834]

​​​​@@eltonmsnmany of the pro drivers in IMSA are from other countries, and many of drive or have driven in WEC, what is your point here?

[@BlackEnglishmen]

To be fair it was anybody’s race. The 6 Porsche got robbed by a GTD and LMP car colliding and collecting it. Prior to that there were 6 GTP cars in position to win.

[@nolanraymond244]

Beautiful analysis and love the passion. What a race and what a debut season for the GTP era.

[@mihajlovucinic011]

Yeah, IMSA did a much better bop.

[@GroovedSlick]

Thanks! It really was, I loved every minute of it (except maybe the cautions 😂)

[@jacksonbarinowski3966]

Still not thrilled that WTR didn't take this championship. I really like Filipe Albuquerque, but at Sebring and especially PLM, he made insanely risky pass attempts that ended up costing the race. I know he's not the only one, since RT made a late dive bomb attempt at Long Beach, but that was different; it was a last lap, last-ditch attempt at an overtake. Filipe needs to be a little more conservative especially when there's still time on the clock. Hopefully a learning experience for next year.

[@smtshrek3674]

Nope Albuquerque did the same thing at petit last year vs the 60. Chased him through turn 1 and instead of pulling back into turn 2 he went side by side with a GT car that didn’t see him and contact was made damaging the wtr Acura and taking it out of the championship race with less than 1/2 to go. Obviously Felipe has not learned to be less aggressive, last lap yes 1 hour to go no no no

[@e1cabral]

In Long Beach was Rick Taylor to threw away the race.

[@asymsolutions]

@@e1cabral Also Sebring wasn't "insanely risky" Jaminet was 3 lanes over and defended late, left flat footed by the combination of traffic and Felipe's wide pass. Those GTP's have some bad blind spots in the 3-5 o'clock position and it get's worse when such a wide dive is needed. Also Jam's line made it look like he was going to pass GT traffic on the outside. Basically Jam left a big gap, Felipe dove in, Jam recognized it slightly too late, went to defend and didn't see where Felipe was till it was too late.

[@shane7366]

Your commentary is so good. Criminally underrated channel

[@GroovedSlick]

Much appreciated man

[@GamezGuru1]

Another AMAZING review - small point but after the #10 crashed out, I think the #31 had to finish 7th or higher just to beat the #10 to the title, regardless of where the BMW finished... The onboards of these cars battling in the darkness was spectacular! Thanks for all the awesome commentaries you did this year, puts the official IMSA highlights to shame. I watched most of this race live, but still looked forward to your video - i hope you can keep them coming in 2024!

[@JacksRacingProjects]

if derani finished 8th, and the 25 had passed the jdc car, they would have won the championship.

[@GamezGuru1]

@@JacksRacingProjects that's what I was hoping for, but was always a long shot...

[@GroovedSlick]

Really glad you enjoyed! Lots of change in my life right now (all very good) so there is a potential that I won't be able to make any in 2024 but I hope I have the time to be able to!

[@JK7kaye]

Great videos for this season. Seriously don't know why IMSA doesn't just hire you to put these videos on their channel because they don't put in the same effort over there.

[@GroovedSlick]

Thanks, really glad you enjoyed!

Honestly, even as a Cadillac fan, I believe this should have been penalized. Car #10 was already beside #31, he should have left some room (even just a tiny bit), but more accurately: that was an avoidable contact.

[@Quintanaroo2117]

So, it's a high speed corner. What's the 31 supposed to let him by because the 10 decides to put himself in a compromised position?

@@Quintanaroo2117 I get your point, In the end nothing is totally black or white, however #10 position is only compromised because of #31 behaviour at that moment. #10 would have stayed on track (and probably made the pass) without the contact. That is the precise definition of an avoidable contact.

[@Quintanaroo2117]

@ . A professional driver knows the risk of trying to pass on the outside. That said it's not like the 31 dive bombed him, it was his corner.

[@MichaelNaydeck]

Excellent video. Best IMSA recap of a race I have seen in a very long time. You;ve earned my subscription. I have been a WTR fan for a long time but Cadillac holds a special place in my heart. What a season and what a finale.

[@GroovedSlick]

Thats very kind, glad you enjoyed. Agreed, what a season!

[@kasaihd1773]

Great Video! I couldn't watch the race so i relied on you to upload a Video about it and it's great

[@cooperastro2690]

Thankyou Grooved! Been waitin for this one

[@manuelmanterola7070]

what a season, thanks for the videos!!

[@Sefa2103]

Thank you Mr Slick for your amazing videos. Really enhanced the first endurance/Imsa season I watched. Videos were always on point with great onboards and commentary. I am looking forward to future seasons and videos. Keep it up my man❤

[@GroovedSlick]

I really appreciate it! Thanks for watching and supporting it means a lot! ❤️

[@c7soda255]

I was at this race irl it was crazy im glad you made a vid on it

[@hyper-cat]

Another fantastic video! Exciting stuff. Looking forward to the bright future of this channel.

[@GroovedSlick]

💪

[@AlexandreSene]

GREAT content Dude!

[@este.bahn92]

Great summary, thanks!. Subbed :D

[@lefunghi6151]

I guess I’ll have to put this race on my calendar next year. Usually just watched Le mans and N24 but starting to get interested in the whole endurance series instead of a few select races. And this one just looked absolutely insane. What a time to be a fan of the sport!

[@nathancorfield2609]

Love your videos man. I only fully got into endurance racing this year but unfortunately here in the UK it's not easy to get IMSA coverage. I do watch the WEC as I have been a huge ferrari fan my whole life, but there isn't racing nearly as often as IMSA. Your videos are the only way I can stay up-to-date. Keep it up man.

[@hannesgroesslinger]

IMSA has an official live stream (free, without ad breaks and with commentary from the legend John Hindhaugh) for everybody outside the US. They also have all these onboard cameras available as free live streams, and there is also free radio coverage. IMSA is one of the easiest series to get coverage for, as long as you are outside the US. You only need an internet connection.

[@nathancorfield2609]

@hannesgroesslinger where can I find this? Is it on KZbin or is it on the official IMSA website?

[@agenthoini]

​@@nathancorfield2609on their website (and probably within their app as well). They also upload the full races on youtube within a few days after the event took place so if you want you can go and rewatch the whole season right now

[@GroovedSlick]

Glad to hear you are enjoying them!

[@LOstere]

Really hope that 2024 is WTRs year, been a fan of WTR and Filipe Albuquerque specifically ever since my first imsa race, 6h of the Glen 2022

[@Law0fRevenge]

I was at the edge of my seat for pretty much the whole video. Your commentary is really engaging in these videos, keep it up!

[@GroovedSlick]

thanks, glad to hear it!

[@AdamAllen]

If you put those night laps in a movie, people would be yelling "fake"! UNREAL action! Great vid.

[@AS19Motorsport]

Another great analysis/reaction! Out of interest: where did you find the onboards?

[@GroovedSlick]

someanon77 on KZbin has all the onboards

[@arrivendrive6831]

Great review of the race. I was there and it was elbows out

[@SLS4_YT]

thats rely cool ty for making this

[@robinchesne805]

Fantastic summary. As an european, I had to tap out at 5 hours remaining left so thanks for the video :)

[@TheNecromancer6666]

In principle I love LMDh and LMH. But they are so heavy and Front limited. Give them 340 Rubber all round. Strip of 100 or 150kg, then we are talking proper Prototypes. LMH/LMDh are not only slower then the mad P1 Hybrid. They are also slower then 2010 LMP-1 Diesels. And that's just not good enough.

[@GroovedSlick]

I feel you. I love the class but what would make it incredible is if they were faster. for me it’s not the weight but the downforce. LMP2s in the ldf aero have more high speed performance than lmh/dh. I don’t understand their reasoning for restricting downforce levels so much.

[@TheNecromancer6666]

@GroovedSlick They didn't restrict downforce levels per se. Just Aero efficiency. The reason is cost. Up to this day, the Audi R18 RP6 is the most aerodynamically complex racecar ever made. And Audi spend 250 million on that. The Downforce Level of the LMH/LMDh is high. They are very quick in the highspeed corners, where they can compensate for weight with brute dowmforce numbers. If you gave them wider front tyres, they would also be able to drop a bit of drag from the front and keep the same level of cornering performance. In all honesty, as much as I like the diversity LMH brought, I miss the Hybrid P1s. Le Mans, Spa and Silverstone 2015 are some of the best Motorraces ever. Largely due to cars that have over 1000hp and more downforce and mechanical grip then an F1 car.

[@Tony_Man]

You know what. I think I'll sub to you for some awesome story telling and engagement. I tried to get into IMSA and endurance races but I'm either late to see where the fun is at, timezones, whatever. But you made it feel like I get a full summary of a series in the most gut wrenching way possible.

[@GroovedSlick]

Thanks! Glad, you enjoyed!

[@dekker8178]

been waiting so long for this video edit: such good stuff. thank you for a great imsa season, cant wait for wec at Bahrain. oh and, 2024 imsa will be insane.....

[@GroovedSlick]

Really glad you enjoyed, thank you tons more amazing racing in the future!

[@dave2609]

thank you sir 🙏

[@RoyaleDistrict]

Louis is awesome! We met and did some business together while he was in F2. Great to see him having success!

[@GroovedSlick]

he’s about to set imsa alight

[@VicarOfMayhem]

Nice race call! Good racing too, somehow I missed the race this year (life, yaknow?)

[@markokozic]

From all of this only thing i can 100% be sure of is that Louis is a f'ing weapon. edit: you ain't joking m8 that shit at 08:20 was 10/10.

[@GroovedSlick]

WTR has such strong line ups next year. I really feel it will be their season. Yeah, I watched that clip like 1000x. Better than anything I've seen in a movie too

[@FelipeGabe]

8:07 that's indeed probably the best camera shot in the history of sportscar racing

[@recarsion]

Great vid! Are you going to cover the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup final at Zandvoort? Some controversy happened there also...

[@GroovedSlick]

thanks! no, I won’t be covering that

[@Zekenificent]

@recarsion I missed that race, what happened?

[@recarsion]

@@Zekenificent two cars were competing for the title, the 40 Audi and the 88 AMG, and the 40's teammate car yeeted it into the 88 in the first lap of the second race in a way that looked very much intentional

[@SakibLH44]

Omg your channel is amazing

[@GroovedSlick]

Really glad you are enjoying!

[@charlesreaddy6585]

Petite LeMans the last few years have been the icing on the cake for IMSA racing! . Great rivalries and great end of season racing. The track is challenging and the venue and time of year is great for race fans!

[@evofire115]

I mean felipe made a dumb move to try and force that at T1. Bummed it ended that way though, would have been better to see WTR miss the wall

[@timmynicolas8729]

Good vid again .btw the s is silent in Louis deletraz's name

[@GroovedSlick]

Thanks, I'll try not to butcher it next time 😂

[@georgemayatt896]

best videos for endurance racing out there. Next year before the new season you could do like a beginners guide video for endurance racing, both Wec and imsa. I recon with Lambo and alpine joining there will quite few new fans interested.

[@GroovedSlick]

Thanks! Really glad you enjoyed! I don't have very much time for making videos anymore but I'll try my best to put out some content for 2024

[@davidshekhter5284]

Great video. Im now subbed. I live in Daytona and attend Rolex every year. IMSA has reached new heights.

[@GroovedSlick]

that’s great! I was there this year and all the locals said it was the first time it had that “big event” feeling. super fun

[@liquidluxor]

Great video!! Not following IMSA closely, still you captured me for the whole 21 minutes :) good job

[@GroovedSlick]

Really glad you enjoyed!

[@MrDjtone08]

That side by side was epic 8:18

[@reallyluckyoaklawn8306]

Correction: Ricky Taylor was driving for Penske Acura #7 in 2020. He nerfed Pipo Derani #31 Action Express in Turn 6. WTR Cadillac was gifted the win for Ryan Briscoe/Renger Van de Zande and modern nominee for G.O.A.T Scott Dixon, who won the 2020 Indycar championship a week later. So the rivalry was between Penske Acura and Action Express Cadillac in 2020.

[@komatsu_palu]

request to improve the graphic format but it'd be awesome if you can list all the driver crew of the car being viewed and have the current driver highlighted. while it's not necessary it emphasizes that sportscar racing isn't just about one driver in the car. hope it's not too much work

[@WEILMAN_11]

Cadillac,Hardwork determination & teamwork? Please!!! It’s more like “Caution Flags save our ass today”..

[@millermedia1674]

I saw the wayne taylor crash first hand on the inside of 1, im suprised he wasnt more injured

[@WillArtie]

Can someone estimate for me what speed was the car doing on impact at around 16:20? T1 seems like a fast-ish corner after the straight..

[@vitruviuszhang5057]

It's 220km/h in simulator at the apex of T1, so, let's say they slowed down a bit for side by side, and the grass reduced some speed...It would be at least 200km/h

[@LarryLinton]

This was so good 🤌🏻🙂

[@antoniestrada1972]

I was there and I was thinking to myself Wow this is poor driving standards And then I realized oh wait nascar owns the series And then it made sense

[@bernardoberner4]

Action Express has won 6 out of 10 modern day IMSA championships, since 2014 that is. Impressive stuff

[@AeXMusic]

Man, your videos are so damn good. I love motorsport, but i find all the media stuff around the racing so incredibly boring, because it's always a bird eye view of some cars doing their distance without much immersion at all. This is how i always imagined a good coverage to be like. Seeing and feeling what the drivers go through and being in the car with them, while drama unfolds, is such a pleasuring experience. Of course, the cockpit camera tech back in the day was pretty lackluster which is why it's the way it is historically and there is still quite a few strides in progression to be made in terms of quality of the footage, especially in a live setting. But damn, i think I'm really gonna look out for your content in the future.

[@GroovedSlick]

Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed!

[@biscuit715]

So weird hearing names like aitkin and deletraz in imsa

[@GroovedSlick]

Can't wait to have them full time next year!

[@DiscGolfLeagueMVP]

2:19 why'd the Acura despawn?

[@pfrstreetgang7511]

This is what happens when the nascar mentality is running things. Unsupportable risks and fights in the pits. Nice professional explanation of what was going on.

[@hoonjosh6750]

My take is the only way they both make turn 1 is Pipo backs out at least 15mph and gives the 10 the spot. Being pinched while hitting that inside curb is going to kick the car out, especially these GTPs. Hard racing for the title. First year of a new car, everyone wants to win it. WTR vs AXR is IMSAs version of Nascar’s HMS vs JGR or F1’s Merc vs Red Bull (no recently tho lol)

[@JulesQuimbo2142]

I'm new to IMSA, what's this flashing light on the left side of the wing 14:09 ?

[@GroovedSlick]

Thats just a turn signal. I didn't even realize they had them on GTP cars before that happened tbh 😂

[@danmaina7047]

You must be a BMW driver 😂

[@piftie]

@@GroovedSlick I wouldn't be surprised if he 'forgot' it on to distract the #10, because it was bugging me for sure 😅

[@GroovedSlick]

🤣🤣🤣 classic Cadillac driver forgetting that they left it on though 😂

[@GroovedSlick]

I actually though the same thing. at the spa 24 this year drivers were turning in the rain lights at night to distract the drivers behind

[@jmaxx211]

Some of these people crying about the 31 must not of seen the same video i just saw. What do you think is going to happen racing that hard when you hit the inside curb trying to give someone else room? Your going to be shoved wide and in this case hit the car next to you. Which is why there is no penalty. Its not a favoritism game.

[@ciw8688]

New to the sport so idk, but why there are gt3 cars on the tracks? Those cars are significantly slower than the egg looking cars

[@GeoffPeterson33]

A bit dramatic on the numerous iterations of “FREEZING cold tires!”. Was there ice buildup on them? Did they pull them out of a refrigerator? Great work otherwise, loving the content 👍🏼

[@drivingduck2234]

i think this is the first time i found Felipe overdriving, you can notice by his previous moves on the trafic that he really was on with everything to grab that championship, now 3x lost

[@ricky3698]

Would rather a championship be under policed than over policed like F1, next year it is gonna be a penalty to race side by side in that series the way they hate racing.

[@danielainger8666]

With these new regs in f1 you won’t have a title fight it’s been made too favour Redbull.

[@durodesduvo8424]

I don’t watch this series but I was fully engaged in this breakdown of the final race

[@austinkramer8748]

You should! Best most accessible sports car racing anywhere. Almost every year the title fight goes to the last race often last lap! Love IMSA

[@drivingduck2234]

what i hate is that i saw F.Albuquerque moving from one side of the rivalery to the other, only to still be the victim of this chananigans

[@KompressorV6]

I think the Derani move was a cheap dangerous maneuver, but WTR had the best car this year and blew way too many chances IMO. They didn't take advantage of the early races when they had clear pace advantage. They had a tougher time once BOP overcorrected itself in a few races, but in the end they had the pace but just couldn't get it done. Honestly the gap was there, but Derani knew he wasn't going to be able to keep pace if Albi got by again. It for sure should have at least been a penalty.

[@kylemanning193]

10 put himself in danger, Derani simply ran his line. Not his fault

[@KompressorV6]

@@kylemanning193 Disagree. He punted him plain and simple.

[@Heatofthedragon]

You go around the outside there at your own risk.

[@biscuit715]

​@@kylemanning193if you run your line when another car is there you are deliberately hitting them

[@kylemanning193]

I disagree. But to each there own

[@michaelhiggins7072]

Nah Derani a bum for that move

[@RamonGarcia-pw3lh]

Derani deserved a penalty. He did that move as if he was racing alone. Dirty, in my opinion.

[@fillman86]

man you're good at story telling! and that 31 driver is just dirty you could though go into a little bit about the track and event maybe... who knows, maybe it'd make the video just that bit too long, but I don't know much about american racing

[@GroovedSlick]

thanks! yeah it’s always a tough balance between including too much or not enough info. right now the KZbin algorithm is all about audience retention so in order for yt to promote it people need to stay engaged the entire time so I end up under explaining to try to keep engagement high.

[@kirbygriffin]

It’s pronounced Al-bu-kirk

[@GroovedSlick]

I'll try to pronounce it better next time

[@_B_RIDE]

4:28 I thought I was wrong for trying such a move in iracing now I don't feel so bad lol

[@GroovedSlick]

🤣

[@Diego-gx1zn]

in my humble opinion of the maneuver For me it was a racing accident in which the one who goes inside in this case derani try to squeeze in other words leave the minimum space for the car that goes outside in this case albuquerque with the minimum possible space with bad luck that albuquerque it is wanted get behind they end up touching rear wheel of denari and front wheel of alququerque hi from uruguay

[@GroovedSlick]

hi from the usa!

[@ic3man]

I swear if the situation was reversed the 10 would’ve gotten a penalty. Jim France owns the 31 and also NASCAR which owns IMSA. In 2021 that ridiculous defense was made and they should’ve gotten a penalty and didn’t. It sucks how talented the drivers of the 31 are considering how they get championships from awful officiating, yes WTR could’ve waited another lap or 2 but the 31 gave no room at all.

[@scottmeredith3359]

Say what you want about their battle over the season, that move around the outside by Albuquerque was always going to end in tears, and was terribly judged in my opinion. He wasn’t “shoved”, Pipo (coming from such a tight line) was always going to understeer wide, and Albuquerque should have known that.

[@SturdivantRacing126]

I gotta say. Great information and detail, but you don't need to have a "fake excitement voice". Just speak normally, and it won't sound like a fake announcer. The content is good, but just relax...

[@connorohidy8491]

WTR has been a menace to the rest of the field for years now. Glad to see them earn this loss. Sebring, Long beach, PLM. Poor decisions. WTR threw this championship away by themselves and took out some competitors along the way. Their drivers have no respect for their competitors, this team is a shadow of the Cadillac WTR years

[@anthonyleo6819]

You just saw why aW T Ris dangerous and out of control. Late in the race win at al Cost is going to get someone killed. It usually Ricky doing the damage just ask the team he raced for at ask the team h3 raced for at this year's LENMAN he took out one car and crash two laps later. This year the other bum did the damage. And pipo and A X S gets the blame!!!

[@favianmadrid6345]

This is IMSA This what hard racing looks like! Honda fan boiis go back to ur boring sport “follow the leader” f1.😂😂😂😂

[@michaelhiggins7072]

Nah Derani a bum for that move