Laguna Seca: IMSA GTD Pro

Lamborghini Factory Driver Sandy Mitchell bags top five IMSA GTD Pro finish at Laguna Seca with Temerario GT3 and PFAFF Motosports

Lamborghini factory driver Sandy Mitchell and team-mate Andrea Caldarelli delivered a solid top five finish, in what was a bruising encounter in the latest round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Laguna Seca in California.

Mitchell, the 26-year-old from Forfar, partnered fellow factory driver, Italian Caldarelli in the No9 Lithia & Driveway Temerario GT3 prepared by top Canadian team, Pfaff Motorsports, in the GTD Pro class on the 34-car grid.

After qualifying sixth in class, Mitchell took the opening stint in the 2hr 40min race on the iconic 2.23-mile, 11-turn circuit in Monterey. Quickly moving up to fifth, the Scot maintained his position battling with the fourth-placed car before handing the Temerario, resplendent in its blue retro livery for this race, over to Caldarelli after the opening hour.

“Given this is only the second race for the all-new Temerario GT3, it was a rock solid qualifying and opening stint,” former British GT champ Mitchell, personally-backed by Tunnocks and Dama Fortuna Premium Tequila, stated.

“Throughout my stint, not only were we right on the pace within just a few seconds of the class leader and fighting in the top five, but I was pulling away from the cars behind me.”
After the round of pitstops had been completed, plus a 14-minute Safety Car period, the #9 Temerario had elevated itself to fourth in class, just 0.421secs off third place. But as Caldarelli battled to resist the challenge of the #4 Corvette as the duo dived downhill into the daunting left-right-left of the famous Corkscrew, contact on the left-hand side of the Lamborghini pushed the Temerario offline on to the dirty run-off area.
“Let’s just call it a robust incident,” Mitchell explained. “Andrea did really well to keep the car moving forward but the incident dropped him back to ninth in class with just an hour and 13 minutes remaining.”
Pitting for fuel with 61 minutes remaining, Caldarelli set about climbing back through the field posting the car’s fastest lap of the race, a 1m 22.805s, in the process. And the team’s aggressive strategy call was to payoff in the final few laps.

With half-an-hour remaining, the battered and bruised #9 Temerario was eighth in class. But with seven minutes remaining a number of cars ahead were forced to pit for more fuel to ensure they finished the race. That elevated Mitchell and Caldarelli to fifth, with the Italian taking the chequered flag just 3.9s off fourth and 4.3s off a top three finish. To put that into perspective, the #4 Corvette finished second. “Given the number of questionable moments during the race, allied to the fact it’s only the Temerario’s second race, everyone in the team is delighted with fifth,” Mitchell said, “but we definitely had the pace for a podium finish.

“We know we still have a few things to figure out with the car, but everyone in the team is working their socks off to make us quicker. Importantly, we’ve started and finished two races, including the 12 Hours of Sebring, so we know the Lamborghini already has the reliability. Now we’re excited to work hard towards unleashing more pace.”
Mitchell returns to IMSA action in the final weekend of May when the championship heads to Michigan for the 100-minute Detroit Grand Prix.