Unlike their GTD class team mates that suffered brutal heartbreak losing the win on the penultimate lap, the LMP2 team of MAD Sim Racing wins their first race of the season at Long Beach.
Previously the No. 96 car of Albrecht Motorsports crossed the finish line in first, but was handed a 30-second post-race penalty by race control for a pit lane violation under the race’s lone Full-Course Yellow.
So it was the No. 193 Dallara P217 of MAD Sim Racing claiming the top step on the podium, giving the team out of Mooresville, North Carolina its first-ever victory in VSCA competition.
VR7UAL Pole sitters GSE Racing eSports and their No. 86 Dallara came home in second place less than five seconds behind, leading a race-high 41 laps en route their first top-five result of the year.
The No. 511 team of Twisty Bits Racing, who’ve just celebrated their debut at Sebring two weeks prior, followed up with another strong run taking third place, crossing the line 15 seconds behind.
DS Racing eSports and their No. 155 car bounced back from a dismal race at Sebring to claim fourth place - their second top-five of the 2023 season so far.
Drivers Robert Cancian and Mark Wilson gave Agee Motorsports and its No. 17 Dallara team its first top-five result of the season, taking P5 at Long Beach.
Rounding out the top ten at the finish were Sebring winners No. 19 Dallara of Trading Paints Racing, No. 96 Albrecht Motorsports, No. 13 Vision 1 Motorsports, series newcomers No. 38 Sapphire SimSport and the No. 121 car of Olympus eSports.
Los Angeles residents and hometown heroes VRG Sport with drivers Andy Banfield and Jeff Yeager may have hoped for a better finish than P11, but their No. 66 Dallara LMP2 still had a much better race overall than at Sebring in late March.
The final two cars in LMP2 class competition running at the finish were the No. 14 car of Fischer Motorsport, who were involved in a late-race incident with the No. 24 BMW LMDh of Stow Motorsports and the No. 11 machine of Vision 1 Motorsports with drivers Mario Cappelucci and Matthew Allanson.
More controversy involving No. 199 Race Factory Dallara LMP2
On the restart following the full-course yellow the No. 199 Dallara of Race Factory - winners at Daytona and championship leaders going into the third race of the season - slowed and stopped on track - leading to a disqualification of the car from the race.
Previously, the No. 199 Dallara had lost several positions in pit lane when the No. 33 BMW M4 GT3 of Demon Tweeks eSports stopped at the pit exit.
Albrecht Motorsports new championship leaders in LMP2 class
Thanks to their P7 finish and the fact the No. 199 Dallara of Race Factory did not score any points at Long Beach, the No. 96 Albrecht Motorsports team now leads the LMP2 championship point standings.
12 Hours of Sebring winners, the No. 19 car of Trading Paints Racing Team is second, 24 points back, followed by the No. 14 Dallara of Fischer Motorsport, 63 points out of first.
VRG Sport maintain fourth place in the championship with two top-tens in three starts and a gap of exactly 100 points to the leaders.
Vision 1 Motorsports and their No. 11 entry round out the top-five at a 135-point gap.
MAD Sim Racing and GSE Racing eSports atop in Sprint Cup
Long Beach was the first Sprint Cup round of the 2023 season. Earning the victory at the California track, the No. 193 MAD Sim Racing Dallara now sits atop the Sprint Cup standings.
Trailing by only a mere four points, the No. 86 Dallara of GSE Racing eSports sits in second place, with the No. 17 Agee Motorsports machine in third, with a 64-point gap to first.
Twisty Bits Racing and DS Racing eSports round out the top-five at 76 and 89 points gaps to the leaders, respectively.
Laguna Seca is up next
Laguna Seca was one of the wildest races of the year in the 2022 season, with five full-course yellows in just 2 hours and 40 minutes of racing.
Hosting Round 4 of the 2023 SportsCar Championship, the California track will host the Monterey Sports Car Challenge on May 6th.