Van der Zande Snatches Detroit IMSA GTP Victory in Late-Race Thriller as Ford Fends Off Chevy in GTD PRO

RACE RESULTS

In motorsport, things can go sideways faster than a prototype in Turn 1 with cold tires. Just ask Felipe Nasr. Or Ricky Taylor. Or better yet, ask Renger van der Zande, who knows a thing or two about kicking in the door at the last moment.

With just 13 minutes left in the Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic—a 100-minute dogfight on the downtown Detroit streets—van der Zande took the No. 93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing ARX-06 from third to first in a masterclass of timing, aggression, and street-circuit savvy.

At that point, Nasr looked set to chalk up his fourth win in five IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship starts this year, continuing Porsche Penske Motorsport’s bid for a perfect season in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class. After pit stops flipped the order, Nasr had assumed the lead from pole-sitter Nick Yelloly in the No. 93 Acura and seemed poised to walk it home.

But Ricky Taylor had other plans. Still hunting for a first win of the year alongside Filipe Albuquerque in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Cadillac V-Series.R, Taylor muscled his way past Nasr with a no-nonsense move. The No. 7 Porsche went backwards in a hurry—Mathieu Jaminet in the sister No. 6 Porsche followed van der Zande through as Nasr plummeted to fourth.

Then, as if the script demanded another twist, van der Zande pounced again. With just four minutes on the clock, he forced a pass on Taylor and seized the lead for good.

“I was very strong every time in Turn 1, and he had some traffic,” van der Zande said. “I thought, ‘If I’m going to have a chance, it’s going to be in Turn 1.’ Boom—made the move, and I felt like a little kid in a candy store.”

Taylor could only tip his hat.

“I thought I had a big enough buffer, but he caught me by surprise with a late move,” Taylor admitted. “At the end of the day, I think the best car won.”

It was van der Zande’s 22nd career IMSA win, his first since last season’s finale at Petit Le Mans and a huge moment for the No. 93 crew, who not only scored their first win of the year, but did so in style—and in traffic.

For Acura, it was a welcome return to the top step after renewing and expanding its partnership with Meyer Shank Racing. And for Yelloly, whose pole-setting pace helped set up the win, it was validation.

“We’ve had great pace in the car, and it came alive even more at the end,” Yelloly said. “We got what we deserved this weekend.”

The final results had van der Zande’s Acura leading Taylor’s Cadillac by 0.947 seconds, with Jaminet completing the podium and Nasr salvaging fourth. Despite the late fade, Nasr and Tandy still hold a 70-point lead in the GTP standings over their teammates Campbell and Jaminet. BMW’s No. 24 car, driven by Dries Vanthoor and Philipp Eng, sits a distant third.

The GTP grid now turns its attention to Europe—18 of the 22 Detroit starters will be racing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 14-15 before regrouping for IMSA’s next round, the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, on June 22.

While the GTP class delivered a late-race thriller, the GTD PRO battle played out like a tactical brawl between two heavyweight factory squads—Ford and Chevrolet—trading jabs in their own backyard.

The No. 64 Ford Multimatic Mustang GT3, driven by Seb Priaulx and Mike Rockenfeller, started from pole and led 55 of 81 laps. Chevrolet’s answer came from the No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Z06 GT3.R, with Antonio Garcia handing off to Alexander Sims after a fuel-only stop. They clawed their way from eighth on the grid to second, but couldn’t get past Rockenfeller in the final stint.

“I had the feeling that I’m in a Ford city,” Rockenfeller joked. “I know there’s the GM battle, but we are racing everybody… and clearly we are happy today.”

It was Rockenfeller’s sixth IMSA win, his first since 2017, and a big statement for Ford, who hadn’t won since the season-opening Rolex 24 with the sister No. 65 Mustang.

Garcia and Sims bagged their third podium in four races but spent over an hour staring at the Ford’s rear wing. “It’s a shame that we were behind the 64 for over an hour. We couldn’t really pass that car,” Garcia said. “But I think we played it very good.”

Behind the factory slugfest, Pfaff Motorsports took a well-earned third with its new plaid-clad No. 9 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2. Andrea Caldarelli and Marco Mapelli capitalized on a chaotic midfield, including a collision on the final lap between the No. 4 Corvette and No. 77 AO Porsche that shuffled the order and dropped both cars down the finishing order after time penalties.

Even with the fifth-place finish, AO’s Laurin Heinrich and Klaus Bachler retain a narrow points lead in the GTD PRO standings over the Corvette duo.

With a chaotic Detroit weekend in the books—complete with strategic drama, daring passes, and late-race heartbreak—the WeatherTech Championship now shifts gears. Le Mans is next for many, but IMSA fans won’t have to wait long. Watkins Glen is calling, and so are the endurance bragging rights.

And if Detroit taught us anything, it’s this: in GTP or GTD PRO, things can—and will—change fast. Just ask Nasr. Or Taylor. Or van der Zande, who changed everything with four minutes to go.

 

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