JULY 5, 2023
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park Weekend Will Conclude a Nearly Four-Month Break for the Sprint Series
By Mark Robinson
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – It’s no wonder Dan Goldburg is itching to get back into IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge competition again.
When the Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) and GT4 (GSX class) cars take to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for practice on Friday, it will have been nearly four months since the new sprint series conducted a race. On top of that, it’s been a decade since Goldburg – the LMP3 points leader heading into the weekend – has raced on the track he adores.
“CTMP is a rippin’ track,” said Goldburg, who drives the No. 73 JDC MotorSports Duqueine D08. “High speed, full commitment, blind corners – I love CTMP! It’s probably our highest average speed of any track we’ll visit this year.
“I was last at CTMP in 2013 in the IMSA Lites days,” he added. “The track is a bit different (now) – bumpier, some new asphalt patches and some runoff areas that didn’t used to be paved – but the essence is still the same. The LMP3 car really rips here. It should make for some great racing.”
Goldburg was the overall and LMP3 class winner in both 45-minute sprint races when the VP Racing Challenge debuted at Daytona International Speedway in January. He added a pair of podium results at Sebring International Raceway in March and holds a 60-point advantage on Bijoy Garg (No. 3 Jr III Racing Ligier JS P320). They head up a dozen LMP3 entries for CTMP, the largest LMP3 field to date in the new series.
Goldburg has worked to remain sharp during the long layoff between events. He’s raced a shifter kart at his local track whenever possible, gone testing in the LMP3 and was part of the JDC-Miller LMP3 lineup in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race at Watkins Glen International on June 25. Goldburg turned 52 race laps over two full stints as the No. 85 Duqueine finished ninth in class.
“It’s been some time since Sebring, but I’ve kept pretty active to be ready,” Goldburg said. “… I’m ‘primed and ready’ and looking forward to getting back on track with a solid field of 12 competitors in LMP3 for the CTMP races.”
Sixteen cars are entered in GSX at CTMP. Sebastian Carazo (No. 27 Kellymoss with Riley Porsche 718 GT4 RS Clubsport) is the class leader despite not winning a race yet. He’s on a streak of three straight podium finishes and leads Moisey Uretsky (No. 44 Accelerating Performance Aston Martin Vantage GT4) by 40 points atop the standings.
Two practice sessions and qualifying are scheduled for Friday at CTMP. Race 1 starts at 11:40 a.m. ET Saturday, with Race 2 at 9:30 a.m. Sunday. Both races will stream live on Peacock in the U.S. and on IMSA.com/TVLive outside the U.S.
