Courtney Crone battles for first IMSA VP Racing victory, secures runner-up finish at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
- RACERS
- 4 hours ago
- 5 min read
Courtney Crone continued her highly positive IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge campaign with one of her strongest weekends of the season, securing fourth place in race one before narrowly missing out on her maiden GSX victory with an exceptional second-place finish after a race-long fight for the lead at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
Courtney Crone continued her highly positive IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge campaign with one of her strongest weekends of the season at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, securing fourth place in race one before narrowly missing out on her maiden GSX victory with an exceptional second-place finish after a race-long fight for the lead.
One of the leading contenders in the GSX-class of the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, Courtney Crone arrived at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park aiming to continue the momentum built during the opening half of the season. Following her transition from single-seaters to GT4 competitions, the CarBahn Motorsports driver had immediately emerged as one of the category's front runners, finishing fourth at Daytona before claiming back-to-back runner-up finishes at Circuit of the Americas.
She continued that form at Mid-Ohio, where she topped both practice sessions and once again demonstrated race-winning pace despite difficult mixed-weather conditions, ultimately securing another top-five finish. Sitting second in the GSX championship standings behind Westin Workman, Crone headed to the fast and demanding Canadian circuit determined to further reduce the points deficit while chasing her first victory of the season.
The fourth round of the championship brought the series to the iconic Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, one of North America's fastest and most technical permanent road courses. The flowing layout, high-speed corners and constant elevation changes reward commitment and precision, making it one of the toughest venues on the calendar.
Driving the #35 CarBahn Motorsports BMW M4 GT4, Crone immediately showed competitive pace throughout practice. She posted the fourth-fastest time in the opening session with a lap of 1:23.805 before repeating that result in FP2 with a 1:23.999.
Qualifying proved equally encouraging as Crone improved over the 15-minute session. Finding further pace on successive runs, she lowered her benchmark to a 1:23.594, securing fourth place on the GSX grid and placing herself in the battle for podium finishes.
Race one got underway on Saturday afternoon with Crone lining up fourth among the GSX contenders. She made a clean launch and maintained her position through the opening corners, immediately settling into a defensive battle with Michael Di Benedetto's Porsche while the leading trio began to edge away.
Crone established an early rhythm, maintaining roughly a one-second advantage over Di Benedetto while simultaneously navigating the challenge posed by the multi-class nature of the championship. The constant flow of faster LMP3 traffic around the sweeping Canadian circuit required precise judgement, yet the CarBahn Motorsport driver handled the situation confidently.
Although Di Benedetto occasionally reduced the gap, Crone responded by increasing her pace, regularly circulating in the 1:23.9 range and refusing to allow the Porsche driver an opportunity to launch an attack.
With just ten minutes remaining LMP3 driver Siddiqi suffered his second off-track excursion of the afternoon, eventually finding the barriers and bringing out a full-course caution. Unfortunately, the lengthy recovery operation prevented any further green-flag running, with the race ending under caution.
Courtney Crone therefore secured fourth place in GSX, maximizing the available result despite being unable to challenge the leading trio and collecting another valuable championship points finish.
Sunday's second race however offered an even greater opportunity. Thanks to the race-two grid format, Crone started third in class, placing her directly behind championship leader Westin Workman and second-placed Ismaeel Ellahi as the field accelerated towards Turn 1.
Crone made another clean getaway, holding third position despite immediate pressure from Di Benedetto while keeping herself within striking distance of the leaders.
Running consistent low 1:23 laps, she remained glued to the rear of Ellahi's Aston Martin while simultaneously defending from the Porsche behind. Early in the race, Di Benedetto even made light contact with the rear of Crone's BMW at the final corner while attempting to pressure her, but Crone calmly controlled the car and maintained both her composure and position.
The race was transformed on lap five when championship leader Workman suddenly slowed with a mechanical issue and came to a halt, promoting Ellahi into the lead and elevating Crone into second place.
Suddenly, victory was within reach; rather than settling for second, Crone immediately began applying relentless pressure to the Aston Martin. She consistently matched or exceeded Ellahi's pace, repeatedly setting quicker laps while the pair gradually edged away from Di Benedetto. Despite repeated interruptions from faster LMP3 traffic, Crone demonstrated excellent racecraft, minimizing the time lost through the multi-class traffic and refusing to allow the leader any breathing room.
Several times she appeared poised to launch an overtaking move, particularly through the flowing middle sector where the BMW displayed excellent speed. However, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park offers very few heavy braking zones, making overtaking notoriously difficult even when carrying superior pace.
As the battle intensified, another full-course caution was deployed after Thienes' Forte Racing LMP3 machine hit the barriers. Although the driver was able to return to the pits, the neutralization erased Crone's small cushion to Di Benedetto and bunched the field together once more with just fifteen minutes remaining.
At the restart, traffic again played a role. Crone however expertly negotiated prototype traffic while remaining attached to Ellahi's rear bumper, simultaneously keeping Di Benedetto behind despite the Porsche repeatedly rejoining the fight.
The closing laps developed into a very exciting battle: Crone intensified her attacks, searching every possible opportunity to force an opening. On lap 26 she briefly drew almost alongside Ellahi through Turn 5 before the Aston Martin held the advantage. Another encounter with LMP3 traffic momentarily cost Crone valuable momentum and allowed Di Benedetto to close back in, but she immediately regrouped and resumed her pursuit.
On the final lap, Ellahi defended every braking zone, while Crone remained within striking distance throughout the entire lap. Despite one final charge, she crossed the finish line just two tenths of a second behind the winner after one of the closest and most competitive finishes of the season.
Although victory narrowly escaped her, the second-place finish represented Crone's third podium of the campaign and arguably her strongest overall race performance yet, having spent the entire contest battling wheel-to-wheel for the win.
Following four championship rounds, Crone remains second in the GSX standings on 2,280 points.
The IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge season now moves to VIRginia International Raceway on 21-23 August, where Crone will once again look to convert her consistently front-running pace into a long-awaited maiden GSX class victory.