2024 Motul Course de Monterey



The 2024 Motul Course de Monterey (formally known as the 2024 Motul Course de Monterey powered by Hyundai N) was a sports car race held at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca near Monterey, California, on May 12, 2024. It was the fourth round of the 2024 IMSA SportsCar Championship.

Preview
International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) president John Doonan confirmed the race was part of the schedule of the 2024 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2023. It will be the 11th consecutive year the race is a part of the IMSA SCC. The 2024 Motul Course de Monterey will be the fourth of eleventh scheduled sports car races of 2024 by IMSA. The race was held at the eleven-turn 2.238 mi WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on May 12, 2024.

Standings before the race
Before the race, Dane Cameron and Felipe Nasr led the GTP Drivers' Championship with 1032 points, 58 points ahead of Long Beach race winners Sébastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande. Jack Aitken and Pipo Derani were a further 19 points behind, sitting in third place. GTD Pro did not participate in the Long Beach round, so the GTD Pro Drivers' Championship was led by James Calado, Davide Rigon, and Daniel Serra, with 722 points. They were 98 points ahead of Bryan Sellers, Madison Snow, and Neil Verhagen in second. The GTD Drivers' Championship was led by Philip Ellis and Russell Ward with 987 points, 185 points ahead of second-placed Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher. Parker Thompson were third, 195 points behind Ellis and Ward. Cadillac, Lexus, and Mercedes-AMG were leading their respective Manufacturers' Championships, whilst Porsche Penske Motorsport, Risi Competizione, and Winward Racing each led their respective Teams' Championships.

Practice
There were two practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Sunday, one on Friday afternoon and one on Saturday morning. The first session lasted 90 minutes on Friday afternoon while the second session on Saturday morning lasted 90 minutes.

Qualifying
Saturday's qualification session was divided into two groups with one session for the GTP, GTD Pro and the GTD classes, which lasted 15 minutes each. Cars in GTD Pro and GTD were sent out first. After a ten-minute interval, GTP vehicles drove onto the track. Regulations stipulated teams to nominate one qualifying driver, with the fastest laps determining each classes starting order. IMSA arranged the grid to put GTP vehicles ahead of the GTD Pro and GTD cars.

Qualifying results
Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and with ‡.

Post-race
The final results kept Cameron and Nasr atop the GTP Drivers' Championship with 1357 points, 50 ahead of second-place finishers Aitken and Derani, who in turn, were a further 38 points in front of Bourdais and van der Zande. With 981 points, Heinrich and Priaulx's victory allowed them to take the lead of the GTD Pro Drivers' Championship. Fifth-place finishers García and Sims advanced from eighth to fifth while the absent Serra, Rigon, and Calado dropped to tenth. Ellis and Ward's victory allowed them to extend their advantage to 213 points over second-place finishers Foley and Gallagher in the GTD Drivers' Championship. Cadillac and Mercedes-AMG continued to top their respective Manufactures' Championships while Porsche took the lead of the GTD Pro Manufactures' Championship. Porsche Penske Motorsport and Winward Racing kept their respective advantages in their of Teams' Championships while AO Racing became the leader of the GTD Pro Teams' Championship with seven rounds remaining.

Race results
Class winners are denoted in bold and with ‡.

Standings after the race

 * Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.


 * Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.


 * Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.