Robinson Looking Beyond IMSA LMP2 Win at Road America
In 2023, Gar Robinson took victory in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship LMP3 class for the second year in a row at Elkhart Lake’s Road America. (Photo credit: IMSA/Geoffrey M. Miller/LAT Images)
Don’t get Gar Robinson wrong. He’d love to make it three wins in a row in IMSA’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Elkhart Lake’s Road America this weekend. But Robinson and co-driver Felipe Fraga have a bigger goal in mind.
“The championship is our goal,” said Robinson. “Obviously, yes, we would love to win that race. It's a great race for us. I'm excited to win. I'm excited for the opportunity to win anywhere. Winning the race is one of the goals, but having another good points weekend is probably a bigger goal than that.”
Despite not winning a race so far this season, Robinson and Fraga lead the LMP2 class standings by just 12-points heading into Sunday’s 2-hour, 40-minute contest.
Robinson’s LMP3 class title last season included a win at Road America where he also won in 2022. With LMP3 no longer a part of the WeatherTech championship, Robinson has moved up to the faster and more powerful LMP2 class with Riley Motorsports in the Gibson-powered 74 Ranch Resort ORECA LMP2 07. Describing what that transition has been like is difficult for Robinson.
Testing the ORECA LMP2 07-Gibson last December at Daytona International Speedway. (Photo credit: IMSA/Richard Dole/LAT Images)
“There really aren't words to describe like what it's like going between the P3 and the P2 car. I mean, the P2 car I think is a good halfway point between the GTD car and GTP. The P2 car you have a bit more downforce. It's a prototype car, but you still have the the torque that makes it kind of drive like a GTD car. The LMP2 car doesn't have as much low end torque like the P3 car did so the characteristics of going back to throttle are completely different. But you have lots more downforce and the car is a lot more capable.
“I actually experienced something that I didn't really think that I would say,” Robinson continued. “It’s like, I don't know how much faster I really want to go at some of these tracks. Because what they can do is just incredible to me, and you have to tell your brain that in order for the thing to feel better on the track, you need to be going faster, because that's just the way the the aero and stuff works for that car. So having experienced that, sometimes you need to take your take your left foot and put it over your right foot on top of the throttle to make sure that you're holding it down the whole way.
“But no, it's definitely a really fun experience. And it's completely unnatural. And I love that it's like that. What I'm really excited about this class versus the P3 class and some of the other classes and stuff that I've done, is I really like the heavy competition. That just makes the results that we've been getting a lot more valuable to me.
“I think as much as I loved winning the 24 hours of Daytona in ’21 and ‘ 22, I think that our third place at Daytona (in LMP2 this season) felt a little bit more valuable to me than the wins, because it was much more of a fight. And I love how in these races, it's always a fight at the very end. And so it's great to watch. It's great to be a part of and I'm looking forward to continuing that for the remainder of the year.”
(Photo credit: IMSA/Richard Dole/LAT Images)
Traffic management is key to success in multi-class sports car racing. Not only does Robinson need to make his way past cars in the GTD and GTD Pro classes, he also needs to pay attention to the faster GTP class cars looking to pass him.
“Working through traffic's working through traffic. I mean, I cut my teeth in TransAm where it was very tight racing, very close quarters and cars that were hard to drive. So being close to other cars and stuff like that is not a foreign thing to me. A lot of people also have to realize, this is my 21st year racing, I'm 29 this year. So I've been doing this for a very long time. And I've developed race craft through all sorts of different styles and forms racing. And so traffic to me is, I look at this as it’s going to be fun, like, I'm excited about it.
“You have to be proactive,” declared Robinson. “Mosport was different, because we didn't have anyone passing us. So what was behind us was not important. But at Road America, we have the GTP cars back, so we have to watch in our mirrors, and then we have to watch in the windshield. You just have to be smart where you're passing cars and look for opportunities where you can and try and be better than the next guy.
“I always focus most on race craft and running the race. Qualifying is nice, but it's never been a huge deal. To me, it's kind of an ego thing, which I don't really have. It's nice to do, but it's not for me. I’d rather win the race. I care less about qualifying. But going through traffic is just another thing and how you time it with everyone else. You can easily gain an advantage and the guy with the best race craft usually wins the race.”
(Photo credit: IMSA/Geoffrey M. Miller/LAT Images)
In addition to competing for the LMP2 championship in his first season in the class, Robinson is also leading the standings for the Jim Trueman Award.
Named after the legendary gentleman driver and team owner, it is awarded annually to the top-placed Bronze-rated driver in the LMP2 class, which takes into account race results but excludes qualifying points. It also includes an automatic invitation to the following year’s 24 Hours of LeMans.
“It's one of those things that we're looking at,” commented Robinson. “It's too early to get too excited about it right now. Obviously, it's a really big bonus to us, if we were to get it, and then that may or may not change things or give us opportunities for next year. But it would definitely be a really spectacular thing for us to get that. I really kicked myself for not taking it in 2021 when I had it, and I don't think I'll pass up on it if I get it again this year.”
Yes, a race win at Road America would be nice, but with all that’s in his grasp, you can understand why Robinson has his eye on the bigger picture.