LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 13, 2019) – The treacherous streets of Long Beach wounded CORE autosport in the BUBBA burger Sports Car Grand Prix. Round Three of the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship ended for the No. 54 Nissan Ligier DPi on the first lap.
Jon Bennett was at the wheel for the start and sandwiched between the DPi and GTLM fields when he slid into the tire wall exciting Turn Five.
Bennett attempted to restart, but the front suspension on the car was too damaged to continue and the car was towed back to the paddock.
Teammate Colin Braun did not turn any laps in the car.
It’s the first DNF for CORE since Lime Rock Park in 2017.
IMSA will be back at a traditional road course May 3 – 5 for the Acura Sports Car Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
JON BENNETT
Driver: No. 54 Nissan Ligier DPi
“We had a really strong start to the weekend and made a lot of progress in qualifying. We had a great start but I misjudged the apex in Turn Five by an inch and made contact with the wall. It broke the suspension and that was it.
“I’m really sorry for the team; they work really hard and we were poised for a strong result. We’ll take what we learned and move forward to Mid-Ohio which I’m pretty optimistic about.”