The 2018 Acura Sports Car Challenge of Mid-Ohio was a sports car race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The race was held at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio on May 6, 2018. The race was the fourth of the 2018 IMSA SportsCar Championship.

Background

International Motor Sports Association's (IMSA) president Scott Atherton confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the 2018 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2017. The race marked IMSA's return to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the first time since 2013 as the track replaced Circuit of the Americas after the 2017 season. The 2018 Acura Sports Car Challenge of Mid-Ohio was the fourth of twelve scheduled sports car races of 2018 by IMSA, and it was the second round not held as part of the North American Endurance Cup. The race was held at the thirteen-turn Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on May 6, 2018. On April 11, 2018, Acura was announced as a title sponsor for the event. On April 30, 2018, IMSA announced NBC Sports as its broadcasting partner from 2019 onwards. Michael Shank Racing was renamed to Meyer Shank Racing following Jim Meyer becoming a co-owner of the team.

After the BUBBA Burger Sports Car Grand Prix three weeks earlier, Filipe Albuquerque and João Barbosa led the Prototype Drivers' Championship with 91 points, ahead of Eric Curran and Felipe Nasr with 86 points, and Jon Bennett and Colin Braun with 79 points. With 95 points, the GTLM Drivers' Championship was led by Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook with a seven-point advantage over Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner. In GTD, the Drivers' Championship was led by Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow with 65 points, ahead Jeroen Bleekemolen, Ben Keating, and Luca Stolz with 58 points. Cadillac, Ford, and Lamborghini were leading their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while Mustang Sampling Racing, Ford Chip Ganassi Racing and Paul Miller Racing each led their own Teams' Championships.

On April 27, 2018, IMSA released the latest technical bulletin outlining Balance of Performance for the prototype class. The Acura ARX-05, Mazda RT24-P, and Nissan Onroak DPi received less turbo boost. The Cadillac DPi-V.R received a 0.6 mm smaller air restrictor while the LMP2 cars didn't get any changes. In GTD, The BMW M6 GT3 received a 20 kilogram weight break and a fuel capacity reduction of 2 liters.

Entries

A total of 34 cars took part in the event split across 3 classes. 14 cars were entered in P, 8 in GTLM, and 12 in GTD. In P, Spencer Pigot subbed for Harry Tincknell in the Mazda Team Joest #55 entry due to a clash with the FIA World Endurance Championship round at Spa-Francorchamps. In GTD, Park Place Motorsports, and Montaplast by Land-Motorsport, CJ Wilson Racing, and Sqaudra Corse Garage Italia were absent. HART skipped due to a lack of funding. Álvaro Parente joined Katherine Legge in the Meyer Shank Racing #86 entry. Wright Motorsports added a second entry featuring Wolf Henzler and Michael Schein. Bill Auberlen joined Dillon Machavern in the Turner Motorsport entry. Maro Engel replaced Thomas Jäger in the SunEnergy1 Racing entry.

Practice There were three practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Saturday, two on Friday and one on Saturday. The first two one-hour sessions were on Friday morning and afternoon. The third on Saturday morning lasted an hour.

Practice 1 The first practice session took place at 9:45 am ET on Friday and ended with Ricky Taylor topping the charts for Acura Team Penske, with a lap time of 1:13.601. ClassTeamDriverTime1P7Acura Team PenskeRicky Taylor1:13.601_2P6Acura Team PenskeJuan Pablo Montoya1:14.089 +0.4883P5Mustang Sampling RacingFilipe Albuquerque1:14.608 +1.007Source:

Practice 2 The second practice session took place at 3:00 pm ET on Friday and ended with Juan Pablo Montoya topping the charts for Acura Team Penske, with a lap time of 1:36.867. ClassTeamDriverTime1P6Acura Team PenskeJuan Pablo Montoya1:36.867_2P7Acura Team PenskeHélio Castroneves1:36.997 +0.1303P10Wayne Taylor RacingJordan Taylor1:37.215 +0.348Source:

Practice 3 The third and final practice session took place at 8:35 am ET on Saturday and ended with Dane Cameron topping the charts for Acura Team Penske, with a lap time of 1:12.675. ClassTeamDriverTime1P6Acura Team PenskeDane Cameron1:12.675_2P7Acura Team PenskeHélio Castroneves1:12.763 +0.4573P55Mazda Team JoestJonathan Bomarito1:13.767 +0.566Source:

Qualifying Saturday afternoon's 65-minute qualifying session was divided into three groups. All three categories had 15-minute individual sessions, and regulations stipulated teams to nominate a single driver to qualify their cars. The competitors' fastest lap times determined the starting order with the grid arranged to put the Prototype and GTLM cars ahead of all GTD entries.

Qualifying results Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and by . ClassTeamDriverTime1P7 Acura Team Penske Hélio Castroneves1:11.837_12P6 Acura Team Penske Dane Cameron1:11.984 +0.14723P77 Mazda Team Joest Oliver Jarvis1:12.339 +0.50234P55 Mazda Team Joest Jonathan Bomarito1:12.596 +0.75945P10 Wayne Taylor Racing Renger van der Zande1:12.600 +0.76356P5 Mustang Sampling Racing João Barbosa1:12.943 +1.10667P52 AFS/PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports Gustavo Yacamán1:12.982 +1.145158P99 JDC-Miller MotorSports Misha Goikhberg1:13.035 +1.19879P85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Robert Alon1:13.156 +1.3191610P38 Performance Tech Motorsports James French1:13.365 +1.528811P22 Tequila Patrón ESM Johannes van Overbeek1:13.532 +1.695912P31 Whelen Engineering Racing Eric Curran1:13.583 +1.7461013P2 Tequila Patrón ESM Scott Sharp1:14.347 +2.5101114P54 CORE Autosport Jon Bennett1:14.351 +2.5141215GTLM24 BMW Team RLL John Edwards1:17.853+6.0161316GTLM911 Porsche GT Team Nick Tandy1:17.919 +6.0821417GTLM25 BMW Team RLL Alexander Sims1:17.932 +6.0951718GTLM912 Porsche GT Team Earl Bamber1:18.021 +6.1841819GTLM3 Corvette Racing Antonio García1:18.114 +6.2771920GTLM66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Dirk Müller1:18.207 +6.3702021GTLM67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ryan Briscoe1:18.333 +6.4962122GTLM4 Corvette Racing Tommy Milner1:18.452 +6.6152223GTD15 3GT Racing Jack Hawksworth1:19.317+7.4802324GTD14 3GT Racing Kyle Marcelli1:19.370 +7.5332425GTD48 Paul Miller Racing Madison Snow1:19.882 +8.0452526GTD86 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin Katherine Legge1:19.933 +8.0962627GTD96 Turner Motorsport Dillon Machavern1:20.339 +8.5022728GTD93 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin Justin Marks1:20.477 +8.6402829GTD58 Wright Motorsports Christina Nielsen1:20.748 +8.9112930GTD63 Scuderia Corsa Cooper MacNeil1:20.846 +9.0093031GTD16 Wright Motorsports Michael Schein1:21.043 +9.2063132GTD33 Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsport Ben Keating1:21.244 +9.4073233GTD44 Magnus Racing John Potter1:21.379 +9.5423334GTD75 SunEnergy1 Racing Kenny Habul1:21.733 +9.89634Sources:

The No. 33 Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsport entry was moved to the back of the GTD field after the team elected to change tires after qualifying. The No. 44 Magnus Racing entry was moved to the back of the GTD field after the team elected to change tires after qualifying. The No. 75 SunEnergy1 Racing entry was moved to the back of the GTD field after the team elected to change tires after qualifying.

Race

Post-race The result kept Albuquerque and Barbosa atop the Prototype Drivers' Championship with 119 points, 10 points ahead of second-place finishers Nasr and Curran. Hélio Castroneves and Ricky Taylor advanced from tenth to fourth while Bennett and Braun dropped from third to fifth. The result kept Briscoe and Westbrook atop the GTLM Drivers' Championship with 121 points. Bamber and Vanthoor advanced from sixth to second. The result kept Sellers and Snow atop the GTD Drivers' Championship with 95 points. Legge and Parente advanced from third to second. Cadillac and Lamborghini continued to top their respective Manufacturers' Championships. Porsche took the lead of the GTLM Manufactures' Championship while Mustang Sampling Racing, Ford Chip Ganassi Racing, and Paul Miller Racing kept their respective advantages in the Teams' Championships with eight rounds remaining.

Results Class winners are denoted in bold and .

+Final race classificationClassTeamDriversChassisTireTime/RetiredEngine1P7 Acura Team Penske Hélio Castroneves Ricky TaylorAcura ARX-051252:40.59.579Acura AR35TT 3.5 L Turbo V62P6 Acura Team Penske Dane Cameron Juan Pablo MontoyaAcura ARX-05125 +8.464Acura AR35TT 3.5 L Turbo V63P77 Mazda Team Joest Oliver Jarvis Tristan NunezMazda RT24-P125 +26.774Mazda MZ-2.0T 2.0L Turbo I44P5 Mustang Sampling Racing Filipe Albuquerque João BarbosaCadillac DPi-V.R125 +56.826Cadillac 5.5 L V85P10 Wayne Taylor Racing Jordan Taylor Renger van der ZandeCadillac DPi-V.R125 +57.825Cadillac 5.5 L V86P52 AFS/PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports Sebastián Saavedra Gustavo YacamánLigier JS P217125 +1:13.876Gibson GK428 4.2 L V87P99 JDC-Miller MotorSports Misha Goikhberg Stephen SimpsonOreca 07125 +1:15.636Gibson GK428 4.2 L V88P31 Whelen Engineering Racing Felipe Nasr Eric CurranCadillac DPi-V.R124 +1 lapCadillac 5.5 L V89P22 Tequila Patrón ESM Pipo Derani Johannes van OverbeekNissan Onroak DPi124 +1 lapNissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Turbo V610P2 Tequila Patrón ESM Ryan Dalziel Scott SharpNissan Onroak DPi123 +2 LapsNissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Turbo V611P38 Performance Tech Motorsports James French Kyle MassonOreca 07123 +2 LapsGibson GK428 4.2 L V812P85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Robert Alon Simon TrummerOreca 07123 +2 LapsGibson GK428 4.2 L V813P54 CORE Autosport Jon Bennett Colin BraunOreca 07123 +2 LapsGibson GK428 4.2 L V814GTLM912 Porsche GT Team Earl Bamber Laurens VanthoorPorsche 911 RSR118+7 LapsPorsche 4.0 L Flat-615GTLM25 BMW Team RLL Connor De Phillippi Alexander SimsBMW M8 GTE118 +7 LapsBMW S63 4.0 L Turbo V816GTLM3 Corvette Racing Antonio García Jan MagnussenChevrolet Corvette C7.R118 +7 LapsChevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V817GTLM66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Joey Hand Dirk MüllerFord GT118 +7 LapsFord EcoBoost 3.5 L Turbo V618GTLM67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ryan Briscoe Richard WestbrookFord GT118 +7 LapsFord EcoBoost 3.5 L Turbo V619GTLM911 Porsche GT Team Patrick Pilet Nick TandyPorsche 911 RSR118 +7 LapsPorsche 4.0 L Flat-620GTLM24 BMW Team RLL John Edwards Jesse KrohnBMW M8 GTE118 +7 LapsBMW S63 4.0 L Turbo V821GTLM4 Corvette Racing Oliver Gavin Tommy MilnerChevrolet Corvette C7.R118 +7 LapsChevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V822GTD14 3GT Racing Dominik Baumann Kyle MarcelliLexus RC F GT3116+9 LapsLexus 5.0L V823GTD86 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin Katherine Legge Álvaro ParenteAcura NSX GT3116 +9 LapsAcura 3.5 L Turbo V624GTD48 Paul Miller Racing Bryan Sellers Madison SnowLamborghini Huracán GT3115 +10 LapsLamborghini 5.2 L V1025GTD15 3GT Racing Jack Hawksworth David Heinemeier HanssonLexus RC F GT3115 +10 LapsLexus 5.0L V826GTD93 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin Justin Marks Lawson AschenbachAcura NSX GT3115 +10 LapsAcura 3.5 L Turbo V627GTD96 Turner Motorsport Dillon Machavern Bill AuberlenBMW M6 GT3115 +10 LapsBMW 4.4 L Turbo V828GTD58 Wright Motorsports Patrick Long Christina NielsenPorsche 911 GT3 R115 +10 LapsPorsche 4.0 L Flat-629GTD63 Scuderia Corsa Alessandro Balzan Cooper MacNeilFerrari 488 GT3115 +10 LapsFerrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V830GTD33 Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsport Jeroen Bleekemolen Ben KeatingMercedes AMG GT3115 +10 LapsMercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V831GTD44 Magnus Racing John Potter Andy LallyAudi R8 LMS GT3115 +10 LapsAudi 5.2L V1032GTD16 Wright Motorsports Michael Schein Wolf HenzlerPorsche 911 GT3 R113 +12 LapsPorsche 4.0 L Flat-633GTD75 SunEnergy1 Racing Kenny Habul Maro EngelMercedes AMG GT399 +26 LapsMercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V834 DNFP55 Mazda Team Joest Jonathan Bomarito Spencer PigotMazda RT24-P73Rear EndMazda MZ-2.0T 2.0L Turbo I4Sources:+ Tyre manufacturers Key Symbol Tyre manufacturer Continental Michelin

Standings after the race