RESONANCE
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(Above) The Porsche LMDH, using Multimatic’s chassis, is coming on strong to end the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season, winning two races in a row on the way to the season-ending Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. Photo by Richard Coburn
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et another dispatch written on an airplane (or started on one), due in part to the fact that I’ve been over the Atlantic every week for the past few months, and it’s the only free time I’m afforded. My last ITMN submission included a picture of Mosport (CTMP) taken out of the window of a B787. A couple of weeks ago I got to the Indianapolis IMSA event from England in a seriously convoluted way; flew London-Toronto, immediately followed (like out of the terminal and into a rental car) by a drive to Chatham, Ontario to grab a few hours’ sleep (don’t ask, was a lack of planning), and then onward to Detroit the next morning to attend the second year of its reimagined auto show (having been rebranded and cleverly moved from the depths of Michigan’s freezing January to a more hospitable September, but missing both 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic) where Ford featured the Mustang GTD as a follow-up to the first unveiling in Monterey. Multimatic plays a key role in that program (no secret) but more on that in a later article, along with how that road version has a deep connection to the GT3 race car. Then, after a “big night” at the Apparatus Room (highly recommended), it was onward to Indianapolis chasing Harry Tincknell all the way for four hours (or maybe it was more if we stayed to the speed limit). Was a great IMSA Sportscar weekend for the LMDH
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Porsches with Penske finishing one-two and Harry throwing down some top three stats in outright lap time and stint average, having had to drive from the back due to a pit lane infraction for the Proton privateer Porsche. The car is becoming a formidable competitor with a combination of Multimatic, Porsche and Penske development. I stayed in our old, converted GMC Greyhound bus for the weekend, parked up against the backstraight fence amongst a load of serious enthusiasts. Way better than restaurant dinners and hotel rooms every night, and a good place to do business during the day. Andrew Holt joined me as he works for Multimatic in a manufacturing plant just up the road in Fort Wayne, Indiana (#itsnotthatbad...that’s a real motto, and it truly ain’t so bad). Stayed at his place on Sunday night, finishing off the weekend with street tacos and a bunch of beers before driving all the way back to Toronto on Monday to catch the red eye to London. Wears me out just writing about it. But I love the Speedway, the awesome sports car racing that IMSA is serving-up and being involved with our at-track support team, who are fully amazing. I’m now on another B787 and have already thrown down 400 words just covering my recent travel itinerary. So, what of interest have I got to share this issue? A blast from the past. And not specif-