P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Bourdais: No tires strategy “only way” to win Long Beach
Starting from third place, Bourdais spent the early stages of the IMSA’s 100-minute classic chasing the pole-sitter Pipo Derani in the Action Express Racing-prepped No. 31 Cadillac. The pivotal moment of the race happened when Derani pitted on lap 26 and handed over to co-driver Jack Aitken. Bourdais also pitted and made a strategic decision to continue on the initial set of tires, saving time and moving into the lead. Despite various incidents, van der Zande managed to stay ahead of Aitken and won the race by 0.564s after 68 laps on the street circuit. Bourdais explained that the decision not to change tires was based on data from the previous day and the track conditions during the race. With this win, van der Zande earned his 20th IMSA victory while Bourdais celebrated his 12th, and they are currently 58 points behind the championship-leading duo of Cameron and Nasr from Porsche Penske Motorsport.
