International Motor Sports Association's (IMSA) president John Doonan confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the 2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2021.[2] It was the fifth consecutive year the event was held as part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The 2022 Lexus Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio was the fifth of twelve scheduled sports car races of 2022 by IMSA , and it was the third of eight rounds held as part of the WeatherTech Sprint Cup.[3] The race was held at the thirteen-turn 2.258 mi (3.634 km) Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course near Lexington, Ohio on May 5, 2022.[4]
On May 5, 2022, IMSA released the latest technical bulletin outlining Balance of Performance for the event. In DPi, the Cadillac DPi-V.R received a 10 kilogram weight break. In GTD, The Porsche 911 GT3 R received a 10 kilogram weight increase.[5]
A total of 31 cars took part in the event, split across four classes. 6 were entered in DPi, 6 in LMP2, 8 in LMP3, and 11 in GTD.[7] In LMP2, Will Stevens subbed for Louis Deletraz in the Tower Motorsport entry due to a clash with the European Le Mans Series round at Imola.[8] In LMP3, MLT Motorsports made its debut in the IMSA SportsCar Championship. In GTD, Team Hardpoint was absent while Vasser Sullivan Racing added a second entry featuring Jack Hawksworth and Richard Heistand. NTE Sport withdrew from the event due to a lack of funding.[9]Jordan Pepper joined Brendan Iribe in the Inception Racing entry.
There were two practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Sunday; one on Friday and one on Saturday. The first session on Friday afternoon ran for 90 minutes while the second session on Saturday morning lasted 105 minutes.[10]
Saturday's afternoon qualifying was broken into three sessions, with one session for the DPi and LMP2, LMP3, and GTD classes, which lasted for 15 minutes each, and a ten minute interval between the sessions.[10] The rules dictated that all teams nominated a driver to qualify their cars, with the Pro-Am (LMP2/LMP3/GTD) classes requiring a Bronze/Silver Rated Driver to qualify the car. The competitors' fastest lap times determined the starting order. IMSA then arranged the grid to put DPis ahead of the LMP2, LMP3, and GTD cars.[11]
Albuquerque and Taylor took the lead of the DPi Drivers' Championship with 1707 points while Blomqvist and Jarvis dropped to second with 1675 points. Bamber and Lynn jumped from fourth to third.[14] The result in LMP2 meant Montoya and Hedman took the lead of the LMP2 Drivers' Championship with 972 points while Bomarito and Thomas advanced from fourth to third.[14] Grist and Balogh took the led of the LMP3 Drivers' Championship with 688 points while Braun and Bennett advanced from fifth to second with 661 points.[14] The result in GTD meant McAleer retook the lead of the Drivers' Championship with 1237 points while Hardwick and Heylen dropped to second with 1225 points. Megennis and Westphal jumped from fifth to fourth while Montecalvo advanced from eighth to fifth.[14] PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports continued to top the LMP2 Teams' Championship while Wayne Taylor Racing, Jr III Motorsports, and Gilbert Korthoff Motorsports became the leaders of their respective class Teams' Championships.[14] Acura and Mercedes-AMG assumed the lead of their respective Manufacturers' Championships with seven rounds remaining.[14]
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Cadillac Racing
Sébastien Bourdais
Filipe Albuquerque
Oliver Jarvis
Henrik Hedman
John Farano
High Class Racing
RWR Eurasia Motorsport
Aidan Read
