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International Motor Sports Association    Lamborghini Super Trofeo series

International Motor Sports Association 

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photos courtesy Imsa

About the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA)

International Motor Sports Association, LLC (IMSA) was originally founded in 1969 and owns a long and rich history in sports car racing. Today, IMSA is the sanctioning body of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the premier sports car racing series in North America. IMSA also sanctions the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge and IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, as well as four one-make series: Ferrari Challenge North America, Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich Tires, Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America and Porsche Carrera Cup North America. IMSA – a company within the NASCAR family – is the exclusive strategic partner in North America with the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) which operates the 24 Hours of Le Mans as a part of the FIA World Endurance Championship. The partnership enables selected IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competitors to earn automatic entries into the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Porsche Finally Takes Motul Petit Le Mans Overall Win

CrowdStrike by APR Captures Win and Titles in LMP2


 

October 3, 2026

By John Oreovicz

IMSA Wire Service

Provisional Race Results

Provisional Points Standings


 

BRASELTON, Ga. – When Porsche claims its first top-class victory in one of sports car racing’s crown jewel events, it’s a historic day. 

 

That’s what unfolded Saturday at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta as Laurens Vanthoor, Kevin Estre, and Matt Campbell guided the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 to the top spot in the 29th annual Motul Petit Le Mans. The victory represented overall and Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class triumphs in the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season finale. 

 

Porsche famously took the overall Motul Petit Le Mans win in 2015 with a GT Le Mans class Porsche 911 RSR entry on a day when torrential rain and bespoke tires were key determining factors in nullifying the speed advantage typically enjoyed by faster prototype classes.

 

Wet weather impacted the proceedings again this year, contributing to a record 16 full course cautions and a 27-minute stoppage due to nearby lightning. But there was no anomaly in terms of the result.

 

The Penske-prepared factory Porsches took control of the second half of the race, but Felipe Nasr suffered a heavy crash in the No. 7 car he shared with Julien Andlauer and Laurin Heinrich with 90 minutes remaining in the 10-hour endurance contest.

 

Vanthoor in the No. 6 passed Earl Bamber (No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R) for the lead with 49 minutes on the clock, then bested Sheldon van der Linde in the No. 24 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 in a tense duel over the final half hour.

 

Vanthoor crossed the line 1.205 seconds ahead of van der Linde, whose co-drivers were Dries Vanthoor and Robin Frijns. The No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V-Series.R driven by Jordan Taylor, Louis Deletraz, and Colton Herta moved up to the final podium position on the final lap. Tom Blomqvist had to pit the Motul Pole Award-winning No. 60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06 for energy replenishment at the white flag, dropping the entry that also featured Colin Braun and Scott Dixon to fourth.

 

Porsche owns 21 overall wins at the Rolex 24 At Daytona, 20 at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, and 19 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans – the event that inspired the late Don Panoz to create the Motul Petit Le Mans. It’s unfathomable to think that one of sports car racing’s most successful manufacturers hadn’t cracked the overall code with a prototype at Michelin Raceway.

 

That all changed Saturday for the No. 6 car, though Heinrich’s bid in the No. 7 to steal the GTP driver’s championship fell short. Jack Aitken, supported by Bamber and Frederik Vesti, earned that title in the No. 31 Cadillac by simply rolling off the grid for the season finale. Additionally, the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen won the team championship, and Cadillac clinched the manufacturer championship.

 

Aitken is the first driver to be crowned solo champion in IMSA’s top class since Jorg Bergmeister won the Daytona Prototype crown under GRAND-AM sanction.

 

“It’s a bit of a weird feeling winning a championship rolling to the green, but obviously it’s been a fantastic year – the incredible consistency we’ve had as a brand and as a team,” Aitken said. “I couldn’t have done it without my teammates, and it does feel a little bit bittersweet that they all couldn’t be sharing it with me.”

 

Porsche scored its fourth GTP class victory of the season, and the first for Penske’s outfit since Nasr, Andlauer and Heinrich opened the season with wins at Daytona and Sebring. Of note, that trio did claim the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTP title with Porsche.

 

The win was the first in IMSA competition for Estre, while Campbell and Vanthoor both claim 14 victories. Campbell is a three-time winner at Motul Petit Le Mans, though this was his first overall.

 

“There are multiple reasons why we wanted to win this race,” reflected Vanthoor. “Our sights were set on that, and it was all or nothing. It was absolutely fun, and it feels good because we had a tough year in the No. 6 car, not what we hoped for. Results didn’t always reflect the good work we were doing behind the scenes, which nobody really saw besides the people in the team.

 

“This is a very nice way to end the season,” he smiled. “We ticked a lot of boxes for Porsche, for Penske, and for the three of us. For me, it was a dream to win in America. I dreamed of winning Daytona, Sebring, and Petit Le Mans, and that dream is achieved. It’s an incredible day.”

 

Van der Linde put heavy pressure on Vanthoor in the closing stages, and at one stage, Vanthoor struggled to maintain control of his sliding Porsche through the iconic Esses. But he held on and was able to eke out a small margin in the run to the flag.

 

“I came really close in Turn 1 once with about 20 minutes to go when (Vanthoor) got stuck in GT traffic,” van der Linde related. “I thought I got lucky there, but he saw me coming and closed the door at the very last minute. That was probably the best shot we had.

 

“Laurens made no mistakes, and took a lot of risk in traffic, which was needed for both of us to try and get this win today,” he added. “Hats off to him. It’s not every day that you see drivers taking so much risk while still keeping the cars on track, keeping it fair and safe.”

 

The variable conditions and end-of season championship pressure contributed to high attrition, with just six of 11 GTP competitors running at the finish.

 

LMP2: CrowdStrike Wins Race, Titles; Kurtz Claims Jim Trueman Award

The path to the WeatherTech Championship’s Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class championship wasn’t always easy for George Kurtz, Alex Quinn, Toby Sowery, and the No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR team.

 

Nor was their class victory in the 29th annual Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

 

The trio overcame an early drive-through penalty for incident responsibility that put the entry a lap down, then recovered from contact by its closest championship competitor – Tom Dillmann in the No. 43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA LMP2 07 he shared with Jeremy Clarke and Bijoy Garg - that required changing the car’s rear clip.

 

Sowery, the team’s Michelin Endurance Cup driver, drove a masterful stint on slicks during a rainy portion of the race to make up the deficit from the early penalty. Quinn sealed the deal, holding off a hard-charging Dillmann by 0.666 seconds at the checkered flag after 10 hours of racing.

 

It was the fourth IMSA LMP2 class win for Kurtz (fifth total) and the second for Quinn and Sowery, as well as the first championship for all three. Kurtz becomes the first repeat winner of the IMSA Jim Trueman Award, which includes an entry in the following year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans for the top-ranked Bronze-rated LMP2 driver. He also won the Jim Trueman Award in 2023. Kurtz, Quinn and Heinrich shared the LMP2 Pro/Am class-winning CrowdStrike by APR entry in this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.

 

Additionally, the trio also won the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup LMP2 title over rivals AO Racing, who were only one point behind entering the day.

 

“This is incredibly special because it was really a team effort,” Kurtz said. “My co-drivers were just phenomenal, the team gave us a great car, and there was so much adversity we had to overcome – for the entire season, but obviously, for this race. It was up and down, up and down. It really was a shootout with the No. 43.

 

“From my perspective, this is probably one of the best seasons I’ve ever had.”

 

As the team’s lead driver, Quinn felt the championship pressure.

 

“We were so happy and so relieved in some ways to win the championship,” he said. “I honestly totally forgot we won the race! When you realize you’ve done it, it does make it extra special because this is such a unique race and such an intense race – especially this one, the way it panned out.

 

“Such an amazing day and it rounds off an amazing year.”

 

Sowery was the day’s unsung hero, somehow managing to not only keeping the car on a soaking track while passing competitors running rain tires.

 

“The first few laps were pretty sketchy,” he admitted. “It wasn’t easy but that’s part of racing. I had a good time and didn’t make any mistakes, thankfully. I think we made the brave choice, and it paid off for us today.”
 

Car Blanche Wins Motul Petit Le Mans in First IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTD PRO Start 

Paul Miller Racing, Winward Wrap GT Class Titles at Motul Petit Le Mans


 

October 4, 2026

By David Phillips and Dylan Spaulding

IMSA Wire Service

Provisional Race Results

Provisional Points Standings


 

BRASELTON, Ga. – In a race and championship with more plot twists than an Agatha Christie “whodunit” thriller, Mattia Drudi and the No. 68 Car Blanche Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo charged to the lead in the final hour of the Motul Petit Le Mans and claimed their first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship victory. Drudi shared the car with Valentin Hasse Clot and Marco Sorensen as one of IMSA’s newest teams stepped up to Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) midseason and made its first IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup race start in GTD PRO at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.


 

The race plot twist came alongside the battle for the GTD PRO championship, which went the way of Connor De Phillippi and Neil Verhagen in the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO. They finished third, co-driving with Dan Harper, to secure the full-season driver and team championships and IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTD PRO titles.


 

Plot twists? Consider 13 of 14 starters led at least one lap and at various times no fewer than six cars remained mathematically in the mix for the GTD PRO championship. From those 13 race leaders, the final half hour boiled down to a four-way contest between Ben Barnicoat in the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3, Harry King’s No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R, Thomas Preining’s No. 911 Manthey Porsche and Drudi’s Aston Martin. 


 

Preining went off road at Turn 10, then Barnicoat slowed in an effort to coax his low-on-energy Lexus to the finish even as Drudi worked his way around King. A late full course caution set-up a dash to the 10:10 p.m. finish although it aided those trying to ensure they made it home on energy. Drudi never put a wheel wrong while conserving as much energy as possible and led King across the finish line.

 

“To be fair, I don’t really know what happened in that last hour,” Drudi said. “So many things happened, it’s difficult to realize. I was just driving the saving energy game and waiting for something to happen at the front. I was behind the two Porsches and the Lexus. First Preining went off, and then the Lexus had contact in Turn Five and I just went through and found myself leading. And then I was the target, and I was just saving as much as we could, trying to keep the lead. We were really, really, really tight because the last lap of the race would have been our last, but luckily the GTPs went through and saved us a lap.” 

 

The championships were equally in doubt until the final hour of the race. Having led the points races for much of the season, De Phillippi and Verhagen, PMR and BMW came to Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in second spot behind Nicky Catsburg, Tommy Milner and the No. 4 Corvette Racing with Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R after they were knocked out of the lead of the previous race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Although pre-race speculation focused on those two protagonists, the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Temerario GT3, both the No. 64 and 65 Ford Racing Mustang GT3s, the AO Racing Porsche and the Vasser Sullivan Lexus were mathematically in the mix as well. 

 

But although the No. 65 Mustang, the Pfaff Lamborghini and the Vasser Sullivan Lexus kept their slim title hopes alive most of the race, in an eventful day and night of changing fortunes brought on by a downpour, a red flag for nearby lightning strikes, more than a dozen full course yellows and differing fuel and tire strategies, the title boiled down to the Corvette and the BMW. 


 

Verhagen and the PMR BMW took over a tenuous championship lead when they slotted into third ahead of Catsburg’s sixth-placed Corvette after a round of pit stops during a caution period with less than 90 minutes remaining. But even then, the title was by no means secure. At least not until the No. 64 Mustang of Dennis Olsen shouldered the Corvette into the Turn 10 sand trap, which cost Catsburg a lap before rejoining the race.

 

“The last couple of rounds being the championship leader, we were always the ones having to be a little more cautious and people were taking advantage of that and laying the bumpers on us,” Verhagen said. “And finally being the hunters today, we knew we had nothing to lose. Yeah, finally a bit of luck fell our way.  


 

"For sure that’s not the way we want to end the championship. We want to be able to race it on the track and, you know, I’m very good friends with Nicky Catsburg and Tommy Milner off the track. But I feel, if you look at our last four or five races and how everyone raced us, we were finally on the lucky side today. And from then on it was pretty clear we just had to stay ahead of the Pfaff Lambo and win the championship.”

 

The championship marked a fitting conclusion to a season that began with a win in the Rolex 24 At Daytona and which saw them score five more top five finishes. 

 

“Starting off with a strong Daytona is huge,” De Phillippi said. “And from there we just went race-to-race. We maximized what we had each race on each given weekend. I think driver-wise, Neil and I made the least amount of mistakes between everyone in the field and, team-wise, we made the least mistakes. More often than not we didn’t have the fastest car on the given weekend, but we always had a car we knew we could be competitive with. And if we played our cards right, we could fight for the podium. That was always our mindset and when there was more to grab, we took it.”

 

So while the podium may not have been in the cards at Motul Petit Le Mans, there was indeed more for Verhagen, De Phillippi, Harper, PMR and BMW to grab. And they took it. 


 

GTD: Winward Racing Powers to Historic Third Straight Championship

All eyes in Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) fixated on the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 and its slim championship lead entering the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship finale. By day’s end, Philip Ellis, Russell Ward and Indy Dontje had delivered Winward’s first Motul Petit Le Mans victory and a third consecutive GTD championship.


 

Winward secured the class title early, owing in large part to misfortune hitting their rivals. But the race win remained uncertain until the closing minutes. Riccardo Pera pressured Ellis in the No. 912 Manthey 1st Phorm Porsche 911 GT3 R for second place, but Ellis resisted. On Lap 320, he muscled past Lilou Wadoux to take the GTD lead.


 

Wadoux had returned the No. 21 Af Corse USA Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO to contention after a stop-plus-60-second penalty involving co-driver Antonio Fuoco dropped it to 10th in class. A late full-course caution then eased the GTD leaders’ fuel-saving demands, allowing Ellis to manage the final laps and secure Winward’s maiden Petit Le Mans win.


 

“It was super tight,” Ellis said. “Obviously the yellow saved a lot of the cars that were on the same strategy. Until the yellow came out, we knew we had no chance of making it. With the yellow, there was a very slim chance of making it. We had to have the prototypes lap us for one.


 

“I had saved fuel on the last five or six laps after the restart, and that despite having the 9, 12 up behind us, having a bit more energy than us, so they could push a bit more, gamble on that extra lap, whereas we couldn't.


 

“I was on the radio telling my engineer I'm just going to stay out and hope that either we have a yellow or it's going to be enough till the end.


 

“Yeah, I was a little bit lucky at some points with the prototypes coming through where I could save a bit more fuel, remake it to the end. Glad it worked out that way.”


 

Ellis and team owner-driver Ward form the core of Winward’s Mercedes-AMG program, with Dontje joining for endurance races. Over the final five rounds, Ellis and Ward earned four victories and a runner-up finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, erasing their deficit and completing the second largest championship comeback since IMSA introduced its restructured points system in 2021.


 

Winward’s third straight title is the longest active championship streak by a program in any IMSA class, and the result also helped Mercedes-AMG claim the manufacturer crown. The victory further established Winward as one of GTD’s defining teams, but Ward credited the crew’s resolve after a difficult race at Watkins Glen for setting the tone.


 

“Hats off to the dedicated group of people,” Ward said. “When we got taken out at Watkins Glen, involved in the incident between the 70 car and the 13, I mean, us three drivers were pretty sorry in the paddock, looking at the car, watching the mechanics just jump all over it.

“From our standpoint we thought the race was done, let's pack this thing up, move on to the next. Those guys were like: Hell, no. We need to get out there and capitalize on points. They really set the tone for the second half of the season. We can't quit, keep pushing as hard as we can.


 

“We went on a five-race streak with podiums, four wins and a second in Indianapolis, which very well could have been a win as well. Could have been five wins in a row. That really just set us up.”


 

Winward’s championship bid received an early boost before the green flag. The No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo entered the weekend 116 points behind the leading Mercedes, but an overnight engine change forced Zacharie Robichon to start from pit lane. The car eventually joined the race more than 60 laps behind and later retired.


 

The other title challenger faltered 30 minutes after the start. Robby Foley brought the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO to pit road for unscheduled service, and a loss of water pressure ended the race for the team that had entered the finale second in the GTD standings.


 

As night fell over the 10-hour race, the fights for the podium, Michelin Endurance Cup and GTD Bronze-only Bob Akin Award intensified. Contact between Fuoco and race-win contender Lorenzo Patrese sent Patrese’s No. 34 Conquest Racing Ferrari into the concrete wall at Turn 1, triggering another full-course caution. The incident ended Conquest Racing’s bid for GTD honors and initially knocked Af Corse USA out of contention for a second consecutive Michelin Endurance Cup title.


 

Further cautions reshaped fuel strategies before the finish. Pera matched Ellis’ conservation effort and held second in the No. 912 Manthey 1st Phorm Porsche. The result provided a fitting send-off for co-driver Ryan Hardwick, who announced his retirement from full-time driving Friday morning; Morris Schuring completed the lineup.


 

Charlie Eastwood completed the podium in the No. 36 DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R alongside Salih Yoluc and 2026 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge TCR champion Mason Filippi, with that car rallying from two significant early race penalties. 


 

Behind them, Orey Fidani and the No. 13 13 Autosport Corvette rallied past Brendon Iribe and the No. 70 Inception Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo to win the Bronze-only Bob Akin Award by a slim 10-point – or one position – margin. The award secured Fidani an automatic invitation to the 2027 24 Hours of Le Mans. 

 

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

Motul Petit Le Mans

Post-Race Press Conference Transcript

BRASELTON, Ga. (Oct. 3, 2026) - Transcript from the post-race Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.


 

Speakers include:


 

Dr. Eric Warren, Vice President, Global Motorsports Competition, General Motors

Chris Mitchum, Director of Race Team Operations at Action Express Racing


 

Drivers:

Earl Bamber, No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R

Jack Aitken, No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R

Kevin Estre, No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963

Matt Campbell, No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963

Laurens Vanthoor, No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963

Dries Vanthoor, No. 24 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8

Robin Frijns, No. 24 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8

Sheldon van der Linde, No. 24 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8

Mattia Drudi, No. 68 Car Blanche Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO

Valentin Hasse-Clot, No. 68 Car Blanche Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO

Marco Sorensen, No. 68 Car Blanche Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO

Neil Verhagen, No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO

Connor De Phillippi, No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO

Dan Harper, No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO

Indy Dontje, No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3

Philip Ellis, No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3

Russell Ward, No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3

Alex Quinn, No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA LMP2 07

George Kurtz, No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA LMP2 07

Toby Sowery, No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA LMP2 07


 

THE MODERATOR: Good evening, everybody. Pleased to be joined by the first group of many to come in here this evening. Our championship-winning team, manufacturer, driver in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, GTP class.


 

Let's start with the manufacturer Cadillac. Dr. Eric Warren, vice president of Motor Global Sports Competition for General Motors.


 

Eric, if you could speak to the achievement of both programs individually, Cadillac to Corvette.


 

ERIC WARREN: I think for General Motors and Cadillac, it really just comes down to great partners that we had. We had really two great teams this year. We worked on this Team Cadillac approach. Really the consistency the Cadillac team has shown has been incredible. The performance at every track starting at Indy last year, we were talking about Cadillac, I think we've been on the podium 10 races in a row there. Other than the end of Road America...


 

Couldn't be more proud of the work that's been done. These cars are tough to race, the competition, different manufacturers racing against. It's a great honor for GM, Cadillac. Same thing with Corvette. What a battle that's been. A little bit rougher than I'd like to see probably.


 

It's been exciting. The Corvette Z06 GT3.R really has come into its own the last year across IMSA, WEC. Really proud of that championship. Came down to the wire there, as well. It's great to have another championship. That car is just incredible. Couldn't be more proud.


 

THE MODERATOR: We'll slide over to our team champion, Chris Mitchum.


 

Chris, congratulations. Obviously a very, very strong season for the team. Just what made the difference for you guys this year? Why did it go so well?


 

CHRIS MITCHUM: I think, to back up, it sounds awesome. Pretty incredible to hear. I don't think it will sink in until tomorrow. We're focused trying to pull off a win.


 

Thinking beyond that, really it comes down to execution, having the tools to do the job. We're so fortunate to have had such a long partnership with GM all the way dating back to the GRAND-AM and DP time to now.


 

Those tools that we get from -- we say we're a good partner, the reality is it truly is a one-team approach. We would not be sitting here in this position without our partners at Wayne Taylor, how much effort they've put in. We've truly grown as one team. I think we can always get better.


 

I can't unfortunately tell you all of our successes this year, but I can list seven of our missed opportunities if you look at tonight. I think that's what racers are. Same cliché, but it's true when you live it. We hate losing more than we want to win. I think that's what drives everybody in our team.


 

I think our drivers will back me up when I say our pit crew was phenomenal tonight. Can't say flawless. Definitely had our moments. Everybody does. It's about how you recover. I think what made the difference this year is when we weren't able to finish on the top step, we were resilient, we recovered and got the most out of it we could.


 

Kind of alluding to what Eric pointed out with the number of consistency in the podiums, that was really the secret to the championship this year.


 

THE MODERATOR: We'll start with our driver Earl Bamber.


 

Earl, talk about your sense of pride for being a part of this, what this team accomplished.


 

EARL BAMBER: Just really proud to be part of the whole thing. Joining the team last year, it was really a building year. We did a lot of work. Then all of a sudden the floodgates opened at Indy, we went on this amazing podium streak.


 

It was all the hard work in the background, from the team guys at the workshop, the drivers, then the effort that Cadillac has put in. Everyone sees the teams execute the races, but no one sees the massive amount of hard work and effort that everyone from the tech center, General Motors, a new aero kit this year, so much work going on here and for the WEC. I think you can see across all the programs we're just slowly raising the bar every single week.


 

So it's nice to get this championship for the manufacturers and the drivers. Everyone's focus is the last two WEC races and on to Daytona. Everyone is hungry to get a win there.


 

THE MODERATOR: Sliding over to our second driver, Jack Aitken.


 

Jack, obviously you had to get off the grid. How relieved were you to do that? Once that happened, take us through the emotions of the last 10-plus hours.


 

JACK AITKEN: I mean, the start of the day was a little bit more stressful than usual. Recalled lap was very steady. I usually have unwavering faith in the EV launch on the Cadillac V-Series.R. I was really praying that it didn't let me down this one time, and it didn't. Got off the grid.


 

Yeah, a bit of a weird feeling winning a championship rolling to the green. It's been a fantastic year, which we've all mentioned, the incredible consistency we've had as a brand, as a team. 10 podiums in a row for Cadillac. We've been up there for quite a few of them.


 

I could not have done it without my teammates. It does feel a little bit bittersweet that Earl couldn't be with me because, honestly, he should be. Missing that one race, sort of it doesn't really mean anything to me. He should be right up here. That's a shame.


 

It's been a fun year because we've been flawless, the crew has been flawless. The one-team approach has really helped us. The car has come on leaps and bounds in the last four years since we won in 2023. Yeah, like Earl says, just looking forward to going and attacking Daytona. It's a special win for me.

THE MODERATOR: We'll go to questions.


 

Q. Jack, you mentioned the cars coming by leaps and bounds. As well as you. For you, when did it start to click that a championship run like this could be possible?


 

JACK AITKEN: In a way, this time last year when we surprised ourselves by finishing second with such a strong end to the year with our back-to-back wins in Indy and here.


 

I think it sort of showed us we were ready as a team to go on a streak like we have done. The pieces have been in place for a long time, but we needed a little bit of luck and things to fall in place to really get going with results on paper. That's how it is in racing always.


 

I don't think we expected it to go quite as long as it did. Yeah, as we went through the first races of the year, had a few near misses in terms of winning, but we were always there, always on the podium, fighting with the top guys, whoever they were. It became clear pretty quick that we were on to something pretty special this year.


 

Q. Earl and Jack, incredible year with eight podiums, nine races. Any race that stands out to you being particularly meaningful to the championship, one of the wins or effort?


 

JACK AITKEN: I think the home win at Detroit was a bit of a watershed moment for us. I think we, like I said, had a few near misses early on in the season. We were happy with what we were doing.


 

Like Chris says, we're racers. Not being on the top step is a bit grating, and being in here and giving reasons why we were still happy but would be a bit happier if we would have been on the top step was also getting a bit old. To finally get the win at home with friends and family all around at the home of GM was a pretty awesome weekend, I think it's fair to say.


 

Q. Earl, obviously Jack alluded to the fact it's bittersweet to him to not share the overall championship with you. What are your emotions in this moment?


 

EARL BAMBER: I'm just really proud of what we've achieved. Like joining the program at the very beginning, first time to drive the car on a roll-out, and now to be winning all these championships. To get Jack his first championship, 'cause I missed that one race, every single time you're in the car, you're feeling that weight on the shoulders because you missed one race, so you want to get it done for him and the whole team. It was really nice to get that.


 

But yeah, we were trying to fight for third tonight, didn't quite go our way. Sometimes that happens. We've also got a bigger picture. We're on the global stage as well with the global championship. There's still a lot of boxes to be ticked. We want to get that first Le Mans win. We were really, really strong this year. I think we could all taste it.


 

What's amazing, everyone at Cadillac, Corvette, GM, everyone's racers from the very top to everyone in the program, right? We all want to go get wins. That makes it special to go racing with these guys.


 

We didn't win tonight. I'm sure everyone is thinking how we're going to go win the next one. That's what makes this group special.


 

Q. Said he owed you a beer.


 

EARL BAMBER: He owes us watches (smiling).


 

Q. Jack mentioned a drop round potentially. How would that particularly work? How do you feel about that?


 

EARL BAMBER: I like the fact you have to be very consistent in the championship. At the end of the day, race wins are really good, but championships are what makes it. You're the most consistent team, manufacturer, drivers throughout the year. You can do some really bold moves sometimes and win a race. That measured attack, approach, of what you're going to do throughout a whole season to win a championship makes it all something special.


 

Not to be harsh, but I'm sure no one in three years' time is going to remember who won one of the 2 hour 40 minute races this year. They'll remember forever that Cadillac and Jack won the championship this year.


 

Q. Chris, ties Action Express with Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing. Obviously those two organizations are storied in motorsports. What does it mean for this team to be mentioned in the same breath as those guys?


 

CHRIS MITCHUM: I mean, a tremendous honor, right? You're talking about some of the strongest teams in the sport, I think that everybody knows, globally.


 

I think having Action Express' name partnered with a global, dominant brand like Cadillac, we really came into the season with that pride as part of our program already.


 

I've been fortunate enough to be with Action Express for 13 years now. Our team manager, Gary Nelson, has a very straightforward racing approach. That's why I like working here.


 

Hindsight, he's great, but he always shows up late. I think our racing approach of always fighting for the win every opportunity we get has gotten us to a point where we can be compared to. I would have to be completely honest that it's more of an honor to compete against those groups than it is to be compared against them.


 

But to know that the numbers are stacking up in our column, I think it's a testament to all the men and women that have put Action Express together. There's a number of people that you'd want to call out and say how long and how much effort they put into it.


 

We've been through a rotation of people, for sure. At the top it's always been Gary Nelson and Iain Watt; our crew chief, Bill Keuler; and our shop foreman, Brian Hay. Have all been there longer than myself. We've all been together since 2014. That bond has allowed us to get to where we are.


 

Maybe I'm not saying it clearly, but I don't know that I'm the one that should be able to take that credit, to be honest. I think all the people that have worked at Action Express over that many years to make it happen have given us that opportunity.


 

What's more exciting from what you just said is that we've have an opportunity next year to take that next step and stand there on our own with eight championships. That will be our goal.


 

THE MODERATOR: Gentlemen, thank you. Appreciate you coming in. Congratulations.


 

THE MODERATOR: Now we're joined by our overall in GTP class winners here. Kevin Estre, Matt Campbell and Laurens Vanthoor.


 

Kevin, your first victory in IMSA. What does it mean to you?


 

KEVIN ESTRE: It means a lot, definitely, I start to get old. Finally is good to get this first victory.


 

Yeah, I've come close many times actually in this race and never happened. But this one was a really hard one. We fought very hard with many, many competitors during the race. A lot of setbacks with some unfortunate penalties at the beginning.


 

Strategy didn't go the right way. The yellow came at the wrong spot, everything. It was really tough to get back up to the front when we were on the back of the field. It was tough for us to pass.


 

We knew we had a good car in clean air, but difficult to pass. Yeah, finally we were in the mix towards the end with the car which was not really in one piece, but somewhere there (smiling). Laurens made an amazing, amazing double stint towards the end with some incredible passing, no mistakes.


 

Yeah, it was really, really good, really nice to watch. So thank you, Laurens, man of the race.


 

Again, Matt, always super precise, no mistakes. He's there. He saved fuel, saved tires. Yeah, tire whisperer as the engineers are saying (smiling).


 

Really glad to clinch the victory with these two guys in our final race together probably. We are parting ways a bit next year.


 

Yeah, very glad about that.


 

THE MODERATOR: Matt, two previous class wins here, but this is an overall victory. How much more special is that?


 

MATT CAMPBELL: Yeah, much more special. I think I've been on podium also three times in GTP here. We've always been strong, but always missed that top step. Been fantastic to get an overall win here. Obviously awesome parting gift as well. My last race for Porsche, too. To get a last overall victory with Porsche at a race where they haven't achieved one for a long time.


 

Larry did a fantastic job at the end of the race, some of the best driving I've ever seen from him, and really brought it home.


 

So I just did the awkward middle part of race, the red flag, trying to save energy as much as possible. These two guys did the work. I was in the middle doing the awkward stuff.


 

THE MODERATOR: Larry, obviously the last few hours, pretty chaotic. How was it from your seat?


 

LAURENS VANTHOOR: Yeah, I need to watch highlights of the race to remember everything. Sometimes things just go by itself. Yeah, sounds stupid because that's what I always say, you're in the zone, you're not thinking about anything. For multiple reasons why not only myself but we really wanted to win this race. Yeah, sights were set on that. It was all or nothing.


 

It was absolutely fun. It feels very good because we had a tough year on car No. 6, not what we hoped for. What we've seen from the outside in terms of results didn't always reflect the good work we were doing behind the scenes which nobody really saw besides people in the team.


 

I think this is a very nice way to end the season. We ticked off a lot of boxes for Porsche, for Penske, the three of us. For myself, was a dream of me in America to win. Absolutely incredible day. I think with Kevin and Matt, we've had our success together, won more championship races, finished second in Le Mans. Like Kevin said, this is for now probably our last race together. To end it in style is pretty sweet.


 

THE MODERATOR: We'll slide over to your brother and his team, Dries Vanthoor, Robin Frijns, Sheldon van der Linde.


 

Dries, how much does this help you as you head into the off-season here?


 

DRIES VANTHOOR: I think it's nice to end it on a high. Obviously we would have loved to win today. Yeah, you guys were just a bit too quick today. We did the best we could. We have to settle for second.


 

To not forget as well that we built the team from now maybe one year back. We built the team in a couple months' time. We arrived in Daytona just about on time. To now see the progress we did during the season, to end with a win in Indy, a second place here, I think it's a great achievement, a great upward-trending line. Hopefully we can keep building on that for next year.


 

THE MODERATOR: Robin, your second podium here in the WeatherTech Championship. What does it mean for you?


 

ROBIN FRIJNS: First of all, it's good to be back. I'm the endurance driver, hop in for the long races. The goal is obviously to have a clean race, don't do any mistakes. I think lap five I go off, so that was not the plan. I was trying everything to recover my mistake, which I think I did pretty well after that.


 

We were fighting for -- I was fighting for the lead together with Aitken, give the car to Sheldon at the end. He was pushing very hard to put a lot of pressure on Laurens. As we know, I think the Porsche during the weekend was already the car to beat. It was very visible in the race, as well.


 

We're getting closer. Hopefully for next year we can raise our game a bit more.


 

THE MODERATOR: Sheldon, take us through the closing laps there. How many times did you feel like you might have had a shot at him?


 

SHELDON VAN DER LINDE: Yeah, it's probably not enough, to be honest. I came really close into turn one once about 20 minutes to go. I was very far back. Obviously Laurens didn't see me coming because I was two seconds behind. He got stuck in GT traffic in the last corner. I thought I got lucky there. He saw me coming at the very last minute, closed the door. That's probably the best shot we had in the last half an hour.


 

Congrats to them. Laurens made no mistakes, took a lot of risk in traffic, which is needed for both of us to try and get this win today. Hats off to him. Not every day that you see we take so much risk and it pays off in terms of keeping the car on track, keeping it fair, safe.


 

I'm just proud of the team. We finished second in Le Mans this year by 10 seconds, now second in Petit Le Mans with three seconds or two seconds, whatever it is.


 

It's bittersweet, to be honest. I feel like we've come really close to some really good highlights this year and dreams of mine that I've had since I was a kid.


 

If we look at the trend from last year, how much we've improved as a team, that's something to take with us. We can be disappointed with second today. Coming that close is never a great feeling, to be honest.


 

Dries said we both have a brand-new team from the very beginning. We can be proud of that, to be honest. I'm hoping we can take this momentum into Daytona next year, try to fight for the championship. That's clearly our goal. It was our goal this year, as well. Too many niggles along the way, if you can call it that. It was a learning year for us. The next year I'm pretty sure we'll be fighting for something very, very good.


 

THE MODERATOR: We'll go to questions.


 

Q. Laurens, thoughts on how the car felt towards the end of the race in the final stint. A bit of a hit from the incident. Did it impact your car at all?


 

LAURENS VANTHOOR: There wasn't any contact, no, that I know of (smiling). Not with the 7. There was some side-to-side contact with other overtakes.


 

The car felt all right. Obviously had a bit of a beating. At the end of the race it was a bit interesting because we had to save fuel, and it was also close, to go one lap further. At one point they were asking me to save fuel, try and reduce the pace, keep the BMW behind. That was a bit much.


 

But no, the car was good. We were very strong in sector two. Our weakness was a bit on the straights. That's why we always had to make our strategy work and be aggressive on the restarts because that was our only chance we had to overtake.


 

Luckily it all worked out, yeah.


 

Q. Kevin, we talked about this possibility on Thursday. Curious, from the standpoint of thinking back to what you went through at Sebring, how difficult it was. Then also thinking about what's happened since then for you, some of the run-ins, the clashes, led to probation at one point. Race control talking about a potential suspension. To go through all of that, what this year has been for you? What is the gratification from getting the first win?


 

KEVIN ESTRE: Yeah, Sebring was very tough, that's for sure. We wanted the victory there and we didn't get it. P2 was good for the team, but that's not what 6 wanted. I think it's been enough written about it.


 

But yeah, the year has been tough. Definitely after this probation on me for the last two races, it was difficult to handle, to be honest, in the car, especially this race, having so much traffic, so much risk to take. Sometimes you have to take risks. You cannot just sit and wait for the next corner.


 

It was not easy as a mindset. I'm glad the team had my back there. I'm glad that I took the right decision at the right time.


 

But yeah, I'm definitely very happy that this probation is gone and that I start from scratch next year in Daytona, try to stay clean, of course.


 

But we had to take a lot of risks to pass people the whole year, to be honest. At least since Sebring. It's a lot on us as drivers, which put the race director in a weird or difficult position, which I understand. But it was definitely not easy from time to time on us, on driver, because we have a fast car. To pass you need to be in that position. We were always a bit on the back foot there.


 

Q. We saw a record 16 cautions tonight, which is two more than the record. Can any of you talk about the racing, whether it's the quality of racing? What led to what we ended up seeing tonight?


 

LAURENS VANTHOOR: Honestly, I think it was a bit overdramatized by people. Go and try to drive the last two hours in the dark at Atlanta with so many cars and such a short track with championships and big victories on the line, the pressure of winning races. Speed differences between professional drivers, amateur drivers, change of conditions, smoke, rain, whatever.


 

Yes, there's hard racing. Sometimes it goes over the line. But that's what we're here for, to win these races, everybody going all out. If you want boring races where we all drive behind each other, no passes, nothing happens, if that's what everybody prefers, I don't think it's more exciting.


 

Yes, sometimes it goes over the line and stuff happens, we have a lot of yellows. It's also a bit of a show, right (smiling)?


 

THE MODERATOR: Gentlemen, we'll let you continue your celebrations.


 

THE MODERATOR: We are joined by our GTD Pro winners.


 

Mattia, to you, tell us what it means to score this team's first win? Looks like a perfect record for podium finishes for you so far here in limited action.


 

MATTIA DRUDI: It's amazing. It's my first start here in Petit Le Mans, Road Atlanta. I have to thank firstly the team to give me this chance because it's not easy to take a rookie driver for such an important race.


 

Yeah, I mean, we did an amazing job. The team, we've been really consistent since Thursday. Everybody on the team did an amazing job. It's really important for them. They came close to the podium with a fourth place. Now getting the first win in such an important one, it's amazing.


 

It's been a tight race really. Typical IMSA race. Really uncertain till the last lap basically. But yeah, it's amazing. I want to thank again everybody in the team.


 

THE MODERATOR: Valentin, you've worked so hard getting this team together. I think the way that this team has pretty much been at or near the front especially the last half of the season here, what does it mean to bring home a win here?


 

VALENTIN HASSE-CLOT: It's a lot of emotion for all of us at Car Blanche. For sure it's been a lot of hard work in the background for the past six months. Not only was a crazy idea, but then you need to put the work in to make it work, of course.


 

I have to thank Marco and Mattia. Not too big of a risk to take this rookie, I would say (smiling). Yeah, the car was fantastic today. Yeah, I have to thank everyone in the team for this one. It brings, again, a lot of energy for next year and a lot of energy in the team.


 

THE MODERATOR: Marco, obviously you've won here before, but it's been a while. What is it like to win with these guys?


 

MARCO SØRENSEN: Yeah, it's amazing. Obviously came in for Virginia, that was, let's say, the start of the whole -- not the whole team, but kind of the start the whole project, let's say. We already got a little bit close to a few podiums already. To get the job done here was obviously completely a bit unexpected, and it feels good. Say it like that.


 

I think we did everything that we could today. Obviously you can never make a perfect strategy here in this IMSA championship with all the yellows out there.


 

I think with what we did today, we can be happy. We adapted to the different situations out there on the track. Suddenly we found ourselves in the good position in the last two hours.


 

So yeah, just happy for everyone in the team.


 

THE MODERATOR: Connor De Phillippi, Neil Verhagen, and Dan Harper.


 

Neil, congratulations. What does it mean to be a WeatherTech Championship champion, and what did it take to get here today?


 

NEIL VERHAGEN: It sounds surreal. My first season was endurance only. Was able to win the Endurance Cup in my first season, which was special. Last year moving to a two-car team. The car did a 1-2 in the Endurance Cup. We knew where we were struggling was a little bit on the sprint races. We knew the endurances was a strong point for us.


 

To go this year and win Daytona, win the Endurance Cup and then the championship is just incredibly special. Second full year of IMSA for myself. First year sharing the car fully with Connor. I grew up in the junior team at BMW and was able to win Daytona with them at the beginning of year.


 

Really cool points for me. Going to be a season which I never forget. My most successful season in motorsport ever. I think there's no words other than to say it was an absolutely amazing season. Thank you to BMW Motorsports, Paul Miller Racing, these two legends, and Max Hesse for all the work this year.


 

THE MODERATOR: Connor, what does it mean to you?


 

CONNOR DE PHILLIPPI: I haven't been able to wrap my head around it. A lot of character-building years in IMSA. Been part of multiple programs with BMW now. Some easier than others.


 

When I had the chance to join Paul Miller Racing for the full season, I knew it was a huge opportunity to try to win the championship.


 

When we won Daytona, we started off strong. At Daytona, there's always the most amount of entries there. Starting off with a strong Daytona is huge for the overall title.


 

We went race by race, maximized what we had each given weekend. Made the least amount of mistakes between everyone in the field. Team-wise we made the least amount of mistakes. More often than not we didn't have the fastest car on a given weekend, but a car we could be competitive with. If we played our cards right, we could play for a podium.


 

When there was more to grab, we took it. So proud of everyone at Paul Miller Racing. Neil did a hell of a job all year. Coming into the season we all agreed to have our own jobs, and we all would focus really hard on those jobs well.


 

Neil was great all season in qualifying. The team put a huge emphasis in that. When you see the championship come down to a handful of points across multiple scenarios, all those start to add up.


 

I think everyone kind of caught up to that a little bit too late. Maybe next year we don't have that advantage.


 

Yeah, I'm so proud of how everyone executed all season. We're going to have a nice party tonight.


 

THE MODERATOR: Dan, wrapping up a championship season. Tell us your thoughts on that.


 

DAN HARPER: Yeah, very special. Starting the year off with winning Daytona was already nearly the icing on the cake for 2026. It was only in January. Yeah, I mean, I was looking forward to joining these guys again since then, to be honest. Max took over in Sebring. It was going to be my role here this weekend.


 

To be fair, I done my best to mess it up early on in my first stint. I'll apologize first to these boys for that. Probably giving them a heart attack.


 

Yeah, very proud of these guys. They deserve it more than anyone. Yeah, I mean, the whole team, they have done a fantastic job all year. Well done to them.


 

THE MODERATOR: We'll go to questions.


 

Q. Neil, could you speak to the significance of this win, knowing the murky future that Paul Miller Racing has faced for a couple months?


 

NEIL VERHAGEN: Yeah, I mean, I think regardless of what the rumors are, they're just rumors. It meant more than anything to the boys this year. As I said before, we were able to win the Endurance Cup two years ago. Last year we were able to do 1-2 in the Endurance Cup.


 

This year the goal was clear: It was to go and bring home the team a Rolex in the 24 Hours, to go and win the championship.


 

Yeah, as Connor said, I think we executed the best over the entire season in terms of making the least amount of mistakes, putting ourselves in the position to always capitalize on what we had.


 

You can see what it means to everybody, the emotion, the celebration, the tears. For me as well, too, Connor as well, first championship for both of us. It means so much.


 

To do it with a group of guys like we have at Paul Miller Racing is very special. They all work so incredibly hard. Even when I look back at Detroit, I had the crash in free practice two, they got the car back together, we were able to qualify fifth, with the fastest lap taken away, go to sixth. We were able to recover and make a fourth place out of a weekend where maybe the car wouldn't have been put together in time.


 

I think it's that perseverance over the entire season. Everyone had each other's backs the entire way through. I think that's what is in our blood and has really made us champions this year.


 

Q. Mattia, you talked about sort of being the rookie on the team, yet you found yourself qualifying the car, then in the car in the last crucial hour or two of the race. Talk about how that worked for you. Also, the car, you were never in the lead of the race until it mattered. Was that the strategy, not to worry about being in the lead until it mattered?


 

MATTIA DRUDI: Yeah, I mean, it was not easy to find myself here. I had to learn the track on Thursday. The team gave me more than enough laps to get used to everything.


 

Yeah, I mean, I'm a rookie here, but luckily the car really well. I'm racing a lot these years with Aston Martin racing all around the world luckily.


 

I really like the track. It's a fast track, not easy. Challenging as well. Going into qualifying was a bit of a question mark.


 

I just tried to use everything I knew from the car, tried to maximize everything. I mean, already on Thursday, to be fair, we saw that we had a decent pace, both on new tires and race pace as well. Wasn't easy. Drive qualifying, found myself in the car for the last two hours, where everything is a bit more hectic, let's say, where before it's just surviving and trying to stay out of trouble.


 

Yeah, for sure was not the strategy to wait being up there for just the last 20 minutes. We been lucky with the yellow that came out right after I jumped in the car. So we jumped many, many cars there. I think we were on second at that time.


 

Yeah, I mean, was just saving-energy game. I was waiting, something happening at the front because I was behind two Porsches and a Lexus. Something happened because I think Preining went off in the last chicane. I just went through. I found myself leading.


 

We knew we were really tight on energy, so the tire was just saving as much as we could, while trying to keep the lead. It is not super easy.


 

Yeah, to be fair, we were really, really tight. The last lap of the race would have been also our last lap on energy. We didn't have anything more than that. It was really important to save in the last 20 minutes. Likely the GTPs went through.


 

But yeah, I mean, I really enjoyed the race. IMSA, my only IMSA experience is Daytona. I already saw there the last two hours is quite a big fight. Was the same here. First time in GTP Pro, probably even more exciting probably. I really enjoyed everything.


 

Q. Connor, a lot of penalties, a lot of chaos. Can you recall any race that has been this chaotic?


 

CONNOR DE PHILLIPPI: IMSA-wise it's definitely up there. I've been part of quite a few. Daytona, my first win in 2019 did, a red flag, water, aquaplaning, that was hectic.


 

To survive like we did this afternoon and this evening with contact and strategy, this guy having to wheel the thing on slicks in the rain, when they asked him do you want rain tires when it was raining, he said, No, the slicks fine.


 

I'm like, Man, this guy is crazy, but let's do it.


 

It was the right call. It dried up as we went back green. 100% the right call. Just goes to show when you have the right people around you, are confident in what they do, the right decisions get made.


 

Q. The way the race started off, mixed conditions, the red flag, he's on slicks, what is the anxiety buildup for you whenever you're sitting here watching this thing?


 

CONNOR DE PHILLIPPI: Watching is always the most anxious you get during the race. Yeah, it's always easier when you're behind the wheel.


 

Honestly, I was pretty relaxed the last 15, 20 minutes when I had my calculator out trying to figure out points situation. That was probably the most anxious I was. I was triple checking my math. Never did that. You have it right, let's do it again (smiling).


 

The guys were running numbers on strategy. The least thing I could do is double-check math, the points scenario.


 

It was hectic. Just one of the greatest moments of my career, for sure. I was telling these guys earlier, I woke up this morning to a memory. It was almost 10 years to the exact day when I won the GT Masters championship with Lindsay back in 2016. It seemed very fitting. When I saw it this morning, I was like, Maybe that's a good omen.


 

Here we are, we closed off the year with how we wanted.


 

Q. Talking about the points. It went back and forth obviously all night long. Unfortunately for the No. 4 Corvette, they got punted off. Pretty well sealed the deal for you. You still had to finish the race. Can you talk about the last segment of the race when the Corvette was pretty much out of it.


 

CONNOR DE PHILLIPPI: I just go back to Indy when Connor got punted by the Ford. Almost a copy-paste scenario.


 

I feel like the last couple of rounds, being the championship leader, we were the ones having to be a little bit more cautious. People were taking advantage of that, laying bumpers on it, driving us pretty rough.


 

Finally being the hunters today, we knew we had nothing to lose. Finally a little bit of luck fell our way. For sure that's not a way that we want to end the championship. We want to be able to race it on track. Very good friends with Nicky Catsburg and Tommy Milner off the track. At the end of the day, I feel if you look at our last four or five races, how everyone raced us, we were finally able to get the lucky side of that today.


 

After that, it was pretty clear, stay ahead of the Lambo and win the championship.



THE MODERATOR: Guys, we'll let you get your celebration restarted. Congratulations.


 

THE MODERATOR: Indy, obviously this team continues to perform at the highest level in GTD. What can you attribute that to?


 

INDY DONTJE: Yeah, I'm really happy. Happy for the team. I'm only here as an extra endurance driver. Yeah, we had that championship already in the pocket not on the way we wanted. But then to win Petit Le Mans it was actually really high on my bucket list. Almost won all the endurance rounds on every track except for Indy, which is a shame with my name (smiling).


 

Yeah, really happy. Proud of the team from Philip, mega driver, also Russell. We all three did a mega job. Team did actual really well. Pit stop strategy. We were tight on fuel. Philip can take you a little bit deeper into that.


 

But yeah, really proud of the team. Just really happy.


 

THE MODERATOR: Philip, obviously qualified on pole. Converted that to a finish, first win here at this race. Obviously brings the championship with it. Tell us about that.


 

PHILIP ELLIS: Well, obviously we had a good car couple times here, never could really get a good result. This one was definitely our best finish ever here at the race.


 

Doing that in such a tough season as well, having so many tight competitors running for the championship so late into the season, was just amazing.


 

We had a great fight with a couple cars on track obviously in the last couple hours with especially the 120 and the 912, which wasn't too fun while I was in the car. Looking back, it was a lot of fun.


 

It was good, hard racing. Everybody was going for that win. Again, like to top off such a tough and up-and-down season like we had this year with a win here at Petit Le Mans, ups and downs in the race, was just amazing. I'm glad we could get that result for the team. I think everybody, all the boys and girls on the team, deserve that result today. To celebrate the championship with a win on the last race is something special.


 

I'm sure when my couple of beers sober up, I'll have some better words for you (smiling).


 

THE MODERATOR: Russell, 300 points behind at one point this season. You bring it back to the championship. What does that say about this organization?


 

RUSSELL WARD: Hats off to the dedicated group of people. When we got taken out at Watkins Glen, involved in the incident between the 70 car and the 13, I mean, us three drivers were pretty sorry in the paddock, looking at the car, watching the mechanics just jump all over it.


 

From our standpoint we thought the race was done, let's pack this thing up, move on to the next. Those guys were like: Hell, no. We need to get out there and capitalize on points.


 

They really set the tone for the second half of the season. We can't quit, keep pushing as hard as we can.

We went on a five-race streak with podiums, four wins and a second in Indianapolis, which very well could have been a win as well. Could have been five wins in a row. That really just set us up.


 

Also, it's quite a bit of a shame to come into the championship and not get to race against the 96, the 12 and the 27. But I think that just gives a testament to the reliability of the Mercedes-AMG GT3. It's been a solid platform for over a decade and continues to outperform the competition, all these newer cars. That thing is rock solid. Hopefully the new machine carries the same reliability.


 

THE MODERATOR: Go to questions.


 

Q. Russell, talking about how the championship ended up playing out there, at the beginning of the race, for how this race ended up playing out, was it nice to have that pressure off your guys' back knowing you clinched the championship, you now can focus on the race, the extra championships that came along with it as well?


 

RUSSELL WARD: Our mentality coming in, we've learned this over the past, I think it's a mistake to shoot for a result. We need to beat the 96 car, let's do whatever we can to do that. The competition is so tough here. You need to go out there and race the race.


 

For us, we celebrated a little bit in pit lane when we knew we had the championship in pocket. Really didn't change our mentality going into the race, how we're going to drive during the race.


 

We want to win. We're not out there just to beat the minimum that we need to. If you focus on that, you make mistakes. We learned that really in Indianapolis in 2024, when we learned that. You guys just have to go out and race the race. It's just another day for us.


 

If you think differently, I think it's a mistake.


 

Q. Philip, 1.6% based on the telemetry. You couldn't afford another lap out there. Talk about managing that last stint.


 

PHILIP ELLIS: I think I might have yelled at my engineer trying to get more information out of him.


 

No, it was super tight. Obviously the yellow saved a lot of the cars that were on the same strategy. Until the yellow came out, we knew we had no chance of making it. With the yellow, there was a very slim chance of making it. We had to have the prototypes lap us for one.


 

I had save fuel on the last five or six laps after the restart, and that despite having the 9, 12 up behind us, having a bit more energy than us, so they could push a bit more, gamble on that extra lap, whereas we couldn't.


 

I was on the radio telling my engineer I'm just going to stay out and hope that either we have a yellow or it's going to be enough till the end.


 

Yeah, I was a little bit lucky at some points with the prototypes coming through where I could save a bit more fuel, remake it to the end. Glad it worked out that way.


 

Q. Russell, what does it mean to you as not only the driver but the architect and namesake of this team to add this IMSA championship to a long list of accolades?


 

RUSSELL WARD: I mean, I think it means as much to the Ward family as it does to every single member of this team. We really got an amazing core group of people that give us the machinery and the ability to come out and perform and put on a good show.


 

For us it's an incredible accolade. If you asked me when we started in IMSA racing back in 2017 that we'd be here less than 10 years later, I wouldn't believe you.


 

You really have to have the never-quit mentality. That's how you get it done. Just hats off to the drivers, the crew, the strategists, engineers. Everybody gave it all today.


 

Q. What is next?


 

RUSSELL WARD: Yeah, I guess the four-peat. GTD Pro would be something pretty exciting to do, as well. I don't know what can happen. I'd love to be involved in that group, but we're a privateer team. I'm not sure we could afford the crash damage you would accumulate by going to GTD Pro. It's a lot of bodywork. I don't know that AMG has that available.


 

If Mercedes-AMG decided to back us, I think we'd do it.


 

THE MODERATOR: Gentlemen, we'll let you resume your celebration.


 

Congratulations.


 

THE MODERATOR: We're pleased to be joined by our LMP2 winners here as well as our 2026 WeatherTech Championship champions.


 

Alex, winning the race, winning the championship, doing it that way, does it mean more?


 

ALEX QUINN: Yeah, probably does mean more. Said to a few people, we're so happy, relieved in some ways to win the championship. Forgot we won the race totally. When you realize you do it, it does make it extra special.


 

Such a unique race, intense race, especially this one, the way it all panned out. An amazing day. Rounds off an amazing year.


 

THE MODERATOR: George, obviously you get the Le Mans entry as part of all this. Put all this together. Have you had a better day in racing?


 

ALEX QUINN: He's had a lot of good days (smiling).


 

GEORGE KURTZ: This is incredibly special because it was really a team effort. My co-drivers were phenomenal. Team gave us a great car. There was so much adversity we had to overcome for the entire season, but obviously this race. It was up and down, up and down. It really was a shootout with the 43.


 

From my perspective, this is probably one of the best seasons I've ever had with all the wins up and down the board, to crown it with the championship.


 

We've come so close. In '23 we lost by a point in the championship. We were close at Daytona in '23. This year we won Daytona, won this. For me it's a year of redemption.


 

THE MODERATOR: Toby, helping the team to what they did to win the championship, talk about that.


 

TOBY SOWERY: I played my part, when the racers allowed me to. A pleasure to share the car with these two. George is one of the best drivers on the planet. Alex is one of the best prototype drivers out there as well.


 

To fit in a team that has high-level performances is truly a pleasure. Brings the better side out of me and the team.


 

To win how we did shows the level we're performing at. LMP2 sometimes it's overlooked. For me it's some of the best racing in IMSA. It's definitely the toughest.


 

To be able to win Daytona as a team, like George said, the championship and Petit Le Mans as well is pretty special in a season.


 

THE MODERATOR: We'll start with questions.


 

Q. Toby, the word 'Herculean' comes to mind during the rain when you stayed out on the slicks. What was the mindset in you staying out on the slicks during the rain?


 

TOBY SOWERY: Oh, shit, don't crash, I guess (smiling).


 

The teams have a lot of good guys that sit on the pit wall. If they say the call is slicks, I trust them. Obviously they trust the input that I give back.


 

It was about a 50/50 call. Could have gone one way or the other. I think we gave the brave choice, the option today, and that paid off for us.


 

Whether or not it would have dictated any positions in the race, I don't really know. To be able to go out there and kind of show that we're still as quick as the other P2s on wet tires was quite fun.


 

First few laps were pretty sketchy. To know you have two or three drivers on wets trying to get past you in turn one isn't easy, but it's part of racing. We're not here to make friends, we're here to fight for positions.


 

I had a good time. Didn't make any mistakes, thankfully, and brought the car back. Being English, we're used to that sketchy weather.


 

Q. Alex, can you talk me through the incident with Tom and then what was going through your mind with the damaged car, coming back from a lap down, the range of emotions there?


 

ALEX QUINN: I mean, the whole race, not just that incident, was pretty chaotic. It always is here. In the beginning it didn't seem like things were going our way. Of course, yeah, we got back in it.


 

I was going to follow up on Toby's questions because I think Toby really deserves a huge amount of credit. Not necessarily because he didn't do the full season, he doesn't get the full credit, and that's not fair in my opinion. I think he's an amazing driver and deserves to be, like me and George, crowned the champion.


 

That incident with Tommy, that was tricky. We had damage on the car. I guess it's a chance to thank the team because they repaired it insanely quickly, kept us actually on the lead lap, and in some ways it maybe helped us because a fuel advantage, the next yellow came, we cycled back to the front. Tom got a penalty for it. That switched the positions.


 

Yeah, I was frustrated at the time, but that's actually when I done a lot of my best laps during the race (smiling). I guess everything happens for a reason. In the end it all worked out.


 

Q. Is that kind of the beauty of endurance racing, when you do have a setback early or late in the race, you can fight back and take the trophy?


 

ALEX QUINN: Yeah, 100%. I said it before and I say it again, we're so lucky to have this team behind us. We've got some fantastic engineers. Without a doubt the engineering in this team is spectacular. The calmness they have, the strategic brains that they have, is very impressive.


 

In times like that, we also had a similar case in Road America where we fell back quite late in the race, but they got us back in the race quite quickly. In some ways it makes our life easy. It's just very nice to have them behind us.


 

Q. George, talk about the championship itself, winning this championship. That's a new thing for you. What does that mean?


 

GEORGE KURTZ: Well, it's been elusive. I think it's just sort of a crowning achievement. We talked about the level of the drivers in IMSA just in general. When you look up and down the P2 lineup, it's stacked. You have great drivers, some of the best literally in the world.


 

You have arguably a spec car and you have incredible professional drivers. I think 'Herculean' understates what this guy did in the rain. I mean, it was crazy.


 

To be able to put it all on the line in a one-race shootout that had so many ups and downs, to actually have it all fall into place to get the win and the championship after so much hard work that we put in, the team put in, it's a lifelong dream.


 

I've won other championships in other series, but to win an IMSA championship is a crowning achievement for me, and the rest of the team as well.


 

THE MODERATOR: Gentlemen, we'll let you resume your celebration. Congratulations.


 

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

 

Unofficial 2026 Championship Nuggets | WeatherTech Championship

Motul Petit Le Mans

Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta - Saturday, October 3, 2026

Additional results are available at results.imsa.com.


 

Unofficial points are available at pitnotes.org/points.

GTP Champions

GTP Driver

Jack Aitken, No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R

  • 31 years old from London, England, United Kingdom
  • First career class championship in fourth season
  • Previous best championship finish was second in 2025 GTP
  • First top-class solo driver champion since 2006 Grand-Am DP with Jorg Bergmeister
  • First solo drivers champion in any class since Laurin Heinrich in GTDPRO in 2024
  • Ninth different driver to win the top-class prototype championship in the past five years
  • First IMSA champion with a South Korean nationality

GTP Team

No. 31 Cadillac Whelen (Action Express Racing)

  • Seventh class championship in 17th season
  • Seven championships is tied for third most all-time with Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing
  • Second GTP class championship
  • Action Express Racing and Team Penske make up all four of the modern-era GTP championships
  • Previous titles are 2014 P, 2015 P, 2016 P, 2018 P, 2021 DPi, 2023 GTP
  • Fifth championship with sponsorship from Whelen

GTP Manufacturer

Cadillac

  • Fifth IMSA manufacturers championship
  • Five manufacturers championships is the most of all makes in the modern-era top prototype class (since 2014)
  • Second manufacturers championship in GTP
  • Cadillac and Porsche have each won two of the four modern-era GTP titles
  • Previous titles were 2017 P, 2018 P, 2021 DPi, 2023 GTP


 

LMP2 Champions

LMP2 Drivers

George Kurtz, No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA LMP2 07

  • 55 years old from Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ
  • First class championship in sixth season (third full-time)
  • Previous best championship finish was 2nd in 2023 LMP2
  • 11th and 12th drivers to win an LMP2 drivers championship since the class’s return in 2019

 

Alex Quinn, No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA LMP2 07

  • 25 years old from Truro, England, United Kingdom
  • First class championship in fourth season (first full-time season)
  • Earned his first IMSA win at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January
  • 11th and 12th drivers to win an LMP2 drivers championship since the class’s return in 2019

LMP2 Team

No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA LMP2 07

  • First class championship in fifth season (third full-time season)
  • Previous best championship finish was 2nd in 2023 in LMP2
  • Fourth team to win the modern LMP2 teams championship (since 2019)
  • Third different team to win the LMP2 teams championship in the past three years
  • Ended a 2+ year winless drought at the Rolex 24 At Daytona in January

 

Jim Trueman Award


 

George Kurtz, No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA LMP2 07

  • Second Jim Trueman Award (2023)
  • First driver to win multiple Jim Trueman Awards in the modern LMP2 class introduced in 2019


 

GTD PRO Champions


 

GTD PRO Drivers

Connor De Phillippi, No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO

  • 33 years old from San Clemente, CA
  • First class championship in 13th season (seventh full-time)
  • Previous best championship finish was 4th in 2020 GTLM

 

Neil Verhagen, No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO

  • 25 years old from Ridgefield, CT
  • First class championship in third season (second full-time)
  • Previous best championship finish was 7th in 2025 GTDPRO

 

GTDPRO Team

No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO

  • Third IMSA class championship in 16th year of competition (18 seasons including split years)
  • First IMSA GTDPRO teams championship
  • Previous championships came in 2018 (GTD) and 2023 (GTD)
  • Second team to win a championship in both GTD PRO and GTD following Pfaff in 2021 GTD and 2022 GTD PRO
  • Fifth different team to win the GTD PRO teams championship since the class’s introduction in 2022

 

GTD Pro Manufacturer

Chevrolet

  • 41st IMSA manufacturers championship
  • Second consecutive GTD PRO manufacturers championship following win in 2025
  • First manufacturer to win consecutive GTD PRO manufacturers championships
  • Second manufacturer to win multiple GTD PRO manufacturers championship
  • Sixth championship in the modern era pro-GT class (including GTLM)


 

GTD Champions


 

GTD Drivers

Philip Ellis, No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3

  • 33 years old from Munich, Bavaria, Germany (British nationality)
  • Third-consecutive class championship in sixth season (2024, 2025 GTD)
  • Three GTD class championships is most all-time since the GTD class made its debut in 2014
  • With teammate Russell Ward, both are the first and second drivers to win three consecutive championships in the modern era, and the 16th and 17th drivers all-time (first since Scott Tucker 2010-13)

 

Russell Ward, No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3

  • 37 years old from Seabrook, TX
  • Third-consecutive class championship in sixth season (2024, 2025 GTD)
  • Three GTD class championships is most all-time since the GTD class made its debut in 2014
  • With teammate Philip Ellis, both are the first and second drivers to win three consecutive championships in the modern era, and the 16th and 17th drivers all-time (first since Scott Tucker 2010-13)

 

GTD Team

No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3

  • Third-consecutive IMSA class championship in sixth season (2024, 2025 GTD)
  • First IMSA team to win three consecutive teams championships since 2019-21 PR1/Mathiasen in LMP2
  • Second IMSA team to win three consecutive GTD championships (Scuderia Corsa 2015-17)
  • First time in IMSA modern era that a team won the championship three years in a row with the same full-time driver lineup
  • Three IMSA GTD teams championships are tied for the most all-time with Scuderia Corsa
  • Win the championship after being 300 points behind the leader after Watkins Glen


 

GTD Manufacturer

Mercedes-AMG

  • Third-consecutive IMSA manufacturers championship (2024, 2025 GTD)
  • Second time in IMSA modern era that a manufacturer won the championship in a single class in three consecutive seasons (Chevrolet 2014-2016 in P)
  • Three GTD championships is the most all-time 

 

Bob Akin Award

Orey Fidani, No. 13 13 Autosport Corvette Z06 GT3.R

  • 39 years old from Caledon, Ontario, Canada
  • Third consecutive Bob Akin Award (2024, 2025)


 


 


 


 

IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Champions


 

GTP Michelin Endurance Cup Drivers


 

Felipe Nasr, No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963

  • 34 years old from Brasilia, Brazil
  • Fifth IMSA Endurance Cup title, third consecutive (P 2018; DPi 2019; GTP 2024, 2025)
  • Five endurance cup titles is tied with Ben Keating for most all-time
  • Five top-class endurance cup titles is most all-time, breaking tie with Joao Barosa and Christian Fittipaldi
  • All three GTP Endurance Cup titles came with Penske Porsche Motorsport
  • All three GTP Endurance Cup titles have been with different teammates (Dane Cameron in 2024, Nick Tandy in 2025)


 

Julien Andlauer, No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963

  • 27 years old from Lyon, France
  • First IMSA Endurance Cup title


 

Laurin Heinrich, No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 (also raced No. 5 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 and No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 in selected races)

  • 25 years old from Kurnach, Germany
  • First IMSA Endurance Cup title
  • Wins Endurance Cup in first season of GTP


 

GTP Michelin Endurance Cup Team

No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963

  • Third IMSA Endurance Cup title, all consecutive (GTP 2024 & 2025)
  • Porsche Penske has won three of the four GTP Endurance Cup titles


 

GTP Michelin Endurance Cup Manufacturer

Porsche

  • Third consecutive GTP Endurance Cup title (2024, 2025)
  • First manufacturer to win three consecutive top-class Endurance Cup titles since Cadillac won four-straight (2017, 2018 P; 2019, 2020 DPi)


 


 

LMP2 Michelin Endurance Cup Drivers

George Kurtz, No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA LMP2 07

  • Second IMSA Endurance Cup title, both in LMP2 (2023)


 

Alex Quinn, No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA LMP2 07

  • First IMSA Endurance Cup title


 

Toby Sowery, No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA LMP2 07

  • First IMSA Endurance Cup title


 

LMP2 Michelin Endurance Cup Team

No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA LMP2 07

  • Second IMSA Endurance Cup title, both in LMP2 (2023)


 


 

GTDPRO Michelin Endurance Cup Drivers

Connor De Phillippi, No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO

  • First IMSA Endurance Cup title


 

Neil Verhagen, No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO

  • Second IMSA Endurance Cup title, both in GTDPRO (2024)


 

GTD PRO Michelin Endurance Cup Team

No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO

  • Fourth IMSA Endurance Cup title (2020 GTD; 2024, 2025 GTDPRO)
  • Third consecutive GTDPRO Endurance Cup title


 

GTD PRO Michelin Endurance Cup Manufacturer

BMW

  • Third IMSA Endurance Cup title (2020 GTLM, 2025 GTDPRO)
  • Second consecutive GTDPRO Endurance Cup title


 


 

GTD Michelin Endurance Cup Drivers


 

Russell Ward, No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3

  • Second IMSA Endurance Cup title, both in GTD (2024)


 

Philip Ellis, No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3

  • Second IMSA Endurance Cup title, both in GTD (2024)


 

Indy Dontje, No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3

  • Second IMSA Endurance Cup title, both in GTD (2024)


 

GTD Michelin Endurance Cup Team

No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3

  • Second IMSA Endurance Cup title, both in GTD (2024)


 

GTD Michelin Endurance Cup Manufacturer

Ferrari

  • Third IMSA Endurance Cup title, all in GTD (2014, 2025)
  • Second consecutive GTD Endurance Cup title

 

Unofficial Results, Points & Post-Race Nuggets | WeatherTech Championship

Motul Petit Le Mans

Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta - Saturday, October 3, 2026

Unofficial Race Results


 

Additional results are available at results.imsa.com.


 

Unofficial points are available at pitnotes.org/points.

GTP Race Winner


 

No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport

  • 46th class win
  • Last win was in March 2026 at Sebring in GTP with car No. 7
  • 14th class win in GTP
  • Fourth class win at Petit Le Mans (2008 LMP2, 2007 LMP2, 2006 LMP2)
  • First overall win at Petit Le Mans
  • Third class win in 2026 (Daytona, Sebring)
  • Fourth consecutive season with three or more wins
  • Porsche last won overall at Petit Le Mans with GTLM Porsche 911 RSR in 2015


 

Matt Campbell

  • 31y 7m 16d from Warwick, Queensland, Australia
  • 14th class win in 46th start
  • Fourth class win in GTP
  • Last win was at 2025 Laguna Seca in GTP, 7 starts between
  • Third win at Petit Le Mans (2021 GTLM, 2020 GTLM) in seventh start
  • First overall win at Petit Le Mans in his seventh start
  • First GTP win at Petit Le Mans in fourth class start
  • Previous best finish at Petit Le Mans in GTP was third (2 times) last in 2025
  • First win in 2026 season in third start
  • Previous best finish in 2026 was second (1 time) last at Sebring in GTP
  • Eighth consecutive season with a win


 

Kevin Estre

  • 37y 11m 5d from Lyon, France
  • First class win in 38th start
  • Previous best finish was second (6 times) last at 2026 Sebring in GTP
  • Previous best finish in GTP was second (3 times) last at 2026 Sebring
  • First overall win at Petit Le Mans in his fifth start
  • Previous best finish at Petit Le Mans was second (3 times) last in 2024 in GTP
  • First GTP win at Petit Le Mans in second class start
  • Previous best finish at Petit Le Mans in GTP was second (1 time) last in 2024
  • First win in 2026 in ninth start
  • Previous best finish in 2026 was second (1 time) last at Sebring in GTP


 

Laurens Vanthoor

  • 35y 4m 25d from Hasselt, Belgium
  • 14th class win in 71st start
  • Third class win in GTP
  • Last win was at 2025 Long Beach in GTD, 9 starts between
  • Last win in GTP was at 2025 Sebring
  • First overall win at Petit Le Mans in his ninth start
  • Previous best finish at Petit Le Mans was second (1 time) last in 2021 in GTD
  • First GTP win at Petit Le Mans in fourth class start
  • Previous best finish at Petit Le Mans in GTP was third (1 time) last in 2025
  • First win in 2026 season in eighth start
  • Previous best finish in 2026 was second (1 time) last at Sebring in GTP
  • Second consecutive season with a win


 

LMP2 Race Winner

No. 04 Crowdstrike Racing by APR

  • Fourth class win, all in LMP2
  • Last win was in January 2026 at Daytona in LMP2 with car No. 04
  • Second class win at Petit Le Mans (2023 LMP2)
  • Second class win in 2026, all with car No. 04 (Daytona)
  • Team also won 24 Hours of Le Mans LMP2 Pro/Am class in 2026 with George Kurtz, Alex Quinn and Laurin Heinrich


 

George Kurtz

  • 55y 11m 19d from Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ
  • Fifth class win in 33rd start
  • Fourth class win in LMP2
  • Last win was at 2026 Daytona in LMP2, 5 starts between
  • Second win at Petit Le Mans (2023 LMP2) in fifth start
  • Second LMP2 win at Petit Le Mans (2023) in third class start
  • Second win in 2026 season in seventh start


 

Alex Quinn

  • 25y 9m 4d from Truro, England, United Kingdom
  • Second class win in 14th start, all in LMP2
  • Last win was at 2026 Daytona in LMP2, 5 starts between
  • First win at Petit Le Mans in third start
  • Previous best finish at Petit Le Mans was third (1 time) last in 2023 in LMP2
  • Second win in 2026 season in seventh start


 

Toby Sowery

  • 31y 3m 3d from Melbourn, England, United Kingdom
  • Second class win in 13th start, all in LMP2
  • Last win was at 2026 Daytona in LMP2, 3 starts between
  • First win at Petit Le Mans in second start
  • Previous best finish at Petit Le Mans was 10th (1 time) last in 2025 in LMP2
  • Second win in 2026 season in fifth start


 


 

GTD PRO Race Winner

No. 68 Car Blanche (YRB Racing)

  • First class win
  • Previous best finish in GTD PRO was fourth (1 time) last in August 2026 at VIR with car No. 68
  • First class win at Petit Le Mans


 

Marco Sorensen

  • 36y 0m 27d from Svenstrup, Denmark
  • Third class win in 21st start
  • First class win in GTD PRO
  • Last win was at 2023 Lime Rock in GTD, 11 starts between
  • Previous best finish in GTD PRO was fourth (2 times) last at 2026 VIR
  • First win at Petit Le Mans in third start
  • Previous best finish at Petit Le Mans was fourth (1 time) last in 2024 in GTD PRO
  • First GTDPRO win at Petit Le Mans in second class start
  • First win in 2026 season in fourth start
  • Previous best finish in 2026 was fourth (1 time) last at VIR in GTD PRO


 

Valentin Hasse-Clot

  • 30y 7m 7d from Paris, France
  • First class win in 14th start
  • Previous best finish was third (2 times) last at 2026 Road America in GTD
  • Previous best finish in GTD PRO was fourth (1 time) last at 2026 VIR
  • First win at Petit Le Mans in second start
  • Previous best finish at Petit Le Mans was 11th (1 time) last in 2025 in GTD
  • First GTDPRO win at Petit Le Mans in first class start
  • First win in 2026 in ninth start


 

Mattia Drudi

  • 28y 2m 17d from Rimini, Italy
  • First class win in third start
  • Previous best finish was third (2 times) last at 2026 Daytona in GTD
  • First win at Petit Le Mans in first start
  • First win in 2026 in second start
  • Previous best finish in 2026 was third (1 time) last at Daytona in GTD


 

GTD Race Winner

No. 57 Winward Racing

  • 16th class win, all in GTD
  • Last win was in August 2026 at VIR in GTD with car No. 57
  • First class win at Petit Le Mans
  • Previous best finish at Petit Le Mans was fifth (1 time) last in 2025 in GTD with car No. 57
  • Fifth class win in 2026, all with car No. 57 (Daytona, CTMP, Road America, VIR)
  • Fourth win in the last five races (CTMP, Road America and VIR)


 

Russell Ward

  • 37y 1m 11d from Seabrook, TX
  • 16th class win in 55th start, all in GTD
  • Last win was at 2026 VIR in GTD, 1 start between
  • First win at Petit Le Mans in sixth start
  • Previous best finish at Petit Le Mans was fifth (1 time) last in 2025 in GTD
  • Fifth win in 2026 season in 10th start
  • Fourth win in the last five starts (CTMP, Road America and VIR)


 

Philip Ellis

  • 33y 11m 24d from Germany; British nationality
  • 16th class win in 54th start, all in GTD
  • Last win was at 2026 VIR in GTD, 1 start between
  • First win at Petit Le Mans in sixth start
  • Previous best finish at Petit Le Mans was fifth (1 time) last in 2025 in GTD
  • Fifth win in 2026 season in 10th start
  • Fourth win in the last five starts (CTMP, Road America and VIR)


 

Indy Dontje

  • 33y 10m 12d from Alkmaar, Netherlands
  • Eighth class win in 20th start, all in GTD
  • Second consecutive win following win at Road America
  • First win at Petit Le Mans in fourth start
  • Previous best finish at Petit Le Mans was fifth (1 time) last in 2025 in GTD
  • Third win in 2026 season in fifth start
  • Second time winning two consecutive starts, last was at 2024 Daytona and 2024 Sebring
  • Third win in the last five starts (Daytona and Road America)

 

Porsche Wins Overall at Motul Petit Le Mans

Champions Crowned to Cap 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Season


 

October 3, 2026

By Tony DiZinno

IMSA Wire Service

Unofficial Race Results


 

BRASELTON, Ga. – A wild and eventful Motul Petit Le Mans saw a new overall winning car and champions crowned to cap off the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.


 

Ultimately, Laurens Vanthoor’s pass of former co-driver Earl Bamber – with whom he shared a GT Le Mans class title in 2019 – netted the Belgian an overall and Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) win in the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963. Vanthoor darted to the inside while Bamber was balked by a slower car.


 

Vanthoor shared the car with Kevin Estre, who scored his first IMSA win, and Matt Campbell – the 2025 GTP champion. While Porsche and Penske have won at Motul Petit Le Mans before, it has largely been in class. The manufacturer’s most recent overall win at the race came with a GTLM specification Porsche 911 RSR in 2015.


 

Bamber’s co-driver Jack Aitken secured the WeatherTech Championship GTP title, although a late-race incident for the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R denied the team its eighth podium result of the season. Instead, the No. 24 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 and No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V-Series.R completed the GTP podium.


 

In a wild race, Alex Quinn, George Kurtz and Toby Sowery captured the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) win in their No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA LMP2 07. This also ensured Quinn and Kurtz won the LMP2 title.


 

Car Blanche scored its first win in Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) with the trio of Mattia Drudi, Valentin Hasse Clot and Marco Sorensen in their No. 68 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo. The win came in its first IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup start in the category.


 

Neil Verhagen and Connor De Phillippi, meanwhile, finished third in the race which was enough to wrap the GTD PRO championship in the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO.


 

The trio of Russell Ward, Philip Ellis and Indy Dontje secured a pole-to-win triumph in Grand Touring Daytona (GTD), which ensured Ward and Ellis won their historic third straight GTD title in the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3.

Aitken Leads as Motul Petit Le Mans Enters Final Two Hours

LMP2, GTD PRO Title Battles Intensify


 

October 3, 2026

By Tony DiZinno

IMSA Wire Service

Hour 8 Race Results

Hour 8 IMEC Results


 

BRASELTON, Ga. – The sun has set and the drama has intensified as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is inside the final two hours of the 10-hour Motul Petit Le Mans.


 

Jack Aitken leads overall and in Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) in the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R as he, Earl Bamber and Frederik Vesti seek a race win repeat.


 

Other class leaders are Toby Sowery in Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) in the No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA LMP2 07 he shares with George Kurtz and Alex Quinn, Antonio Garcia in Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) in the No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R he shares with Alexander Sims and Marvin Kirchhoefer and Callum Ilott in Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) in the No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) he shares with Adam Adelson and Tom Sargent.


 

But the championship battles across LMP2 and GTD PRO will take center stage for the final hours.


 

In GTD PRO, all of the No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R, No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO and No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Temerario GT3 have traded the top points spot unofficially as the positions and race have evolved.


 

But as the race has closed to the final two hours, the No. 1 BMW ran ahead of the No. 9 Lamborghini and No. 4 Corvette on track, as it tries to overcome the points deficit and leap to a title.


 

The LMP2 battle has been a seesaw one between the No. 04 CrowdStrike by APR and No. 43 Inter Europol Competition ORECAs.


 

There’s also other battles to consider – namely the Bob Akin Award for GTD Bronze-rated drivers between Orey Fidani and Brendan Iribe – and the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup standings. These have volleyed too in recent hours.


 

With two hours remaining, the No. 04 CrowdStrike by APR was leading LMP2, No. 1 PMR BMW leading GTD PRO and No. 21 Af Corse USA Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO was leading the GTD standings in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup. Multiple teams remain alive for these titles.

 

Braun’s Acura Leads at Hour 4 Mark of Motul Petit Le Mans

Goikhberg, Milner, Costa Lead Other Classes as Weather Makes Race Lively


 

October 3, 2026

By Tony DiZinno

IMSA Wire Service

Hour 4 Results


 

BRASELTON, Ga. – Colin Braun and the No. 60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06 led at the four-hour mark of the 10-hour Motul Petit Le Mans, as a mix of weather conditions, strategy and fascinating moments have defined the start to the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season finale.


 

The four-hour mark of the race passed under red flag conditions for a lightning strike in the area and resumed shortly after 4:15 p.m. ET and local time under full-course yellow conditions. The race airs live on NBCSN, Peacock and IMSA’s Official YouTube channel.


 

It marked the second significant weather-related moment of the race. The race started with everyone on wet weather Michelin tires at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta as pre-race showers soaked the track. As the track dried quickly, the bulk of the 54-car field came into the pits to change back onto dry-weather slicks.


 

Roughly two-plus hours ran dry, but with six hours, 43 minutes remaining, the skies opened and a brief downpour hit the track, which prompted a flurry of pit stops as more than half the field pitted to go back onto wets. That marked the fifth of six full-course cautions thus far.


 

“Here in Georgia, rain is tough to predict; it could rain one minute, then be off the next,” Ryan Hardwick, a Georgia native and co-driver of the No. 912 Manthey 1st Phorm Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) told IMSA Radio after his stint in his last full-time race. “For all the teams, drivers and fans, racing is all we want.”


 

Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) saw a battle primarily between the No. 24 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 and the Nos. 60 and 93 Acura entries on the dry-weather slicks, but the complexion changed a bit when the skies opened.


 

Three cars – the sister No. 25 BMW, No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 and No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V-Series.R – were on dry-weather slicks. Braun’s No. 60 Acura, on wets, got an incredible launch on the restart from fourth into the lead in the brief green flag interlude before the sixth and most recent full-course caution for two LMP2 cars spun at pit entrance. That progressed to a red flag with a lightning strike within the area before the yellow flag resumption. 


 

In Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), Misha Goikhberg played spoiler in the No. 52 Bryan Herta Autosport with PR1/Mathiasen ORECA LMP2 07 to the two championship contending entries. With minimum drive time periods completed, Jeremy Clarke handed off the No. 43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA to Tom Dillmann while George Kurtz handed off his No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA to Alex Quinn. Clarke, Kurtz and Daniel Goldburg in the No. 22 United Autosports USA ORECA had a fantastic scrap for the podium places behind Goikhberg.


 

Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) saw each of the three realistic title contending cars, the No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R, No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO and No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Temerario GT3 all at or near the front of the class. It’s a fascinating scenario through the opening hours as each also took a turn atop the charts in the unofficial “points as they run” standings. The No. 4 Corvette, in the hands of Tommy Milner, led at the four-hour mark.


 

In Grand Touring Daytona (GTD), Albert Costa in the No. 34 Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO led the race while the championship contenders, bar the championship-leading No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, had issues.


 

Championship Updates Through Four Hours

 

By starting the race, Jack Aitken secured enough points to ensure he’ll wrap the GTP driver championship in the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R. Concurrently, Cadillac Whelen has won the team championship and Cadillac the GTP manufacturer championship.


 

As noted above, both LMP2 and GTD PRO look set to go down to the wire with multiple cars in contention rotating atop the standings.


 

The GTD battle looks highly likely to fall to Philip Ellis and Russell Ward in their No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 for a third straight year, as both their title contending rivals hit trouble.


 

Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher’s second-placed No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO retired with a water pressure issue. Eduardo “Dudu” Barrichello’s No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo went behind the wall before the race even started with electrical gremlins and returned to the track more than an hour after race start.


 

In the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup, with the first four hours complete and first points awarded, GTP has fallen Porsche’s way while the three other classes are tight.


 

The No. 04 CrowdStrike and No. 99 AO Racing ORECAs are unofficially tied for the LMP2 season championship lead there on 42 points. The No. 4 Corvette’s first place points this segment moves it to within the No. 1 PMR BMW by three points. Just one point separates the No. 21 Af Corse USA Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO and No. 27 Aston Martin in GTD.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blomqvist Lands on Motul Petit Le Mans Pole

Hyett Delivers AO Racing’s First LMP2 Pole of 2026


 

October 2, 2026

By John Oreovicz

IMSA Wire Service

Provisional Starting Grid


 

BRASELTON, Ga. – Over the last four years, the Acura ARX-06 earned the Motul Pole Award more than any other Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) race car competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.


 

That proved the case again Friday at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta as Tom Blomqvist claimed pole position for the 29th annual Motul Petit Le Mans, the 10-hour WeatherTech Championship season finale. Blomqvist lapped the 2.54-mile course in 1 minute, 9.703 seconds for an average of 131.184 mph in the No. 60 Acura fielded by Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian.


 

He will be joined in the car Saturday by Colin Braun and Scott Dixon.


 

Nick Yelloly secured a front row lockout for Acura by running second in MSR’s No. 93 entry he shares with Renger van der Zande and IndyCar champion Alex Palou. Yelloly’s best lap was clocked at 1:09.925 (130.768 mph) as the MSR Acuras were the only cars to break the 1:10 barrier.


 

Sheldon van der Linde (co-drivers Dries Vanthoor and Robin Frijns) qualified the No. 24 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 third.


 

In fourth, Jack Aitken has positioned himself to secure the GTP championship if he leaves the grid for Saturday’s race aboard the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R. That combined with Laurin Heinrich slotting in seventh in the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963, with the unofficial gap of 151 points.


 

Acura and Blomqvist got the Friday spotlight in what is the manufacturer and team’s last scheduled start for now with a pause planned after Saturday. Blomqvist has now gone back-to-back here at Michelin Raceway, and today’s is his third pole at this track. 


 

“I really enjoy this place, especially in qualifying; it’s always been good to me,” Blomqvist said. “I think today was more about executing more than anything. The expectation was to fight for pole. Obviously, the team did a fantastic job with the 1-2. But we know obviously today is one thing and tomorrow is a very different one.”


 

The pole was an extra award for the Meyer Shank crew, as the No. 60 battled a few problems during Thursday’s three free practices that limited their track time.


 

“We had something go wrong yesterday, and the guys worked super hard and late into the night, making sure everything was good for today,” Blomqvist said. “To get a little win today like we did with the pole is super important for everyone.


 

“Obviously our championship has been not the best, to say the least (Blomqvist and Braun lie 10th in the season standings) and obviously it’s the last event, so things like today go a long way toward putting smiles on people’s faces. It’s just nice to get out of the car and see everyone is so happy when it hasn’t been the smoothest of weekends.”


 

LMP2: Hyett and AO’s “Rockie” on Top

After winning the Motul Pole Award for the Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, PJ Hyett cringed when told it was his first pole in 14 months.


 

“I don’t particularly like that stat,” smiled the co-owner and co-driver of the No. 99 AO Racing ORECA LMP2 07 with Dane Cameron and Jonny Edgar. “Better late than never.”


 

The good news – and good stat – is it was the first pole in the first IMSA qualifying attempt for “Rockie” the Pegasus. That’s the new red livery this race adorning the No. 99 car which usually is purple for “Spike” the Dragon, which debuted at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. 


 

Hyett secured three poles on the way to the LMP2 championship in the 2025 WeatherTech Championship. One of those came at Road America last August, his most recent pole. 


 

That streak ended Friday at Michelin Raceway, where Hyett’s lap of 1 minute, 12.944 seconds (125.356 mph) bested this year’s LMP2 championship leader Jeremy Clarke, who shares the No. 43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA LMP2 07 with Tom Dillmann and Bijoy Garg. Clarke’s best lap was 1:13.167 (124.974 mph).


 

Clarke and Dillmann are now 10 points (and crucially, one race finish position) ahead of George Kurtz and Alex Quinn after Kurtz qualified fifth fastest for Petit Le Mans. They arrived at Michelin Raceway just four points up. 


 

Hyett and Cameron could still steal their second consecutive LMP2 championship, but he’ll need a bit of luck. They start the race 105 points behind the No. 43 Inter Europol duo.


 

Whichever LMP2 Bronze driver wins the full-season championship also wins the Jim Trueman Award, and the subsequent IMSA invitation to the 2027 24 Hours of Le Mans. 


 

“I couldn’t be happier with the team’s effort to give me a car to put ‘Rockie’ on pole this weekend,” Hyett said. “I’ve never gotten pole here before, and I absolutely love this racetrack. It’s incredibly special, so I’m absolutely thrilled.


 

“We came into this weekend with a very clear set of objectives,” he added. “Put it on pole, win the race, and hope something happens to the No. 43 and No. 04 because that’s pretty much all we can do for the championship. We’re going to need a bit of help from Lady Luck.” 


 

There’s a championship within a championship in LMP2, too. The No. 04 CrowdStrike and No. 99 AO Racing ORECAs are within one point in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup for that title. 


 

The 29th annual Motul Petit Le Mans goes green at 12:10 ET Saturday with flag-to-flag livestreamed coverage on Peacock in the U.S. and via IMSA.TV or the official IMSA YouTube channel internationally. NBC will televise the first three hours, with NBCSN joining in progress to carry coverage to the conclusion.

 

Verhagen Gains Ground on GTD PRO Championship with Pole in No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW

Ellis Extends Winward’s GTD Championship Points Lead with Pole


 

October 2, 2026

By David Phillips and Dylan Spaulding

IMSA Wire Service

Starting Grid


 

BRASELTON, Ga. - Neil Verhagen and the Paul Miller Racing team had their eyes on the pole position in today’s Grand Touring Daytona PRO (GTD PRO) qualifying session ahead of tomorrow’s Motul Petit Le Mans.


 

Of course, they wanted to plant the No. 1 BMW M4 GT3 EVO first on the starting grid. More importantly, they wanted to maximize their championship points haul from the session in order to whittle away at their 47-point deficit to the No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the battle for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GTD PRO manufacturer, team and driver titles.


 

Consider today’s job done. Having set the pace from the outset of the session, Verhagen pitted for a fresh set of Michelin tires and posted a blazing lap of 1 minute 18.194 seconds (116.939 mph) with three minutes remaining to secure the pole. What’s more, Verhagen garnered the accompanying 35 points for pole and, with a little help from his new best friend Mattia Drudi, closed the championship gap to 42 points.


 

That’s because Drudi posted a 1:18.338 in the No. 68 Car Blanche Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO for second fastest time of the session and the 32 points that go with it, while Nicky Catsburg collected 30 points for his third-place effort in the No. 4 Corvette.


 

“We know how critical these points are,” said Verhagen. “We wanted to make sure to close the gap down as much as possible. (So) the plan was pretty clear from the beginning, that we were going to go out and use two sets of tires. I think we’ve seen as you come to the latter half of the season, that everyone is now using two sets in qualifying chasing the qualifying points.


 

“I’ve done all the qualifying this year, so my job on the race weekend has been clear: come out and execute, deliver the one lap performance. So, I don’t think I really changed the mentality for qualifying today.”


 

Although Drudi was 0.144 seconds adrift of Verhagen on the time sheets, his second-place showing was the best qualifying performance of a season that saw the Car Blanche Aston Martin join the WeatherTech Championship at Watkins Glen International in the GTD class, and make their first GTD PRO appearance at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in July. For his part, Catsburg had no complaints about the No. 4 Corvette, or his own performance for that matter. But he’s hoping today’s performance gap to the No.1 PMR BMW will vanish tomorrow.

 

“I honestly feel like we did a really good job in qualy,” Catsburg said. “The pace of the No. 1 to me was incredible. I don’t know where they got it from, but they’ve seemed to have it all year. So hopefully they don’t have it in the race. We just need to keep it clean. I feel like we have a better team – the best team. We’re gonna hopefully out-execute them and bring this home.”


 

Speaking of teams, while PMR, Verhagen and co-drivers Connor De Phillippi and Dan Harper had a little help from their friends at Car Blanche today, they will be going it alone tomorrow. In contrast, Catsburg and co-drivers Tommy Milner and Nico Varrone can rely on support from their teammates Alexander Sims, Antonia Garcia and Marvin Kirchhoefer in the No. 3 Corvette which starts beside them in fourth place.


 

“The entire aim of tomorrow is to maximize manufacturer and driver points for Tommy and Nicky,” said Sims. “We’re going to try to race hard and fair but there obviously are cars that we have to focus on. It’s tough. For the first eight hours, I think you have to run your race as best as possible to be in the right part of the field toward the last crucial hours. But I feel like we have prepared well and are in as good a spot as we can be to help things."


 

GTD: Ellis Extends Winward’s GTD Championship Points Lead with Pole

Philip Ellis is no stranger to leading a Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) class field when piloting the Winward Racing No. 57 Mercedes-AMG GT3. But it usually isn’t from the immediate start of the race, since he rarely qualifies.


 

He’ll have the best vantage point in class Saturday, as the team deployed an alternate qualifying strategy with Ellis instead of Russell Ward – or third driver Indy Dontje – aboard on Friday. The Texas-based stable entered with a six-point lead in the fight for the season-long GTD championship entering the weekend.


 

Ellis set a lap time of 1 minute, 18.674 seconds (116.226 mph) which advanced an early jump on the team’s quest towards a third straight class title. The No. 57 car was intended to start first the last round at Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the grid was set by team championship points but wound up starting from the rear due to a pre-race infraction.


 

With no such issues Friday, there’s a straightforward path to the trifecta.


 

“It was a good qualifying session,” Ellis said. “Obviously super happy with how it went. It was good for us that Turner didn't have a great qualifying session. Obviously making up a couple points before getting into the race helps us out a little bit, takes a little bit of pressure off of us and puts a lot of pressure onto them.”


 

The aforementioned Turner Motorsport No. 96 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, qualified by Robby Foley using a similar alternate driver strategy( Patrick Gallagher usually qualifies for the team), qualified fifth. That moves Ellis and Ward’s lead out to an unofficial 15-point margin over Foley and Gallagher.


 

A red flag for an incident between two cars truncated the session by several minutes. Ellis explained how difficult it was to get a clean lap.


 

“But yeah, the session itself was a little bit messy,” Ellis said. “We had some cars coming out in the middle of the session, so it was important to get that track position right and then to put in the lap early since we had that red flag come out.


 

“Initially we were planning to get a second set, have another run, and I think a lot of people would have improved much further. So yeah, it was a to our benefit of course with the red flag how it went.”


 

The pole for Winward Racing and Ellis marks their first at Motul Petit Le Mans, and the second time Mercedes-AMG has started at the head of the GTD field for the race in the last three seasons (2024, Lone Star Racing).


 

Antonio Fuoco fell short of leading the Af Corse USA No. 21 Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo to the green for a second-straight year in GTD with his 1:18.835 lap. Fuoco, alongside Simon Mann and Lilou Wadoux, now look to capitalize on their second place starting spot in their efforts to claim the 2026 IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTD title.


 

Vasser Sullivan Racing’s Aaron Telitz qualified third at 1:18.883 in the No. 12 Lexus RC F GT3. Mercedes-AMG continued its qualifying success further down the class as brand junior driver Lin Hodenius qualified fourth with a 1:19.174 piloting Lone Star Racing’s No. 80 Mercedes-AMG GT3.


 

Saturday’s Motul Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta is live across NBC & NBCSN, beginning at noon ET, with streaming via Peacock domestically and IMSA’s Official Yo

 

First-Time Winners Wrap Michelin Pilot Challenge Season at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta

Krainz, McAleer Nab GS Title; Fillippi & Morris Win TCR Race and Title for BHA and Hyundai; Merrill and Sarukanyan Win Overall


 

October 2, 2026

By John Oreovicz

IMSA Wire Service

Race Results


 

BRASELTON, Ga. – Circle H Racing and drivers Martin Sarukhanyan and Thomas Merrill claimed their first IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Grand Sport (GS) class victory Friday at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in the No. 14 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evo. Their triumph in the Fox Factory 120 put an emphatic bookend on a season that opened with a second-place finish at Daytona International Speedway.


 

While they won the race, Austin Krainz and Stevan McAleer won this year’s GS championship in their No. 27 AutoTechnic Racing BMW M4 GT4 EVO despite not winning a race. They punctuated their season-long consistency with a third-place finish at Michelin Raceway. It was the first IMSA championship for Krainz and the second for McAleer, who earned the season crown in the former ST class in 2015.


 

The 11-year gap between McAleer’s championships ties for the most in Michelin Pilot Challenge history with Matt Plumb, the series’ career wins leader with 24.


 

The race started with five potential champions, and a revolving door atop the charts in the “points as they run” standings. However, Sarukhanyan and Merrill drove past all of them from 25th on the grid.


 

Merrill gained four places during the only restart of a largely clean race and was running second when leader Michael Cooper (No. 44 Ibiza Farm Motorsport McLaren Artura GT4) suffered a mechanical failure with 15 minutes remaining.


 

Incidentally, both drivers needed to cycle through the Touring Car (TCR) leaders, who were running towards the front of the overall field while on one-stop pit strategies compared to the GS’ field’s two.


 

The victory came in Merrill’s 19th GS class start. Sarukhanyan ran the Michelin Pilot Challenge’s pair of four-hour endurance races earlier this year; he subbed for David Hampton here to win in just his third IMPC race. Circle H Racing won twice in Michelin Pilot Challenge competition under the Archangel Motorsports banner, most recently at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in 2024.


 

On Friday, Sarukhanyan advanced four places before handing the car to Merrill.


 

“It was a different experience for me,” Sarukhanyan said. “It was my first qualifying, my first start of the race. It was kind of a surreal experience. This is something I’ll just soak in and keep in my mind for the weeks and months to come until Daytona comes around, and hopefully we can do it again.”


 

Merrill relished a day when the No. 14 team had to pace to win on a day when the race came to them.


 

“I think that was a classic IMSA race - really hard fought, but clean, from what I could see,” Merrill said. “Definitely credit to the competitors for racing hard but clean. It was just really enjoyable.


 

“We know we’re capable of this, but throughout the season we’ve made things maybe a little bit more complicated and missed some opportunities,” he added. “I think today was a good example of just doing the simple things well and being there at the end.”


 

Krainz started the No. 27 BMW in 11th place and maintained that position through his stint. McAleer also took advantage of the only restart of the race to leapfrog a pair of his key championship competitors – Robert Noaker in the No. 13 McCumbee McAleer Racing Ford Mustang GT4 (of which he is a co-owner), and Dillon Machavern in the No. 95 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 EVO he shared with Luca Mars.


 

In the second half of the race, McAleer knew he was in a solid position for the championship – especially after Cooper and the No. 44 McLaren dropped out.


 

“We knew that the No. 44 car was going to be as fast as it can be and the goal was to get as close to that car as we could, and to get by the cars that were important and close that gap. Once I got clear of them, I just put my head down and hit my marks.”


 

McAleer confirmed all the cliches about racing drivers hearing strange noises from the car down the stretch are true.


 

“I’ve been in this position before, both as a winner and a loser,” he said. “You can hear every nut and bolt creak on that car. You think, ‘I have a flat, I don’t have a flat…the gearbox is breaking.’ The mindset was really to try and do everything we’ve done all season.”


 

Added Krainz: “I always try to stay as close as I can to the championship contenders and give Stevan a car with no damage and let him go to work. He has been a great mentor, a great friend, a great coach, and a brilliant co-driver. I’m really grateful for this opportunity.”


 

TCR: Morris, Filippi Deliver Much More Than Needed for Hyundai, BHA

Bryson Morris and Mason Fillippi simply needed to start the Fox Factory 120 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta to clinch the Touring Car (TCR) class championship of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge. Mission accomplished, and so much more.


 

Fillippi and Mason combined to drive the No. 33 Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian Hyundai Elantra N TCR to the race win, crossing the line under caution in front of the No. 21 Victor Gonzalez Racing Cupra Leon VZ TCR shared by William Tally and Caleb Bacon.


 

The No. 56 Baker Racing Audi RS3 LMS TCR of Dean Baker and Kenny Riedmann ultimately finished third, with the No. 18 car assessed a penalty for incident responsibilty late in the race. Another car that went from podium-to-unrepresentative finish came when the polesitting No. 93 MMG Honda Civic FL5 TCR, qualified by Karl Wittmer and finished by LP Montour, was spun at the start/finish line by another competitor.


 

The win and championship combo was a nice one for the No. 33 car. It's the first IMSA championship for both young American drivers – Filippi, 28, and Morris, 22. Bryan Herta Autosport and Hyundai have won seven of the last eight TCR titles.


 

Morris gained a place on the start from third on the grid. The No. 33 dropped back to third under caution during the only pit stop exchange of the race, but Fillippi quickly moved into the lead following the restart and he held it comfortably until the second and final caution flew with just three minutes remaining.


 

With the championship already clinched, a third victory in 2026 was an additional bonus for the No. 33 duo.


 

“We've had a few wins here in the past, and Road Atlanta is one of my favorite tracks on the schedule, so I looked at Bryson before the weekend started and said, ‘We’re going to go for the win,” Fillippi said. “And that's what we did.”


 

“I was really nervous on the first two formation laps,” admitted Morris, who started the race. “I wasn’t weaving as hard on the warmup laps as I maybe normally would, just to make sure we started. I’ve been coming here since I was like three years old every year to watch the race. So, it’s really cool to win it and now win the championship as well.”


 

The championship is the culmination of an incredible run at BHA for Fillippi, who now owns 12 Michelin Pilot Challenge race wins in a run that’s dated the entirety of the team’s tenure in this championship. He was unlucky to miss out on Harry Gottsacker’s 2025 title as he missed one race with a schedule conflict. Meanwhile, this was Morris’s fourth victory.


 

“Bryan Herta Autosport has been my home ever since I stepped foot into the paddock, so it’s been amazing to be with them since 2019,” Fillippi reflected. “It’s also really cool to get this championship this year with Bryson. He’s always been super quick ever since he jumped on the team, and I was extremely excited to hear I was going to pair with him this year.”

 

 

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

Motul Petit Le Mans

Pole Winners Qualifying Press Conference Transcript

BRASELTON, Ga. (Oct. 2, 2026) - Transcript from the post-qualifying press conference for Saturday's Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.


 

Drivers include Philip Ellis (No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3), Neil Verhagen (No. 1 Paul MIller Racing BMW M4 GT3 Evo), PJ Hyett (No. 99 AO Racing ORECA LMP2 07) and Tom Blomqvist (No. 60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06).


 

THE MODERATOR: We're pleased to be joined by our Motul Pole Award winners here at Motul Petit Le Mans in the GTD and the GTD Pro classes.


 

We'll start with our GTD pole winner, Phillip Ellis in the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes AMG GT3. His best lap was 1:18.674 seconds. Co-drivers here are Russell Ward and Indy Dontje. This is Philip's second career pole in IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship, first since the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2023.

This is the first pole of the season for Winward Racing and Mercedes AMG. The last pole for both was at Road America in 2025. The team has had at least one pole position each year since 2022.


 

Congratulations on the pole position, the points standings, the points gained. I would imagine that had a lot to do with why you were in the car for qualifying. Take us through the session and what it took to get up there.


 

PHILIP ELLIS: No, I think it was a good qualifying session. Obviously super happy with how it went. It was good for us that Tony didn't have a great qualifying session. Obviously making up a couple points before getting into the race helps us out a little bit, takes a little bit of pressure off of us and puts a lot of pressure onto them.


 

But yeah, the session itself was a little bit messy. We had some cars coming out in the middle of the session, so it was important to get that track position right and then to put in the lap early since we had that red flag come out.


 

Initially we were planning to get a second set, have another run, and I think a lot of people would have improved much further. So yeah, it was a to our benefit of course with the red flag how it went.


 

THE MODERATOR: Let's slide over to our GTD Pro winner, Neil Verhagen, in the M4 GTD EVO. Best lap was 1:18.194 seconds. His third pole in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Car Championship. His other two poles came at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in 2025 and 2026. This is the second straight position here at Motul Petit Le Mans for Paul Miller Racing. Dan Harper did it last year. It's actually the team's fifth class pole overall at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.


 

Congratulations on your pole. Just take us through the session and what it took to maintain that run of success for the team.


 

NEIL VERHAGEN: Yeah, for sure. For us a little bit more of a straightforward session than before. No red flags for us. So the plan was pretty clear from the beginning that we were going to go out and use the two sets. I think we've seen as we've come to the latter half of the season that everyone is now using the two sets in qualifying, chasing the qualifying points as the season is coming to an end.


 

But yeah, just very happy with the package that Paul Miller Racing and BMW Motorsports was able to give me for the lap. Cap felt amazing, and really looking forward and have a lot of motivation now going into tomorrow's race.


 

Q. Philip, they commented on the broadcast that you guys came into the pits and were adjusting the tire pressure. Can you touch base on how the track developed throughout qualifying that led to you posting that fastest lap in GTD?


 

PHILIP ELLIS: Well, we tried to target the first lap every time just to get that peak performance out of the tire.


 

To be honest, we didn't really get it early enough in the first run, so we just tried to adjust it a little bit with the temperature coming in. Of course, it was still pretty warm on the track. Yeah, that's just what it was.


 

Q. Neil, you set a really quick time very early in the session and then obviously on new tires bettered it. As you said earlier on the pit lane interview, that your job one today was certainly if not to get pole, but certainly to qualify ahead of the No. 4 Corvette. Can you just talk about the mindset going into qualifying about that?


 

NEIL VERHAGEN: Yeah, I mean, I've done all the qualifyings this year, so my job and task on the race weekend has been clear since Daytona: to come out and execute and deliver the one-lap performance.


 

Someone said the statistic of the nine qualifyings that we did, seven of them were in the top 3, so it's been a very good season so far from my side in the qualifyings.


 

Obviously the one qualifying was in Daytona where we qualified second on track but then ended up getting the lap taken away for being disqualified, and then in Detroit where we've just notoriously struggled a little bit.


 

I don't think I've really changed the mentality for the qualifying, but obviously, yeah, now we're going into the last race of the year as the hunters and not being the hunted. We're either going to come home a champion or we're going to come home not a champion. It puts our goal pretty clear for us. We're going to go out and attack and do it as much as we can for Paul Miller and BMW.


 

Q. Neil, from your perspective, to score the points for the pole position, how crucial was that working towards tomorrow and the championship?


 

NEIL VERHAGEN: For sure. Was obviously very disappointed after Indianapolis not to be able to go out and qualify because again, with the qualifying record that I've had this year, we felt we could have gained some points back there, and we see how valuable and crucial those are now coming into -- it's pretty both in both the GTD classes with the gap coming in at six points between Turner and Winward, and then for us 47 points coming between us and Pratt Miller.


 

Definitely the tightest on the IMSA field, and I think that's obviously what makes our racing so exciting as well too.


 

But yeah, obviously the last race of the season now, so we're going to, I'm sure Philip and everybody else is going to be pushing as hard as we can to bring home the championships for our teams.


 

Q. Philip, after losing some time because you guys had that issue late in the session on Thursday around this time, how much better did it feel knowing that you guys lost the time that you were able to get back out there and were able to bounce back so quick after you guys were a little bit -- because it took a lot of time yesterday out of the second session.


 

PHILIP ELLIS: I mean, it was more of a guessing game than anything because I think we did one actual lap yesterday in FP2. Just had some issues with the toxins. Had to get that figured out for practice. To us that's much more important than running in the daytime.


 

Then you just play a bit of a guessing game. You don't really know what the track conditions were in FP2. But, yeah, I've got a great team behind me that is good at that guessing game and giving me a good car that can perform well in qualifying and in the race of course.


 

I honestly think it's much more up to the drivers how you bring in the tire and get that peak performance out of it, which seems to be pretty difficult on this year's Michelin. But it's also fun because you have so much input as a driver and getting that last peak out of it.


 

I think Neil just shows that practice does come in handy, and it's great seeing people perform because of drivers and not anything else.


 

THE MODERATOR: We are pleased by joined by our Motul Pole Award winner in the LMP2 class, PJ Hyett in the No.99 AO Racing in the ORECA LMP2 07. Best lap was 1:12.944 seconds. This is his eighth career pole in IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship competition, first since Road America 2025.


 

With that qualifying performance, unofficially has now closed to within 105 points to the leaders in the WeatherTech championship standings.


 

PJ, congratulations on the pole. Obviously first one of the year, but tell us how important that session was for you and the team and how it sets you up for tomorrow, and as I mentioned, still in the ballpark championship-wise with some help.


 

PJ HYETT: Yeah, better late than never. I don't particularly like that stat, the last pole was Road America in 2025.


 

I couldn't be happier with the team's effort this weekend to give me a car to put Rocky on pole this weekend. I've never gotten pole here before. I absolutely love this racetrack, and yeah, I'm absolutely thrilled.


 

We came into this weekend with a very clear set of objectives, put it on pole, win the race, and hope something happens to the 43 and 04 because that's pretty much all we can do for the championship. But we are tight with the IMEC Championship as well. That we have more control over.


 

Step 1 was to put it on pole, and I did that, and very pleased.


 

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by our overall and GTP pole winner Motul pole award winner here at Motul Petit Le Mans, Tom Blomqvist in the No. 60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing, Acura ARX 06. Tom's best lap was 1:09.703 seconds. This is his eighth career pole in the WeatherTech Championship competition, his second consecutive.


 

This is his third pole at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta and the 15th pole for the Acura ARX 06.


 

Tom, obviously the goal is to go out there and have a great weekend with this team. Certainly got off to a good start. Just tell us about it.


 

TOM BLOMQVIST: Yeah, everyone knows, obviously, it's kind of a last hurrah, I guess. Just doing things like that we did today is obviously fantastic for everyone, for the team. Huge team effort, as always.


 

We know our car is generally very good over a lap. I generally enjoy this place, especially in qualifying. It's always about good to me. So, yeah, I think today was about executing more than anything. The expectation was to fight for pole, so obviously the team did a fantastic job with the one-two there. Yeah, we know today is one thing and tomorrow is a very different one.


 

Q. Tom, any way you can kind of crystallize the emotions? It's got to be strange in a lot of ways with the last race for Acura and just being out of championship contention and everything.


 

TOM BLOMQVIST: Yeah, obviously our championship has been not the best, to say the least. But yeah, obviously it's the last event, so everyone is -- just things like today go a long way for everyone, for the mood, putting smiles on people's faces so late in the program.


 

It's fantastic. The last two events, obviously qualifying has been very good. It's just nice to get out of the car and see everyone so happy. It hasn't been the smoothest of weekends. We had something go wrong yesterday and the guys worked super hard late into the night to make sure everything was good for today.

To get a little win today like we did just there with the pole is super important for everyone. Yeah, really excited for that.


 

Q. Tom, with the two Acuras, you are the only ones in the 109s doing this qualifying session. What is clicking well with the car at this racetrack for you?


 

TOM BLOMQVIST: Our car is generally good in high-speed, medium-speed corners, and it always excels pretty well in qualifying as well. We work the tires well, which gets a good peak, a good amount of grip out of them in a short period of time.


 

Obviously not necessarily bodes well for a longer stint, which is obviously what we try to work on. This weekend, we're focused a little bit more on that, I would say, because we know obviously it's a weakness. We knew we'd be good in qually. We didn't focus on it that much, if I'm honest.


 

Yeah, we've done our homework. We still know it's going to be super tough. Some of the competition looks extremely quick in the race pace, which we expected. We'll see tomorrow, but then again, if you look at the radar, it looks a bit dodgy, so it might spice things up anyway.


 

Q. On the race pace, where are you lacking? What are you missing for tomorrow that you're going to need over the course of a stint?


 

TOM BLOMQVIST: Yeah, I mean, these cars are notoriously quite hard on the tires, the rear tires, let's say. Yeah, that's generally what it is. Just got to make sure you look after those rear tires to make sure you've got grip for the 40-odd laps we need to do in a stint.


 

That's the biggest thing. But it's easier said than done, if you know what I mean. Obviously we've been fighting that, trying to work on that.


 

It depends on the track as well. This is a track that's hard on tires, so it's very dependent on that as well.

But yeah, we've done the best we can with the time we've had, and yeah, let's see if it's enough?


 

Q. How much of this race is just making it to the night, and how do you feel about the car in the night versus the day?


 

TOM BLOMQVIST: Yeah, that's the good thing about this race. Obviously the car gets better in the night. It gets a little bit easier for most people, depending on where you are in the window with the tire. We expect it to get better in the night, let's say, which is a good thing.


 

But as you've seen the last few races, you need to kind of be at the front the whole time. It's very difficult now. Everyone is super close, super competitive, very on it with the strategy.


 

So it's hard to get shuffled back and do a whole lot. If you're too far back in the last couple hours, unless you get lucky with something.


 

But you've got to keep yourself in the game just to make your life easier there. Look, we'll see. We've done all we can, and we've just got to have a clean race.


 

Q. John Hindhaugh made a point on the radio broadcast that you guys did that entire qually run on one set of tires when most of the other groups were doing two. What was it about the Acuras that managed to only need the one set, and the better progression over the course of that little mini-run that you guys were able to do in qually?


 

TOM BLOMQVIST: Yeah, the others, they just go out and back into the pits. They don't really use the tires. They might just want to warm up the brakes or do half a set or whatever. It's more just like qually prep.


 

We wait a little bit just to get out of sync because it's always a pain when you have guys coming out in front of you slowly. We just kind of wanted to avoid that. We knew we weren't going to get too many laps out of these tires. If you hit the peak they don't last too long to get the most performance.


 

Actually I was surprised with my last lap there the grip was getting better and better. I think honestly pushed a little bit too early when the tires were a little bit too cold. Thankfully had that last lap there which was really good.


 

But yeah, nothing special. The others didn't really use two sets.


 

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

 

 

 

Qualifying Results | WeatherTech Championship

Motul Petit Le Mans

Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta - Friday, Oct. 2, 2026

Qualifying Results


 

Practice 3 Results

Practice 2 Results

Practice 1 Results


 

Additional results are available at results.imsa.com.

 

 

 

Caranta, Workman Double Up to Conclude VP Racing Challenge Season

Hill Beats Thienes in Down-to-the-Wire LMP3 Bronze Cup Battle


 

October 2, 2026

By Tony DiZinno

IMSA Wire Service

Results

 

BRASELTON, Ga. – The final sprint race for the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge before the championship moves to an endurance format in 2027, featured a 45-minute barnburner at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on Friday morning.


 

Both Jules Caranta (Le Mans Prototype 3, P3) and Westin Workman (Grand Sport X, GSX) completed weekend sweeps, although both drivers had to work a little harder to get there.


 

Season champions Oscar Tunjo (P3) and Workman (GSX) had clinched their respective titles in Thursday’s first race of the weekend, so they raced in a pressure-free environment. Alas, a few key moments led up to the final restart with less than five minutes to go.


 

For the overall P3 lead, Caranta in his No. 18 Forbush Performance Duqueine D09 paced the field from pole but withstood multiple close passing attempts from Tunjo in his No. 1 Gebhardt Motorsport USA Inc. Duqueine D09.


 

After the restart, Caranta was able to extend his gap over Tunjo to a final margin of victory of 2.031 seconds, with Tunjo’s teammate Danny Soufi third in his No. 11 PINAXIS-ZONE 4 Racing Duqueine D09.


 

“It was an amazing weekend,” said the 18-year-old Frenchman. “I’m super happy to win both races. I got a ton of experience. I love this track. I hope to come back more in the U.S. (and IMSA) next season.”


 

Tunjo reflected, “I can’t thank Gebhardt Motorsport enough for everything. It’s been a special two years in IMSA. Two championships in a row for the team. We finished on the podium and fought until the end for the win, even though we came up a bit short.”


 

P3 Bronze Cup Title Battle Comes Down to the Wire

 

Behind them, the LMP3 Bronze Cup championship came down to the final five minutes. Travis Hill (No. 2 Shopify Racing Ligier JS P325) led Brian Thienes (No. 77 Forte Racing Ligier JS P325) by just 30 points. Thienes needed to finish two spots higher than Hill among Bronze-rated entries to overcome the deficit, with a potential tiebreaker looming if Thienes only finished one spot ahead of him.


 

Thienes led Hill for the bulk of the race, running fourth and fifth overall, with Hill briefly having a moment where he went off course in the esses.


 

But the lone full-course caution with 10 minutes remaining – caused when Thienes’ teammate Jon Hirshberg in his No. 86 Forte Racing Ligier JS P325 was trapped in the Turn 5 gravel – entirely changed the complexion of the race and the championship.


 

Once the race restarted, Hill made his move to the inside of Thienes in Turn 1. That netted the Canadian a fourth overall finish but crucially, his seventh Bronze Cup win of the year. That single 60-point swing of positions ensured Hill avoided the tiebreaker and beat Thienes after a yearlong fight across 14 races of both sprint and endurance race lengths.


 

Both drivers reflected on the move and the clean finish to a hard-fought championship battle.


 

“Inside Turn 1 is the place to be; we learned that on both starts, yesterday and today,” Hill said. “I got hung out on the outside this morning. I hoped for a bobble on the concrete (from Thienes ahead) on the restart, and I got just enough of a run. But Brian’s been a heck of a competitor all year. He’s been super fair. He could have easily pinched me down and changed the scenario, but he ran it clean.”


 

Thienes noted, “I tried to push as hard as I could, but I think I pushed it a little too hard so I had to lift in (Turn) 12. He had a good run on me. Travis got around me. I had another chance to get him back in (Turn) 3, but that might have run him off the track and that wouldn’t have been the way to win. He did a great job. Proud to race with these good, fast Bronze drivers this year!”


 

Workman Finishes the Perfect-But-One Race GSX Season

Were it not for a mechanical malady north of the border at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, there’s a good chance Workman would have completed a perfect 12-for-12 season in GSX in his No. 8 RAFA Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2.


 

His win on Friday morning was still his 11th in 12 races among races he could control and built on his yearlong goal of learning in different conditions, temperatures and race situations this season. A cooler, overcast Friday morning race offered a marked difference from Thursday; nonetheless Workman still beat Courtney Crone (No. 35 CarBahn Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 EVO) by 9.424 seconds.


 

“It was interesting with no sun out, as it was a little misty in the morning,” Workman said. “I set different goals for myself all weekend. It’s been a great season, happy to end with another win. We tried to see how we could get the gap.”


 

In his first IMSA weekend of the year, Angus Rogers returned to the paddock and took the GSX Bronze Cup win, third among all GSX runners in his No. 5 KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS.


 

“It’s amazing; thanks to my coach Andrew Davis to get me back up to speed quickly,” Rogers said. “I had a great race today and not having been in (this) pro series (this year), it was fun to come back and finish with a win.”


 

Although he had a tough race himself, Jon Brel still wrapped the GSX Bronze Cup title in his No. 81 Kingpin Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 by starting the race.


 

The new-look IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge season will open with a two-hour endurance round at Sebring International Raceway, Feb. 26-28, 2027. 

 

Practice Results | WeatherTech Championship

Motul Petit Le Mans

Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta - Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026

Practice 3 Results

Practice 2 Results

Practice 1 Results


 

Additional results are available at results.imsa.com.

 

 

Bell Wins Michelin Pilot Challenge Pole as GS Title Contenders Face Climb Through Field

Wittmer Adds Honda’s Seventh Pole of Year in TCR


 

October 1, 2026

By Tony DiZinno

IMSA Wire Service

Unofficial Qualifying Results

Points Possibility Chart


 

BRASELTON, Ga. – Two teams in search of elusive first 2026 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge wins will try to take the race at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, while the five teams in search of the Grand Sport (GS) championship largely have uphill climbs to try to capture the season-long title.


 

It sets up for a fascinating two hours on Friday for the Fox Factory 120, Round 10 to cap off the season, at 11:35 a.m. ET. The race streams live on Peacock and live, flag-to-flag, ad-free courtesy of Michelin on the IMSA Official YouTube channel. 

 

Jaxon Bell took the No. 23 Koch-Copeland Motorsports Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 to a new lap record of 1 minute, 25.500 seconds (106.947 mph) around the 2.54-mile, 12-turn road course. That beat the previous mark that stood for seven years (1:25.715). He’ll share the car with Ford Koch as they look to get back on the podium for the first time this year. They finished second here last year.


 

“We’re two-for-two on poles, and it’s pretty special to deliver this one,” said Bell, whose father Townsend will be part of NBC Sports’ commentary team for Saturday’s Motul Petit Le Mans (Saturday, noon ET, NBC).


 

“Ford will do a great job bringing it home tomorrow. This place is one of the best places to throw down a lap in quals, when you have low fuel, sticker tires and a clean track.”


 

Paul Holton nearly delivered his fourth GS pole at Michelin Raceway but came up just 0.179 of a second short in his No. 46 TeamTGM Ford Mustang GT4 he shares with Matt Plumb. Plumb remains tied with Billy Johnson with 24 career wins, most in series history. TeamTGM’s Ted Giovanis also seeks to retain the GS Bronze Cup title.


 

As for the top five in the championship, they’ll roll off anywhere from third to 21st in the 31-car GS field.


 

The best positioned is Ibiza Farm Motorsport’s pair of Michael Cooper and Moisey Uretsky, which enters 120 points back in fourth in the No. 44 McLaren Artura GT4. They’ll start third as they seek their fourth win of the year, and second in a row both in 2026 and at Michelin Raceway.


 

Turner Motorsport’s No. 95 BMW M4 GT4 EVO of Dillon Machavern and Luca Mars starts eighth. They’re second in points, 30 behind fellow BMW runners AutoTechnic Racing. That pairing of Stevan McAleer and Austin Krainz qualified the No. 27 BMW M4 GT4 EVO in 11th.


 

Third in points, Robert Noaker in the No. 13 McCumbee McAleer Racing Ford Mustang GT4, will have to make up the 40-point deficit from his car number of 13th spot on the grid. He shares the car with Finn Wiebelhaus in his third start.


 

Last and still in with a semi-realistic shot is Winward Racing’s No. 57 Mercedes-AMG GT GT4 of Bryce Ward, who is 130 points back. Ward qualified 21st and will look to turn over the car to Daan Arrow in a higher position.


 

BMW and Ford also square off for the GS manufacturer championship, where BMW leads Ford by 40 points.


 

TCR: Wittmer Delivers Lap Record, Honda’s Seventh Pole of the Year

MMG deployed its usual race finisher, Karl Wittmer, to qualify its No. 93 Honda Civic FL5 TCR as the sun set Thursday at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in Touring Car (TCR).


 

Wittmer’s got the best possible vantage point to start before he hands off to LP Montour on Friday, as he set a new TCR lap record by a considerable margin.


 

Wittmer posted a best time on his fourth flying lap of 1 minute, 26.369 seconds (105.871 mph) – more than half a second quicker than the previous mark (1:26.917 set last year) – to score his third career and first Michelin Pilot Challenge pole of the year.


 

It also continues Honda’s run of form in qualifying, with seven poles in 10 races this season. Montour won three straight at Watkins Glen International, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and Road America while Rocco Pasquarella won three of his own in the sister No. 5 Civic fielded by KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering.


 

Fittingly, Pasquarella slotted in second to Wittmer on Thursday ahead of the championship-leading No. 33 Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian Hyundai Elantra N TCR of Bryson Morris and Mason Filippi.


 

With a 200-point lead and a maximum of 180 points for anyone to gain in a 14-car TCR field, the No. 33 pairing can clinch the title so long as they start Friday’s race.


 

Sam Baker slotted the returning No. 52 Baker Racing Audi RS3 LMS TCR into fifth. If he and co-driver James Vance – or any of the other two Audis entered – wins Friday, all 18 participating OEMs in IMSA will have one at least one IMSA-sanctioned race in 2026. 

 

 

 

Porsche Leads Practice While Heinrich Amps Up Championship Drama

Inter Europol, Manthey Porsche and Vasser Sullivan Lexus Top Other Classes


 

October 1, 2026

By John Oreovicz

IMSA Wire Service

Combined Practice Results


 

BRASELTON, Ga. – Laurin Heinrich knows his chances of winning the driver championship in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship are slim – after all, he faces a 147-point deficit to Jack Aitken.


 

But Heinrich vowed to fight to the end, and to that effect, his weekend at the season-closing Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta couldn’t have gotten off to a better start as he rejoins the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 crew with Julien Andlauer and Felipe Nasr this race.


 

Andlauer flew to the fastest time in the first two of three 90-minute practice sessions Thursday at the traditional venue for the IMSA season finale. 


 

Saturday’s 10-hour season closer will crown champions in all four of the WeatherTech Championship classes – GTP, Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO), and Grand Touring Daytona (GTD).


 

Andlauer moved to the top of the timing screens in the closing stages in the Thursday afternoon session, which was staged in sunny and humid conditions. His 1 minute, 10.639-second (129.446 miles per hour) tour of the 2.54-mile road course narrowly beat Laurens Vanthoor, who clocked 1:10.683 (129.366 mph) in PPM’s No. 6 Porsche 963 he shares with Kevin Estre and Matt Campbell.


 

BMW M Team WRT’s pair of BMW M Hybrid V8s were third and fourth fastest in Practice 2, with Sheldon van der Linde in the No. 24 coming within 0.088 seconds of Andlauer’s benchmark time.


 

Van der Linde, Dries Vanthoor and Robin Frijns are in the No. 24 BMW this race, with the first two coming into Michelin Raceway on a high note after a win at the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.


 

To aid Heinrich’s championship bid, Vanthoor sat out the Brickyard round but returns fully poised in his desire to add a Motul Petit Le Mans win to his résumé. Heinrich, who it’s fair to call international sports car racing’s breakout star of 2026, has mounted his unlikely championship campaign in three different Porsches – the No. 6 and 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport factory cars, and the privately-run No. 5 JDC-Miller MotorSports entry.


 

Defending Motul Petit Le Mans winner Aitken again shares the No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R fielded by Cadillac Whelen with Earl Bamber and Frederik Vesti. Aitken was fourth fastest in the morning session, while Vesti guided the car to ninth in the afternoon, 0.956 seconds off the leading Porsche’s pace.


 

“Even if we win the race, we are still depending on outside factors which are not in my control, which means the No. 31 has to finish ninth or lower,” said Heinrich, who was the youngest driver in IMSA history to win a pro class championship when he claimed the GTD PRO crown with AO Racing in 2024. 


 

“Winning Petit Le Mans overall is one of my career goals, and this race can be so chaotic. So, you never know. The championship would be a tremendous result, especially considering it’s my first year in GTP.” 


 

Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian’s entries paced the field in the opening 90-minute session, with Nick Yelloly clocking 1:11.506 (127.877 mph) in the No. 93 ahead of Tom Blomqvist in the No. 60 by just 0.003 of a second. 


 

The team focused on reacclimating IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup drivers Alex Palou (who joins Yelloly and Renger van der Zande in the No. 93) and Scott Dixon (with Blomqvist and Colin Braun in the No. 60) who have not competed in an IMSA race since the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in March. 


 

Dixon and Palou own a collective 11 IndyCar Series championships, with Palou clinching his fourth straight last month.


 

“Obviously, someone at Scott’s level doesn’t need a lot of time in the car,” said Braun. “But these cars are so complicated, with all the systems and switches, and any time behind the wheel is helpful.”


 

“I’m still looking for my first win with Acura,” added Palou during media interviews between Practices 1 and 2. “I’m excited to go back out this afternoon when the track is warmer and more realistic to me, because it is more similar to when I will be driving on Saturday.”


 

The No. 43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA LMP2 07 led both sessions in LMP2. Bronze-rated Jeremy Clarke was listed as fastest in the first session with teammate Tom Dillmann fastest in the second, with a 1:12.628 lap (125.901 mph) best of the day. Bijoy Garg, a past Motul Petit Le Mans class winner, is that car’s third driver. 


 

Although Bronze-rated drivers opened the second full-field session with an extra 15 minutes reserved exclusively for them, it resulted in disappointment for the No. 22 United Autosports USA ORECA as it nosed into the Turn 5 tires. That cost that car its fastest qualifying lap for causing a red flag. 


 

Thomas Preining, who could wrap up his second consecutive Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) championship next weekend at Hockenheim, also caused a red flag during the Friday afternoon practice when the No. 911 Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) stopped on course. Preining is sharing the GTD PRO class car with Klaus Bachler and Mathieu Jaminet, who is back at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on the anniversary of winning the 2025 GTP championship for Porsche Penske Motorsport with Campbell.

Daniel Serra led all GTD PRO competitors in No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO, which like the Manthey Porsche, runs exclusively in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup. Serra’s best effort in the car he shares with Ferrari factory drivers Davide Rigon and Alessandro Pier Guidi was 1:19.271 (115.530 mph).


 

A pair of GTD class entries were slightly quicker by the end of the Thursday afternoon session. Aaron Telitz (No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Racing) was the only driver to break 1:19, stopping the clocks in 1:18.930 (115.849 mph) in the last outing for the Lexus RC F GT3; he shares this car with Benjamin Pedersen and Frankie Montecalvo. Next up was Lorenzo Patrese (co-drivers Albert Costa and Alec Udell) in the No. 34 Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO at 1:19.122 (115.568 mph). 


 

The only on-track activity Friday for WeatherTech Championship competitors at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta is qualifying by class, starting at 2:20 p.m. ET. The Motul Petit Le Mans flags off at 12:10 ET on Saturday, October 3.

 

 

 

Practice Results | WeatherTech Championship

Motul Petit Le Mans

Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta - Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026

Practice 2 Results

Practice 1 Results


 

Additional results are available at results.imsa.com.

 

 

Caranta Claims Maiden IMSA Win While Tunjo, Workman Wrap VP Racing Challenge Titles

French Teenager Breaks Through for Forbush Performance and Duqueine in First Sprint Start


 

October 1, 2026

By Tony DiZinno

IMSA Wire Service

Unofficial Race 1 Results


 

BRASELTON, Ga. – As they entered the weekend hoping to do, Oscar Tunjo and Westin Workman wrapped up their respective IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge class championships a race early in the first of two 45-minute sprint races at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.


 

Workman continued his race-winning ways, too, in Grand Sport X (GSX), as he reached double digits for victories with his 10th win in 11 races this season. Meanwhile, Tunjo settled for second in Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3), behind first-time polesitter and race winner Jules Caranta.


 

Caranta, in his No. 18 Forbush Performance Duqueine D09, impressed in two previous IMSA Airbnb Endurance Challenge starts with co-driver and team principal Matt Forbush. The French teenager, part of Duqueine’s academy, set the fastest race lap on debut at Circuit of The Americas and then was on the overall podium in his second start at Road America.


 

Michelin Raceway marked an opportunity to make his first sprint start, and Caranta took full advantage. He took the pole position over the pair of Gebhardt Motorsport teammates and paced the race first over Danny Soufi in his No. 11 PINAXIS-ZONE 4 Racing Duqueine D09, then Tunjo in his No. 1 Gebhardt Motorsport USA Inc. Duqueine D09.


 

Soufi’s last-ditch title hopes bowed out when his car slowed with 24 minutes remaining in the 45-minute timed sprint race, which brought out the race’s only full-course caution and ensured Tunjo was clear ahead of enough cars to wrap the title one race early.


 

Caranta, pacing the field on a restart with 18 minutes left, proceeded to gap the champion-elect by a final margin of victory of 11.781 seconds over Tunjo.


 

“He’s a special kid,” Forbush said.


 

Caranta called Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta his favorite U.S. circuit after practice and qualifying and delivered on the weekend promise in Thursday’s first race.


 

“We had an amazing car from Forbush and Duqueine,” Caranta said. “Thanks to everyone and to my parents. I’m just grateful to get race one, won. It was a dream to race in America, and now I’m winning in America!


 

“The flow of the track, the esses after (Turns) 1 and 2 is amazing. It’s a magical track and to be here on Petit Le Mans weekend is so special. I watched this race as a kid on TV, and now I’m here, and winning.”


 

Tunjo’s title was an inadvertent encore of Valentino Catalano’s title clinch at the track last year. In Thursday’s Race 1 in 2025, Tunjo won while Catalano finished second to wrap the championship. Today, Tunjo mirrored that by finishing second himself to Caranta.


 

“First of all, super happy,” Tunjo said. “It’s an important title for my career. It means so much for us, and I’m super proud of the team.


 

“It’s been a bit of a tough weekend for me because we have a new car (after Road America) and we don’t know this car as well. Sad that Danny couldn’t finish the race – he had the podium.”


 

Travis Hill finished third overall and first in the P3 Bronze Cup in his No. 2 Shopify Racing Ligier JS P325, ensuring he now has a 30-point lead over Brian Thienes (No. 77 Forte Racing Ligier JS P325) heading to Friday morning’s season finale.


 

GSX: Workman Captures 10th Win, Title and IMSA 3D Scholarship Within Two Hours

Workman, meanwhile, enjoyed a banner couple-hour period Thursday afternoon starting off-track and ending on-track.


 

Named as IMSA’s latest 3D Scholarship recipient during IMSA’s annual State of the Sport presentation during the lunch hour, Workman was already in gear and ready to race aboard his No. 8 RAFA Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 to immediately jet from the presentation to pre-grid.


 

Once on grid, and from his 11th consecutive pole position to start the year, Workman banked an initial gap of more than 10 seconds prior to the full-course caution and then built it back to 21.842 seconds after the restart. Workman reflected on the whirlwind morning in victory lane.


 

“Words can’t explain how thankful I am for this team, this scholarship, this win, this championship,” Workman said. “It so helps to have a great family behind me. I woke up this morning so grateful to be here.”


 

Courtney Crone was second in the No. 35 CarBahn Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 EVO, while Jon Brel won the GSX Bronze Cup and finished third among all GSX runners in his No. 81 Kingpin Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2. That win positions Brel unofficially 160 points clear of his closest rival, Rafa Martinez in the No. 68 RAFA Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2.


 

Friday’s season finale is the last scheduled sprint race for VP Racing Challenge before it expands to a full endurance format in 2027. It goes green in the morning, Oct. 2, at 8:30 a.m. ET. The race streams live via Peacock and the IMSA Official YouTube channel. 

 

 

Practice Results | WeatherTech Championship

Motul Petit Le Mans

Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta - Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026

Practice 1 Results


 

Additional results are available at results.imsa.com.

 

 
 

Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Confirmed with Two GTD PRO Cars

Perennial IMSA GTD PRO Championship Contenders Back for 2027

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The road to an IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship title often runs through Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports. Corvette by Pratt Miller is back once more to add to its sterling accolades and legacy achieved in IMSA and in Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO). 


 

It’ll be an unchanged full-season lineup once again. Tommy Milner and Nicky Catsburg will share the No. 4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R while Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims will share the No. 3 Corvette. It’s the fourth consecutive season with these two full-season pairings, having first been assembled in 2024, and builds on the quartet’s legacy as part of Corvette Racing’s program.  


 

“We are proud of all the accomplishments our teams have achieved since the start of Corvette Racing,” said Ben Bode, Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports team manager. “That history is built on a combination of great people and great Corvettes. To be able to continue that with the same core group of full-season drivers gives us a lot of excitement and obviously confidence for 2027. Winning GTD PRO championships each year is always at the top of our list of goals. With the returning team we have next year and the strength of the Corvette, there’s no reason we can’t achieve that again.”


 

On Saturday at Motul Petit Le Mans, Chevrolet added its latest achievement with its second straight GTD PRO manufacturer championship. It’s their 16th GT class manufacturer championship since Corvette Racing began in 1999. Chevrolet has now won six GTD PRO or GT Le Mans (GTLM) Manufacturer titles in IMSA since 2014 – more than any other automotive make. It also marked the fourth manufacturer championship with the eighth-generation mid-engine Corvette. This quartet of drivers has been a key cog in that success. 


 

In 2027, Garcia will mark his 19th year with the team, and Milner his 17th. They started as part of the program in 2009 and 2011, respectively, as Corvette Racing factory drivers.


 

Sims is in his second stint as a Corvette Racing factory driver, having rejoined the program in 2024 after winning the IMSA Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) title in the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R in 2023. He raced sporadic IMSA and other endurance rounds in a previous era Corvette (the C8.R, Chevrolet’s last Corvette built to GTE specification) in 2021 and 2022.


 

Catsburg stepped up from a Corvette Racing endurance race role from 2020 through 2022 in IMSA, raced as part of the program’s FIA World Endurance Championship in 2023 (won 24 Hours of Le Mans and the last class title in LM GTE AM with the C8.R) and again with customer outfit TF Sport this year, while prioritizing his IMSA campaign in 2026 as part of the dual program.


 

The 2026 season was a bit of a roller coaster ride for Corvette Racing. The No. 4 car of Milner and Catsburg ascended to be championship contenders for the first time in a decade, since Milner and Oliver Gavin won the 2016 American Le Mans Series title. They sought consistency early and were regular podium finishers, but back-to-back tough endings at Detroit and Watkins Glen featuring contact with other GTD PRO cars brought others into the frame.


 

At Motul Petit Le Mans, Catsburg and Milner fell to third in the championship after a rough-and-tumble finale where the No. 4 Corvette ended up in the gravel trap following contact from another competitor. Nonetheless, Milner was typically reflective and insightful in looking back on their 2026 campaign.


 

“There certainly are positives,” Milner said. “We got first place in the manufacturer championship, which is great for the program. It’s great to have both cars all year long be very competitive all throughout the season. The 3 car was unlucky at times. But obviously it was great for them to get the win at Detroit. So that’s what you need to have… both cars being fast all year long and we had that. So that was great. 


 

“I said a few weeks ago that we just wanted to have a chance to win a championship when we got here. There were three cars that had a good shot at it and today was not our day. 


 

“Ultimately a championship is your full body of work for the whole season. It’s not just one race that loses you a championship. I’m super happy with all of our guys and the whole team from top to bottom. I’m excited for how strong we were all year long. We’ll tidy up little things on our end to be as good as we can be to be a bit better. And hopefully that's enough to compete again for a championship.”


 

The Corvette Z06 GT3.R heads into its fourth season in 2027, which may be somewhat hard to believe. But it’s been a regular winner in IMSA competition each season.


 

In 2024, Garcia and Sims got the car on the board with its first IMSA win at the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The pairing won again at the all-GT IMSA Michelin GT Challenge at VIRginia International Raceway in 2025 en route to the championship, and then crucially, in front of the General Motors’ brass at the downtown Detroit Street Circuit encircling the Renaissance Center, next to the Detroit Riverwalk, in 2026. Add in a customer triumph by the team then called AWA (now 13 Autosport) in GTD at the 2025 Rolex 24 At Daytona, and the new Corvette has checked several key boxes.

 

 

IMSA Honors All Its Best at 2026 WeatherTech Night of Champions

Champions Across Classes Recognized Along with IMSA Hall of Famers 


 

October 5, 2026

By Tony DiZinno

IMSA Wire Service

BRASELTON, Ga. – The 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is in the books following another entertaining finale at Motul Petit Le Mans. The champions were crowned Saturday night at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta and officially recognized Sunday night at this year’s WeatherTech Night of Champions held at Chateau Elan Winery & Resort, just a few miles away.


 

As in 2025, the season champions across all four WeatherTech Championship classes received specially engraved Rolex timepieces at the end of the night’s proceedings.


 

This year’s full-season driver champions are Jack Aitken in Grand Touring Prototype (GTP), George Kurtz and Alex Quinn in Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), Connor De Phillippi and Neil Verhagen in Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) and Philip Ellis and Russell Ward in Grand Touring Daytona (GTD).


 

IMSA also honored the full-season team and manufacturer champions across all four classes, plus the driver, team and manufacturer champions in the five-race IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup. Kurtz secured the Jim Trueman Award (LMP2) and Orey Fidani secured the Bob Akin Bronze Cup Award (GTD).


 

IMSA officially welcomed the newest members of its fourth Hall of Fame class, including driver inductees Bill Auberlen, Butch Leitzinger, Roger Mandeville, Brian Redman, Lyn St. James, Hans-Joachim Stuck and car inductees the Audi 90 Quattro GTO, Riley Daytona Prototype, Greenwood Corvettes and Mazda RX-3. Those inductees received an IMSA Hall of Fame medallion in addition to special artwork created by longtime motorsports artist Jim Swintal.


 

In addition, several special awards were handed out to start the night, including the VP Racing Front Runner Award, Motul Pole Award, CrowdStrike Endurance, Teamwork & Speed Award, BDO Knows Strategy Award, the IMSA Michelin Sustainability in Racing Award, Michelin All-Hands for the Win Award, the IMSA Team Marketing Award and IMSA Marketing Achievement Award.


 

A full rundown of champions honored is below:


 

WeatherTech Championship Class Champions

 

GTP: Jack Aitken (Driver), No. 31 Cadillac Whelen (Team), Cadillac (Manufacturer)

LMP2: George Kurtz and Alex Quinn (Driver), No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR (Team)

GTD PRO: Connor De Phillippi and Neil Verhagen (Driver), No. 1 Paul Miller Racing (Team), Chevrolet (Manufacturer)

GTD: Russell Ward and Philip Ellis (Driver), No. 57 Winward Racing (Team), Mercedes-AMG (Manufacturer)


 

IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Champions

 

GTP: Felipe Nasr, Julien Andlauer and Laurin Heinrich (Driver), No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport (Team), Porsche (Manufacturer)

LMP2: George Kurtz, Alex Quinn and Toby Sowery (Driver), No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR (Team)

GTD PRO: Connor De Phillippi and Neil Verhagen (Driver), No. 1 Paul Miller Racing (Team), BMW (Manufacturer)

GTD: Russell Ward and Philip Ellis (Driver), No. 57 Winward Racing (Team), Ferrari (Manufacturer)


 

Jim Trueman Award/Bob Akin Award Champions

 

Jim Trueman Award: George Kurtz, No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA LMP2 07, LMP2 

Bob Akin Bronze Cup Award: Orey Fidani, No. 13 13 Autosport Corvette Z06 GT3.R, GTD 


 

Special Awards

 

VP Racing Front Runner Award:

GTP: No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R

LMP2: No. 43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA LMP2 07

GTD PRO: No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3

GTD: No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo


 

Motul Pole Award:

GTP: Jack Aitken, No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R

LMP2: Jeremy Clarke, No. 43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA LMP2 07

GTD PRO: Jack Hawksworth, No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3

GTD: Eduardo “Dudu” Barrichello, No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo


 

CrowdStrike Endurance, Teamwork & Speed Award:

Season: No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Temerario GT3

 

BDO Knows Strategy Award:

Season: No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R

 

IMSA Michelin Sustainability in Racing Award:

Season: No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R

 

Michelin All-Hands for the Win Award:

GTP: No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R

LMP2: No. 22 United Autosports USA ORECA LMP2 07

GTD PRO: No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R

GTD: No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3

 

IMSA Team Marketing Award: 

Presented to Heart of Racing Team / Aston Martin THOR Team 

 

IMSA Marketing Achievement Award:

Three Takeaways: Motul Petit Le Mans

Consistency for Championships; Perseverance Prevails; Numbers Matter


 

October 5, 2026

By David Phillips

IMSA Wire Service

BRASELTON, Ga. – Take a 54-car entry of four categories of the world’s fastest sports cars, turn them loose on a 2.54-mile roller coaster of Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta’s road course for 10 hours of day and night racing with all the driver, team and manufacturers titles on the line in the final round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and what do you get? The 2026 Motul Petit Le Mans. And more than enough stories and drama to keep racing fans entertained through the offseason before the Rolex 24 At Daytona kicks off the 2027 campaign on January 30. 


 

Consistency Captures Races, Championships


 

There’s no substitute for speed in auto racing. But it takes more than blistering pace to win races and more than victories to win titles. The Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) race winners and season champions provided ample evidence.


 

Though they started second, the trio of Valentin Hasse Clot, Marco Sorensen and Mattia Drudi didn’t lead until the final 22 laps in the final hour. The trio aboard the striking white No. 68 Car Blanche Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo picked the right time to do so, staying close, clean and penalty-free while chaos unfolded around them. It punctuated the positive impression they’ve made from two GTD podiums in the last two Michelin Endurance Cup races before winning in GTD PRO.

“We’ve been really consistent since Thursday,” said Drudi, who was making his GTD PRO class debut after a pair of IMSA GTD outings at the Rolex 24 in a similar Aston Martin fielded by the Heart of Racing Team. “Everybody on the team did an amazing job. It's really important for them. They came close to the podium with a fourth place. Now getting the first win in such an important one, it's amazing.”


 

Paul Miller Racing achieved the win part in 2026; the team opened the season with a win at the Rolex 24 At Daytona. But its run of consistency included three other podiums and three more top five finishes. Connor De Phillippi and Neil Verhagen in their No. 1 BMW M4 GT3 EVO had the pace, too; Verhagen scored a pair of Motul Pole Awards this year including a crucial one here at the finale. That ability to stay fast and largely trouble-free contributed to their driver and team titles.


 

Chevrolet won the GTD PRO manufacturer championship, thanks to one win, four other podium finishes and a regular top five finishes with at least one of its Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs. It wasn’t the result Tommy Milner and Nicky Catsburg wanted in the driver and team titles, but the pairing in the No. 4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R ensured Chevrolet still added to its accolades.


 

“First place in the manufacturer championship is great for the program,” Milner said. “It’s great to have both cars all year long be very competitive all throughout the season. The 3 car was unlucky at times. But obviously it was great for them to get the win at Detroit. So that’s what you need to have… both cars being fast all year long and we had that.”


 

Perseverance Prevails; Resilience Rallies

Though consistency is vital to winning races and championships, resilience is an important characteristic too. Winward Racing can speak to that.


 

Through no fault of its own, the two-time defending Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) champions left Watkins Glen International 300 points in arrears of the points lead with another battered No. 57 Mercedes-AMG GT3. But champions get off the mat, and inspired by the crew’s rebuild efforts, Russell Ward and Philip Ellis returned to form quickly.


 

Dazed? Perhaps. Undaunted? Certainly. Ward and Ellis clicked off three straight wins at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Road America and VIRginia International Raceway, with the latter result moving them back to first in points. At Indianapolis, the team was resilient again – this time going from first-to-last-to-second after a pre-race infraction. 


 

And then finally, Saturday, they captured an elusive first Motul Petit Le Mans win. Unfortunately, they didn’t get to race their championship rivals from Turner Motorsport and Heart of Racing Team after both suffered early race mechanical issues. That made the championship battle something of an anti-climax but shouldn’t diminish Winward’s recovery act en route to their third straight title.


 

“We really got an amazing core group of people who give us the machinery and the ability to come out and perform and put on a good show,” said Ward. “You really have to have the never-quit mentality. That’s how you get it done. Just hats off to the drivers, the crew, the strategists, engineers … everybody gave it their all today.”  


 

Not all forms of resilience produce storybook endings. Inevitably, either the No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR or No. 43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA LMP2 07 would get the short end of the stick in the similar single-point gap for the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) title battle.


 

Similar to Winward, Inter Europol’s full-season pair of Tom Dillmann and Jeremy Clarke authored a comeback story with back-to-back wins at CTMP and Road America. They entered Motul Petit Le Mans with a four-point lead. 


 

The two cars found each other on track and Dillmann’s No. 43 was assessed a drive-through for incident responsibility with Alex Quinn’s No. 04 inside the final two hours. It appeared as though Dillmann was caught out by the dreaded concertina effect in a veritable Gordian knot of traffic. 


 

But nonetheless, the No. 43 car rallied – again – while the No. 04 crew made quick repairs to that car’s rear bodywork. Algarve Pro Racing team principal Stewart Cox made sure to thank the crew for their work at Sunday night’s WeatherTech Night of Champions; the No. 04 crew stood as champs by way of Quinn beating Dillmann by just 0.666 of a second for the win, and title, at the line.


 

“That incident with Tom was tricky,” Quinn said. “We had damage on the car. I guess it's a chance to thank the team because they repaired it insanely quickly, kept us actually on the lead lap, and in some ways it maybe helped us because (it gave us) a fuel advantage, the next yellow came, we cycled back to the front. Tom got a penalty for it. That switched the positions.


 

“I was frustrated at the time, but that's actually when I did a lot of my best laps during the race,” a smiling Quinn continued. “I guess everything happens for a reason. In the end, it all worked out.”


 

Numbers Matter

In a galaxy far away from the 2026 WeatherTech Championship, one Roger Penske once noted “numbers matter.” (Full disclosure: He was explaining why he took a March 86C out of a Penske Leasing showroom to enter it in the 1987 Indianapolis 500 as a backup car with a backup driver. Al Unser was tapped to fill Danny Ongais’ stead alongside regular drivers Rick Mears and Danny Sullivan; Unser duly won his fourth Indy 500 that May.)


 

Looking at this year’s manufacturer champions in the WeatherTech Championship, the winners came via strength of numbers. 


 

Cadillac’s three cars helped it ride to the full-season Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) manufacturer title while Porsche’s three cars performed best most frequently in IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup (GTP) rounds. Saturday’s overall winners Laurens Vanthoor, Kevin Estre and Matt Campbell in the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 also stayed out of trouble where the other two 963s didn’t. 


 

As noted earlier, Chevrolet repeated as GTD PRO manufacturer champions ahead of Ford, with both of the two-car efforts ahead of the armada of single-car contenders fielded by BMW, Porsche, Lamborghini, Lexus and McLaren. 

 

“What a tremendous accomplishment for Corvette Racing and Chevrolet,” said Mark Reuss, President, General Motors. “Winning the GTD PRO manufacturer championship for the second consecutive season is a testament to the expertise, preparation and execution of our drivers, engineers and crews. We view GTD PRO as the best collection of production-based GT manufacturers and teams in the world, so to come out on top is a significant achievement.” 


 

Lastly, Mercedes-AMG wrapped the GTD manufacturer championship, and could thank one of its extra IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup-only teams – Lone Star Racing – for a key assist there. On Winward’s two off days at Sebring and Watkins Glen, Lone Star scored two good finishes to ensure Mercedes-AMG stayed at or near the front there. 

 

 

 

 

IMSA and Motul Announce Multiyear Partnership Extension

Official Lubricant, Proud Partner and Entitlement Sponsor of Motul Pole Awards, Motul Petit Le Mans Renewed Through End of Decade

BRASELTON, Ga. (October 1, 2026) – A highlight of Thursday's annual IMSA State of the Sport presentation was confirmation by Motul, French global leader in high-performance lubricants, and IMSA of a multiyear extension of their longstanding partnership.


 

Motul will continue as "Official Motor Oil" and "Official Lubricant Partner" of IMSA, the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge. Pole-winning drivers in all WeatherTech Championship and Michelin Pilot Challenge qualifying sessions also will continue to receive Motul Pole Awards. In addition, Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta announced that Motul will continue as the entitlement sponsor of Motul Petit Le Mans.


 

“Our partnership with Motul is built on a shared passion for motorsports and a relentless pursuit of excellence," said IMSA President John Doonan. "Since the beginning of our partnership in 2017, Motul has become an integral part of the IMSA family, supporting our teams, manufacturers and events while helping elevate the fan experience. We are excited to extend this relationship and continue writing the next chapter together.”


 

“Extending our partnership with IMSA strengthens the relationship we have built since 2017 and supports our ambitions in North America, said Guillaume Pailleret, CEO Americas, Motul. It is also the extension of our endurance journey that began in France, with our presence at the 24 Hours of Le Mans since 1954 and decades spent supporting competitors while using the race as a laboratory to test and validate our fluids in the most severe conditions. This heritage is not separate from our work in North America; it is expressed through it. From Le Mans in France to Motul Petit Le Mans, endurance connects our history, our expertise and our ambitions for the future.”

About Motul:


 

Motul specializes in the formulation, production, and distribution of high-quality lubricants that elevate performance in multiple usages from powersport to passenger cars, heavy duty, and industrial applications. Motul has pioneered synthetic oils with its flagship 300V, the first 100% synthetic multigrade lubricant. Building on this long-term know-how, Motul is now extending its expertise to care products for cars, motorbikes and bicycles, as well as advanced fluids for the thermal management of electric vehicle batteries and digital infrastructures such as data centers, addressing the performance and sustainability challenges of tomorrow.  


 

Founded in 1853, Motul is a global company present in 160 countries. Over the years, the brand has built a solid reputation as a trusted partner to support the performance of leading manufacturers, top motorsport teams and major championships, such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the WEC, MotoGP, Dakar, Goodwood, or the UCI Mountain Bike World Series.  www.Motul.com/corporate  


 

About the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA):


 

The International Motor Sports Association, LLC (IMSA) was originally founded in 1969 and owns a long and rich history in sports car racing. Today, IMSA is the sanctioning body of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the premier sports car racing series in North America. IMSA also sanctions the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge and Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR), as well as five one-make series: Ferrari Challenge North America, Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America, Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin, Mustang Challenge and Porsche Carrera Cup North America. IMSA will sanction a sixth one-make series – McLaren Trophy America – will join the portfolio in 2026. IMSA – a company within the NASCAR family – is the exclusive strategic partner in North America with the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), which operates the 24 Hours of Le Mans as part of the FIA World Endurance Championship. This partnership enables selected IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competitors to earn automatic entries into the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans. For more information, please visit IMSA.com, and follow IMSA on X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

 

 

Westin Workman Named 2027-28 IMSA 3D Scholarship Recipient

Charlotte Native Set to Move Up to IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge in 2027

BRASELTON, Ga. (October 1, 2026) – Westin Workman has made winning a habit in 2026, and the Charlotte native’s latest achievement was confirmed on Thursday at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta where he was named the IMSA Diverse Driver Development (3D) Scholarship recipient for 2027-28.


 

Workman will receive benefits worth up to $300,000 to compete in one of four IMSA-sanctioned championships in 2027. Workman has selected IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, where he will continue with RAFA Racing’s race- and championship-winning Toyota program in the Grand Sport (GS) category.


 

"IMSA is delighted to award this year's 3D Scholarship to Westin Workman," said Brandon Huddleston, IMSA’s Vice President of Partnership Marketing and Business Development. "Westin's been part of this process for several years as a finalist and has worked tirelessly to achieve this scholarship through several years of persistence. His attitude is exemplary and his on-track performance has been excellent. We can't wait to see how he continues to progress forward in his career." 


 

Workman emerged from a talented pool of 15 finalists (13 of whom have made at least one start in an IMSA-sanctioned championship in 2026) who attended IMSA-led modules that covered topics such as marketing, business development, personal branding, media training and nutrition. The process concluded with the submission of a business plan detailing the program they put together for 2027.


 

For Workman, a multi-time finalist for the 3D Scholarship, the stars finally aligned from all aspects to back up what has been an excellent on-track season to date. Entering the Michelin Raceway finale weekend, Workman has won nine of 10 Grand Sport X (GSX) races and all 10 pole positions in IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge aboard the No. 8 RAFA Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 and held a 480-point lead over 2023 IMSA 3D Scholarship recipient Courtney Crone.


 

“Obviously it’s an honor to be recognized as the IMSA scholarship winner this year,” Workman said. “It lets you know you’re on the right path. There’s still a lot of work to do and a lot of goals I want to achieve, but this is definitely a step in the right direction, and it feels great to be recognized for the hard work I’ve been putting in to make this happen.


 

“I think this is my third or fourth year going for this scholarship and all the benefits IMSA provide have been great, even if you don’t win. There’s a ton of value they give throughout the process with all the modules we do… it helps you build for the next year. It’s great being a part of this program for the past few years and to finally be a recipient and have everything line up means so much to me, because the past few years, nothing quite lined up perfectly and finally this year it has.” 

Workman’s talent has been readily evident since he entered the IMSA paddock several years ago after karting and club racing. A Mazda scholarship enabled his entry into Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin, where he won several races in two full seasons and captured rookie-of-the-year honors in 2024. 


 

This year was always meant to be a steppingstone year for him, as he advanced into VP Racing Challenge as part of the RAFA Toyota effort. Winning nine of 10 races to start the year is the easy-to-grab headline, but what Workman has made apparent after each has been his desire to learn, grow and improve for 2027 and beyond.


 

“These 45-minute sprint races really show you how much you have to be on your game, because any race could come down to those last 45 minutes, like an endurance race,” Workman explained. “In VP Challenge, we’ve been trying to use this year as a chance to learn things I may not otherwise learn, like fuel saving, consistency, getting up to speed quickly and tire management.


 

“With LMP3, learning how to how to navigate faster traffic is honestly a lot harder than navigating slower traffic, right?  The biggest thing is just trying to minimize the time loss when one of those cars is passing you.”


 

Workman hailed both the RAFA Racing organization led by Rafael Martinez and Kevin Conway, and Toyota, where he’s been a key cog in its development driver pipeline for three years.


 

“There’s no other team I’d rather be a part of right now than RAFA Racing,” Workman said. “We’re all eager and determined to keep building the program… Kevin always says he wants to build the team he always wanted to drive for. They’ve given me countless opportunities.


 

“So has Toyota. They picked me up early when a lot of things were hitting, as I was driving and also still in school, helping me into GR Cup and eventually into GT4. I'm very thankful for Toyota because if it wasn't for them, I have no idea where I would be in my career right now. It’s an honor they’ve put as much trust in me as they have.”


 

While any of the nine wins could stand out as a marquee achievement, Workman highlighted both where he drove from last-to-first to win – neither by design – in GSX. At Daytona, he overcame mechanical issues on the pace lap in the rain to eventually come back through the field. At VIRginia International Raceway, a quick pace lap spin was negated once he quickly sped past the bulk of his competitors. 


 

“VIR did have a cool aspect because the GT4s were the show of VP Challenge,” Workman noted. “Daytona though, starting the race from a straightaway behind, I had to come back through in the rain. It was my favorite this year.” 


 

That constant desire for improvement has fueled Workman’s growth even as he’s kept winning all year. While he tries not to compare himself to some of his karting rivals, he has been watching their progress with interest, as he advances himself.


 

“I’ve not rushed anything; I don’t want to slow my progression down,” he explained. “There’s a lot of guys I grew up racing who are now at the top of their game. I raced karts with Connor Zilisch, and now he’s in NASCAR Cup and just signed a deal with Hendrick (Motorsports). Kyffin Simpson is in INDYCAR. You wonder if, because they’re moving up so fast, are you on the wrong path? Are these guys better than me?


 

“I’ve learned that for me, I pride myself on always being ready for the next step. There’s a plan in place and I just have to stay true to it.” 


 

The IMSA 3D Scholarship promotes and empowers drivers from a variety of backgrounds and experiences to participate in select IMSA-sanctioned series. The finalists chosen possess a desire to compete in IMSA, have strong previous race results and/or proven on-track potential in junior racing categories, plus the ability to create a compelling strategy to compete in a full season in one of four IMSA-sanctioned series: the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge or Mustang Challenge.


 

The scholarship includes financial assistance from IMSA and is supported by a growing number of corporate partners: Michelin, VP Racing Fuels, OMP, Bell, RAFA Racing Club and Lumen Digital Agency.


 

The application process for the 2028-29 IMSA 3D Scholarship will open in January 2027.

 

 

 

What to Watch For: Motul Petit Le Mans

The Final Hours; Championship Outlooks; Michelin Endurance Cup Finale


 

September 30, 2026

By David Phillips

IMSA Wire Service

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The long and winding road that is the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship reaches its final destination this weekend with the Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. 


 

With championships to be decided across the board and the usual fierce, unpredictable and entertaining action anticipated, we’ll look ahead to the key items to watch for this week.


 

The Final Hours


 

WeatherTech Championship racing intensifies when all four classes – Grand Touring Prototype (GTP), Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) and Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) – are present. But the final hours at Michelin Raceway are particularly renowned for their ferocity. And justifiably so.


 

With both the championship and race outcomes on the line, many drivers often go for broke if there’s nothing to lose. Others may take conservative approaches to protect leads. Michelin Raceway’s 12-turn, 2.54-mile circuit is chock full of blind corners and dramatic elevation changes while largely bereft of artificial lighting.


 

It may be a 10-hour race, but the last hour drama recipe is turned up to 11. 

“We’ve seen for many, many years now that the racing is very exciting at the end of Petit,” says Tommy Milner, the GTD PRO championship leader with Nicky Catsburg aboard their No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R.


 

“Atlanta is a very dark racetrack, so with all the elevation changes you have lots of areas where you are driving what feels like blind and just kind of going off of muscle memory. The track itself is difficult, and then obviously you throw in a big sports car race at the end of the year, the last race of a championship, and everybody is driving absolutely at the limit of themselves and the car’s capabilities.”


 

With the natural different performance dynamics across the prototype and GT cars, all drivers and spotters need to be on their toes. Additionally, optimizing setups for the cooler evening conditions is important after surviving what is often the hottest part of the day in the afternoon. 

 

“You need to be quick in the night, which often requires a different car setup,” says Laurin Heinrich, who rejoins Felipe Nasr and Julien Andlauer in the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 this weekend. 


 

“The interesting dynamic is that you have people still fighting for championships, and then you have people who are basically out of the championship fight just going for that single big endurance win, which is quite prestigious. So, they want it really badly. So, they have different mindsets, different approaches, and different goals about racing each other, basically in the last two-three hours.”


 

Championship Outlooks


 

It’s easier to count the championships that are almost wrapped than the ones that aren’t. Case in point in GTP, where only a cataclysmic weekend could collapse Jack Aitken’s clinch hopes in his No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R. But Heinrich, 147 points back entering the weekend in a year where he didn’t expect to race more than three times, still has a chance so long as he stays within 150 points leaving qualifying Friday. 

Heinrich needs to win regardless; Aitken, who won this race last year with Earl Bamber and Frederik Vesti, remains focused. 


 

“You can always argue to play it a bit safer when you have a lead in the championship,” Aitken says. “But it's also dangerous to start changing your methods and to change the way that you approach things, because when you're in a groove and when things are working well, you want to keep it as similar as possible. So we want to keep doing what we're doing and the way we're doing it because it works well for us and change as little as possible. And it's also more fun to race that way. I think it's more ambitious. It's as simple as that from our point of view.”


 

What’s great about the other three class dynamic is that the combined lead margin in LMP2 (4 points), GTD (6) and GTD PRO (47) is just 57 points. 

 

“With the position we're in for the championship, we have got to attack, we have got to go forward,” says Alex Quinn, who shares the No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA LMP2 07 with George Kurtz and enters four points behind Inter Europol Competition’s pair of Tom Dillmann and Jeremy Clarke in the No. 43 ORECA in LMP2.


 

“Our main aim is just to beat Inter Europol. But at the same time, there's gonna be the rest of the field going too, and their aim is to win the race and to get good results.”


 

The Turner Motorsport team is trying to topple Winward Racing in GTD. Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher in their No. 96 BMW M4 GT3 EVO enter six points back of Russell Ward and Philip Ellis in their No. 57 Mercedes-AMG GT3.


 

“It’s just another race,” says Foley. “But in the end, we’re definitely going to be focused on what the 57 car is doing in qualifying. In the end, it could come down to one position.” 


 

Ward added, “We’ll start with qualifying and see if we can extend that points lead to a position greater than just being one car in front. And if we can do that that'll give a little bit of a little bit of a buffer room for us. We're just going to go in and race the racetrack and see where it comes out. Looking forward to it, and it's going to be a battle down to the end.”


 

Another BMW is in chase mode in GTD PRO: the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Connor De Phillippi and Neil Verhagen. They’re 47 points back of Milner and Catsburg. 


 

“We're going in as the hunter this weekend instead of the hunted,” says De Phillippi. “So that’ll be a refreshing position to be in, in terms of how we race. It’s kind of ‘go win’ and that's really the only option.”


 

IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Finale

While GTP and LMP2 maintain their same full-season grids of 11 cars, five additional GTD PRO and GTD cars apiece from the usual nine and 13 expand to 14 and 18, respectively, for the fifth and final IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup round of the year. 


 

A fun nugget for this endurance round: 74 drivers at this year’s Motul Petit Le Mans also raced at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which had a field of 186 drivers, so about 40 percent of the field. Motul Petit Le Mans is a 10-hour race, 40 percent of the 24-hour race.


 

And percentages make all the difference within the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup, too. Keeping with the 40 percent number, the first points are awarded at Hour 4, with the next batch at Hour 8 and the final at Hour 10. Teams often strategize their way to the front for these specific markers, even if it may look unorthodox.


 

Porsche Penske Motorsport’s No. 7 car has this Team Championship wrapped, and Porsche can wrap the Manufacturer Championship with any second-place finish at any interval. The drivers are tied, owing to Heinrich’s quirky “magical mystery tour” season where the young German has been in two different Porsches – the PPM No. 7 and JDC-Miller MotorSports No. 5 – this season. 


 

In LMP2, the No. 04 trio of Quinn, Kurtz and Toby Sowery leads AO Racing’s No. 99 ORECA of PJ Hyett, Dane Cameron and Jonny Edgar by a single point. 


 

That’s the same gap in GTD with Antonio Fuoco and Simon Mann’s No. 21 Af Corse USA Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO one point clear of the trio of Eduardo “Dudu” Barrichello, Tom Gamble and Zacharie Robichon in their No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo. Ferrari leads Aston Martin in GTD by two points (40-38).


 

In GTD PRO, PMR’s De Phillippi and Verhagen have a six-point lead in these standings over Milner and Catsburg, with AO Racing’s Nick Tandy and Harry King seven back in their No. 77 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992). BMW (39 points) leads Porsche by three and Chevrolet by four here. 

 

Thus are a host of championships on the line this weekend, along with the prestige of joining an illustrious list of Motul Petit Le Mans winners. Be sure to catch all the action starting at noon ET on NBC, with continuing coverage on NBCSN at 3 p.m. ET. The race streams on Peacock domestically with NBC’s crew and the IMSA YouTube channel internationally with IMSA Radio commentary. 

 

 

 

What They’re Saying: Motul Petit Le Mans GT Contenders

Just 47 Points Separate GTD PRO; 6 Points Cover GTD


 

September 30, 2026

By John Oreovicz

IMSA Wire Service

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Set to run for the 29th time, the Motul Petit Le Mans is the traditional season-closer for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Factoring in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup, no fewer than 24 championship battles will be resolved over 10 hours of racing Saturday at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.


 

Here’s a brief look at the championship permutations (a longer breakdown is here), along with comments from key figures involved in those title tilts in the two GT classes. A link to the prototype one is here.


 

GTD PRO: Double Bonus


 

The top seven teams and driver duos in GTD PRO are separated by 179 points, led by Nicky Catsburg and Tommy Milner in the No. 4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R fielded by perennial frontrunner Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports. Second place in the most recent race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway lifted them to the top of the order by 47 points over Neil Verhagen and Connor De Phillippi (No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO) and 53 points ahead of Sandy Mitchell and Andrea Caldarelli (No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Temerario GT3). 


 

Two-car, factory-backed efforts elevated Chevrolet and Ford to the top of the manufacturer’s chase, with Chevy leading by 68 points. Paul Miller Racing and BMW are chasing their fourth Michelin Endurance Cup, including the last two years in GTD PRO. They enter the Road Atlanta weekend with a 6-point advantage on the No. 4 Corvette, with Harry King and Nick Tandy (No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R [992]) another point back. BMW leads that manufacturer competition by 3 points over Chevrolet and 4 over Porsche. 


 

TOMMY MILNER (No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R):“Certainly it’s great to be in the points lead going into the last race. That’s where you’d prefer to be, of course. But everything is still very close. Ultimately, we need to have a very strong race, no matter what. There’s still many, many cars mathematically in the hunt for the championship, so all those teams will be doing everything that they can to get that win. For us, it’s as we’ve approached all the other races this year. I know there’s lots of points possibilities and things like that we won’t bother ourselves with at this point. That won’t matter until the race gets going. It’s going to be business as usual in many ways, focusing on ourselves, making sure that we have the best Corvette that we can for the race and see what happens at the end.”


 

CONNOR DE PHILLIPPI (No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO): “We’re going in as the hunter this weekend instead of the hunted. That will be a refreshing position to be in, in terms of how we race, and I’m excited for that. We had a really good test about a week and a half ago and the car felt good there. Obviously, hoping that all translates into race week. We still have the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup to still try to win, but the overall driver championship is obviously a big priority for us as well. Hopefully we can bookend the season and end with a win, and hopefully that’s enough for the title.”


 

GTD: Winward Three-Peat?

Two-time defending GTD champion team Winward Racing and drivers Philip Ellis and Russell Ward have won a class-high four races in 2026 in the No. 57 Mercedes-AMG GT3. But DNFs at Sebring at Watkins Glen allowed the consistent Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher (winners of the most recent WeatherTech round at Indianapolis in the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO) to remain within six points. With a deficit of 116 points, Dudu Barrichello (No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO) is still in the hunt for the driver’s championship, while Mercedes-AMG holds a reasonably comfortable 94-point cushion over Aston Martin for the GTD manufacturer’s crown. 


 

A host of competitors remain in contention for the Michelin Endurance Cup championships, led by Antonio Fuoco and Simon Mann in the No. 21 Af Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO. Ferrari leads Aston Martin by two points among manufacturers. 


 

Finally, the fight for the Jim Trueman Award is between a pair of previous winners, as Orey Fidani (No. 13 13 Autosport Corvette Z06 GT3.R) is up 30 points on Brendan Iribe (No. 70 Inception Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO). Watch these two cars among the at least six scheduled cars with a Bronze-rated driver (Nos. 13, 16, 44, 66, 70, 912); if the No. 70 gets two of those in-between the No. 13, they’ll jump ahead.

RUSSELL WARD (No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3): “Qualifying is going to be important. It’s so close right now in the championship points. We need to try to finish in front of the No. 96 car, which is going to be a tall order. They’re usually really strong at Petit. We’ll start with qualifying and see if we can extend that that points lead to a position greater than just being one car in front. If we can do that, it will give a little bit of a buffer for us. But we’re just going to go in and race the racetrack and see where it comes out. Looking forward to it, and it’s going to be a battle down to the end.”


 

ROBBY FOLEY (No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO): “The last couple years with the No. 57 sort of dominating, you have to win a race or two or three to really be in the conversation. We’ve always kind of been chasing them. We had a run at the championship with them in 2024, albeit one that wasn’t as close as it is now. We had a really strong Indy, which was great, and put us more in the championship picture. I think it’s going to come down to just having a good, clean race. That’s kind of been our M.O. all season - always being in and around the top five and around the podium. For us, it’s just another race and we’ll keep up kind of the same mentality as what got us to this position.”


 

The first three hours of the Motul Petit Le Mans will be broadcast on NBC starting at Noon ET on Saturday, October 3, with live coverage continuing to the finish on NBCSN. Livestreams are available on Peacock in the U.S. and via IMSA.TV and the official IMSA YouTube channel for international viewers. 

 

 

 

What They’re Saying: Motul Petit Le Mans Prototype Contenders

While GTP Sees a 147-Point Gap, LMP2 Has Single-Digit Margin


 

September 29, 2026

By John Oreovicz

IMSA Wire Service

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Set to run for the 29th time, the Motul Petit Le Mans is the traditional season-closer for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Factoring in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup, no fewer than 24 championship battles will be resolved over 10 hours of racing Saturday at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.


 

That breaks down to:


 

  • Four Driver Championships in the WeatherTech Championship, for all four classes – Grand Touring Prototype (GTP), Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) and Grand Touring Daytona (GTD)
  • Four Team Championships for the same four classes
  • Three Manufacturer Championships across GTP, GTD PRO and GTD – arguably the most prestigious honors on offer for the 12 competing manufacturers in the WeatherTech Championship
  • Four Driver Championships in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup across the five longest races of the season
  • Four Team Championships in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup
  • Three Manufacturer Championships in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup
  • The Jim Trueman Award for the top Bronze-rated driver in LMP2, which would be the same as the LMP2 full-season champion, and carries with it an IMSA invitation to the 24 Hours of Le Mans
  • The Bob Akin Award for the top Bronze-rated driver in GTD, which is the top scorer among Bronze-classified cars in class, and also carries an IMSA invitation to the 24 Hours of Le Mans


 

Here’s a brief look at the championship permutations (a longer breakdown is here), along with comments from key figures involved in those title tilts in the two prototype classes:


 

GTP: One More Heinrich Miracle?

With a 136-point lead over Porsche, Cadillac will clinch the manufacturer’s championship if one of its three entries simply starts the race. Starting the race will also clinch a seventh team championship for Cadillac Whelen, while a strong qualifying performance could lock up the driver’s title for Jack Aitken on Friday. Aitken teamed with Earl Bamber and Frederik Vesti to claim the overall and GTP class win at the 2025 Motul Petit Le Mans, a precursor to this year’s dominant performance for the No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R which includes two wins and seven podium finishes from eight starts. 


 

Laurin Heinrich, the breakout star of 2026 who is in the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 this weekend, is the only driver still in championship contention; he must win the race with Aitken finishing lower than ninth in the 11-car field. The No. 7 Porsche has wrapped the Michelin Endurance Cup Team Championship, and Porsche is poised to clinch that Manufacturer Championship, while drivers Felipe Nasr, Julien Andlauer and Heinrich have taken two different paths to the Driver Championship lead. 


 

JACK AITKEN (No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R): “Anything can happen, especially at Petit. My goal is to try and have a great qualifying. Hopefully that means that we can go into the race worry-free and just enjoy it and race for the win. If we still have a similar gap in the championship going in, then we need to be a little bit smarter. But it’s nothing that we haven’t been doing all year long anyway. We’ve got a good feel in the team right now and I’ve got a lot of trust in the people around me, so I’m very happy to just go in and treat it like any of the races that we’ve been to this year and come out with very good results.”


 

LAURIN HEINRICH (No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963): “I could not have envisioned or imagined being in this situation right now because the initial plan was for me to just do three races. And now…well, we are here. Who would have thought? We’re still fighting for the driver championship title, which is a great feat driving three different cars. Six podiums out of eight races so far is great. It’s something crazy and I’m really thankful for the chance, because it has been a wild ride. 147 points behind is not easy to catch up, but we all know that at Motul Petit Le Mans, anything can happen in that race, and I won’t give up until the checkered flag falls.” 


 

LMP2: Inter Europol’s Big Momentum

Tom Dillmann and Jeremy Clarke were fourth in the standings after the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen in June. But they took the LMP2 class victory in the last three races in the No. 43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA LMP2 07 to turn a 107-point deficit into a slim 4-point advantage over Alex Quinn and George Kurtz (No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA LMP2 07) heading to Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. 


 

Clarke, who is battling Kurtz for the Jim Trueman Award, has notched four Motul Pole Awards this year. Dan Goldburg (No. 22 United Autosports USA ORECA LMP2 07) is third in the standings, 101 points back, while a tough result at Road America left 2025 Trueman Award winner PJ Hyett and Dane Cameron (No. 99 AO Racing ORECA LMP2 07) 108 points in arrears. Notably, Clarke has scored 44 more points in qualifying than Kurtz this season.


 

TOM DILLMAN (No. 43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA LMP2 07): “It’s a new game, because four points is basically like zero. Actually, a target on Friday night (qualifying) is to take six points out of CrowdStrike. I think Jeremy is the fastest Bronze, but it’s a tough fight. There are four or five guys very quick, fighting for pole within a couple tenths. It’s quite impressive. We’ve managed to take a lot of poles. Hopefully the same in Petit to give us a 10-point, one-position buffer for the race. That’s the goal. Whoever finishes in front will take the title. It’s very straightforward.”


 

ALEX QUINN (No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA LMP2 07): “All year long we’ve had a bit of a lead in the championship, but it’s been slowly coming down. This weekend, we’re actually four points behind. It’s basically like we’re going into the last round tied, so we know we just need to beat them. There’s no pressure now - we just have one goal, and that’s to beat Inter Europol. I don’t think it'll come down to qualifications, to be honest. With the way the points work, at least the first half of the finishing positions, I think it’s more down to the race and that’s where we are putting most of our attention, let’s say. I think it’s kind of nice that we’re not going in leading. We’ve got nothing to lose - we can only gain. Yeah, full attack!” 


 

The first three hours of the Motul Petit Le Mans will be broadcast on NBC starting at Noon ET on Saturday, October 3, with live coverage continuing to the finish on NBCSN. Livestreams are available on Peacock in the U.S. and via IMSA.TV and the official IMSA YouTube channel for international viewers. 
 

Bartone Bros. Racing with GetSpeed Expands to Full Michelin Endurance Cup Program in 2027

No. 69 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Set for GTD PRO Run with Bartone, Schiller

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Bartone Bros. Racing with GetSpeed has made two quick and positive impressions in its first two Rolex 24 At Daytona starts in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class.


 

The team is set to expand that one-off entry into a full 2027 IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup effort in GTD PRO with its No. 69 Mercedes-AMG GT3. Anthony Bartone will share the car with Fabian Schiller from Mercedes-AMG’s roster of drivers, with further drivers to be named later.


 

The announcement marks a significant expansion of the collaboration between Miami resident Bartone and the Germany-based GetSpeed organization, which is led by CEO and Team Principal Adam Osieka. Bartone and Schiller have been teammates in multiple programs in recent years, including the Asian Le Mans Series and International GT Open, developing a strong on-track rapport that the team believes will translate directly to the demands of IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup competition.


 

Bartone, who made his WeatherTech Championship debut at the Rolex 24 At Daytona in 2025, has become a fixture within the GetSpeed stable. His recent campaigns have included full GT World Challenge Europe Endurance and Sprint Cup seasons and appearances at the Road to Le Mans event.


 

"It's no secret that competing in the IMSA Endurance Cup has been a lifelong dream of mine," Bartone said. "Being able to come back to the US with the experience I've gained all over the world with GetSpeed Performance is a true privilege. Being alongside my longtime teammate and friend, Fabian, makes it all the sweeter. I cannot wait to experience all of the legendary events and venues of the endurance calendar, such as the Daytona 24hr, Sebring 12hr, and Petit Le Mans. Thank you to everyone who has played any part in my racing career; it has meant the world to me. I would not be here today without the support of my father, Tony Bartone, and the mentoring of Andy Pilgrim."


 

Fabian Schiller, a Mercedes-AMG factory driver, brings extensive endurance racing credentials to the effort. The German driver recently secured the most significant victory of his career, winning the Nürburgring 24 Hours. Schiller has been part of the Mercedes-AMG driver lineup since 2020 and has competed in more than 210 races worldwide for the brand.


 

“I’m very proud to be part of this project with Anthony, GetSpeed, and Tony Bartone,” Schiller said. “We’ve raced together in different championships, and the trust we’ve built is real. IMSA’s endurance races are among the most competitive in the world, and the GT class is incredibly deep. We’re ready for that challenge.”


 

GetSpeed Team Principal Adam Osieka echoed the sentiment, emphasizing the continuity that the Michelin Endurance Cup effort represents.


 

“Anthony and Fabian have been part of our family for several seasons now, and this IMSA Endurance Cup program is a natural progression,” said Osieka. “Our previous outings at Daytona showed what this partnership is capable of. Now we have the opportunity to compete for an Endurance Cup championship together, and everyone at GetSpeed is fully committed to that goal.”


 

In a record 15-car GTD PRO field in 2025, the Bartone Bros./GetSpeed entry finished an impressive fifth, with Bartone sharing the car with Schiller, Luca Stolz and Maxime Martin.


 

“It's a joint venture between the Bartone Bros. and GetSpeed, and we raced IMSA for the first time,” Stolz said post-race, reflecting on the debut. “We were always in the game, always around the top five and even in the lead sometimes. The guys made a really nice strategy call with one hour to go. They basically rolled the dice and it was the right decision. We were still in it at the end, it wasn't quite enough, but I’m still proud to finish the fight. Fabi managed it all really well.”


 

Lightning did not strike twice in Bartone’s encore effort in 2026. Despite being in winning contention and even leading 27 laps, electronic gremlins reduced Bartone, Schiller, Jules Gounon and Maxi Goetz to an unrepresentative 11th-place finish in GTD PRO. The effort was one of all five Mercedes-AMG cars hailed by Stefan Wendl, Head of Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing. Goetz specifically called out how well the Bartone car ran in its second Rolex 24 outing.


 

“Our focus was on the race right from the start, and strategically everything went according to plan,” Goetz explained. “The fuel saving and energy management worked well, we received few penalties and were able to maintain our pace. A big thank you to everyone at Team Bartone Bros with GetSpeed. The cooperation was excellent throughout and everyone gave their all. It makes it all the more bitter that we ultimately fell back due to an electronic problem and were no longer in a position to fight for the class victory. With over three hours under full course yellow, I probably drove the longest stint of my life in this race, and I can say one thing: driving behind the safety car on the oval for that long is definitely more exhausting than driving at full speed.” 


 

As the second Mercedes-AMG entry confirmed for 2027, joining multi-time GTD champions Winward Racing, the Bartone Bros. Racing with GetSpeed car bolsters Mercedes-AMG presence at further races in 2027. Mercedes-AMG has run sporadic GTD PRO rounds with multiple teams, usually at the Rolex 24 and Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring but now is set to have a car in the full IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup spanning the “36 Hours of Florida,” Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, Motul Endurance SportsCar Grand Prix at Road America and Motul Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. 

 

VP Racing Challenge Wraps Season at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta

Tunjo, Workman Can Clinch LMP3, GSX Titles in First of Two Sprint Races


 

September 29, 2026

By Tony DiZinno

IMSA Wire Service

Entry List (Click Here)


 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge concludes its 2026 season with the last two 45-minute sprint races at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. It also signs off the sprint format as in 2027, the championship transitions fully to a multi-class, all endurance race format across seven race weekends.


 

LMP3: Tunjo One Race Away from Locking Up Crown

 

Oscar Tunjo lost a chance to sweep both the Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) VP Racing SportsCar Challenge and Airbnb Endurance Challenge titles owing to a mechanical issue at the two-hour Road America endurance race in August. However, the Colombian in the No. 1 Gebhardt Motorsport USA Inc. Duqueine D09 can secure the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge title in race one of two in Braselton, Georgia provided he takes the start. 


 

Tunjo leads Gebhardt teammate Danny Soufi, in the No. 11 PINAXIS-ZONE 4 Racing Duqueine D09, by 470 points leaving Road America. A win is 350 points and the maximum to be gained in a single race is 130 (ninth scores 220 points) in a nine-car field. Tunjo would mirror Valentino Catalano from last year in wrapping up the title a race early in Georgia with the start Thursday. 


 

Toney Driver Development, however, enters on a high of a 1-2 finish at Road America and the most recent sprint race win at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Wyatt Brichacek has been behind the wheel for both of those races in the team’s No. 95 Ligier JS P325 and has five total wins this year, split three sprint and two endurance races. The sister car No. 30 of Garett Grist and Ari Balogh captured the endurance crown at Road America. Balogh makes his first sprint start of 2026 at the Michelin Raceway finale this weekend.


 

One other young driver to watch at Michelin Raceway is French teenager Jules Caranta, who will make his first sprint race starts in the No. 18 Forbush Performance Duqueine D09. He and Matt Forbush finished third overall, second in Bronze, at Road America. The Duqueine Academy driver has proven a quick study in his first two U.S. races and set the fastest race lap at Circuit of The Americas in May.


 

The Bronze Cup battle is also on the line with Brian Thienes (No. 77 Forte Racing Ligier JS P325) and Travis Hill (No. 2 Shopify Racing Ligier JS P325) tied after the 12 combined sprint and endurance races. Simply put, whichever of the two finishes ahead this weekend will secure that crown.


 

GSX: Workman Poised to Wrap a Race Early as Well


 

Like Tunjo in LMP3, Westin Workman can also put the finishing touches on his championship a race early provided he takes the start in Grand Sport X (GSX). The driver of the No. 8 RAFA Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 leads Courtney Crone (No. 35 CarBahn Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 EVO) by 480 points after VIRginia International Raceway.


 

With that gap, the same story applies for Workman who only needs to start race one to ensure he’ll have enough of a gap to mathematically clinch the title a race early. He’s got nine wins from 10 starts this season, with a mechanical issue at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park the only thing in the way of a perfect season.


 

The Bronze Cup battle in GSX is down to two drivers following VIR. Jon Brel’s weekend sweep there in the No. 81 Kingpin Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 moved him 110 points clear of Rafa Martinez in his No. 68 RAFA Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2. A third full-season contender, Dan Ammann in his No. 91 VRC Motorsports Group LLC Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS, fell back after failing to start the second VIR race. 


 

VP Racing Challenge teams practice and qualify Wednesday, September 30. Race one is Thursday, October 1, at 1:10 p.m. ET with race two Friday morning, October 2, at 8:30 a.m. ET. Races stream via Peacock and the IMSA Official YouTube channel. 


 

Fast Facts

IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge

Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta – Braselton, Georgia

September 30-October 2, 2026


 

Race Days/Times: Thursday, Oct. 1, 1:10 p.m. ET, Friday, Oct. 2, 8:30 a.m. ET

Peacock Streaming Coverage: LIVE – Flag-to-flag beginning at 12:55 p.m. Thursday, 8:25 a.m. Friday (available outside the U.S. on IMSA.tv and IMSA’s Official YouTube channel)

Circuit Type: 2.54-mile, 12-turn road course

Classes Competing: Le Mans Prototype 3 (P3), Grand Sport X (GSX)

Race Lengths: 45 minutes


 

VP Racing SportsCar Challenge Track Records

  • P3: Jagger Jones, Duqueine D08, 1:16.522 / 119.494 mph, October 2024 (Qualifying)
  • GSX: Kiko Porto, Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2, 1:26.545 / 105.655 mph, October 2025 (Qualifying)


 

2025 VP Racing SportsCar Challenge Race 1 Winners:

  • P3: Oscar Tunjo, No. 31 Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsports Duqueine D08
  • GTDX: Jake Walker, No. 6 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3
  • GSX: Kiko Porto, No. 8 RAFA Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2


 

2025 VP Racing SportsCar Challenge Race 2 Winners:

  • P3: Valentino Catalano, No. 30 Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsports Duqueine D08
  • GTDX: Jake Walker, No. 6 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3
  • GSX: Kiko Porto, No. 8 RAFA Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2

 

IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Fox Factory 120 Entry List Notebook

Michelin Pilot Challenge Points Leaders Look to Bring Home Crowns at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta


 

September 28, 2026

By Tony DiZinno

IMSA Wire Service

Entry List (Click Here)


 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Under the current IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge points structure introduced in 2021, there’s been an 80 percent hit rate of drivers leading the points at the second-to-last race and securing the championship at the Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta season finale. The two times out of 10 it didn’t happen, the lead was 30 points or less. 


 

First-time 2026 Grand Sport (GS) championship leaders Austin Krainz and Stevan McAleer in the No. 27 AutoTechnic Racing BMW M4 GT4 EVO come to the 2026 Fox Factory 120 with a lead of … exactly 30 points.


 

Krainz and McAleer haven’t won but have been the model of consistency for two years straight. They can only clinch outright with a win; otherwise, they’ll need to finish ahead of their rivals. This year, they’ve finished between second and 11th in eight of nine races, and only have a worst result of 17th. 


 

They’re the fifth different GS entry to lead the championship this year, following the No. 71 Rebel Rock Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 EVO, No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT GT4, No. 95 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 EVO and No. 13 McCumbee McAleer Racing Ford Mustang GT4. Emblematic of the topsy-turvy nature of 2026, Krainz and McAleer’s pre-Michelin Raceway point total of 2,190 points is the lowest entering the final round by any GS leader since the current points system was introduced. 


 

They’re ahead of the aforementioned No. 95 Turner BMW featuring past GS champions Dillon Machavern (2017) and Luca Mars (2025) by 30 points and Robert Noaker in the No. 13 MMR Ford by 40. Both Turner and MMR have second entries this race, including MMR’s debuting No. 61 Ford Mustang GT4 of Jenson Altzman and Erik Evans. 


 

Fourth-placed Michael Cooper and Moisey Uretsky (120 back, No. 44 Ibiza Farm Motorsport McLaren Artura GT4) and fifth-placed Bryce Ward (130 back, No. 57 Winward Mercedes-AMG) are in with a mathematical shot. Cooper and Uretsky won both at Indianapolis last race and Michelin Raceway last year. Wild point swings can occur with up to a maximum 340-point swing between first (350 points) and 30th (10).


 

The only GS second-place entry to leap to first at the finale in the last five years occurred in 2021. Jan Heylen and Ryan Hardwick won the finale aboard Wright Motorsports’ No. 16 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport, which propelled Heylen from 30 points down entering the finale to the championship by 190 points over Turner Motorsport’s Machavern and Bill Auberlen and Machavern, who had a fraught finale en route to 18th in their No. 95 BMW M4 GT4.


 

Subsequent leaders have held leads of 160, 60, 110 and 100 points in GS the last four years and have brought it home. 


 

Touring Car (TCR) should have no such challenges this year. Mason Filippi and Bryson Morris entered Indianapolis with a 260-point lead in their No. 33 Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian Hyundai Elantra N TCR and left it with a 200-point margin over teammates Denis Dupont and Preston Brown in the similar No. 76 Herta Hyundai.


 

That puts them well in line with past champions who entered the finale with 230, 100, 20 and 100-point gaps and then brought it home. 


 

Only last year did TCR see a last-race points change. MMG’s No. 93 Honda Civic FL5 TCR of LP Montour and Karl Wittmer had a race fraught with mechanical maladies, opening the door for Harry Gottsacker to overcome a 10-point – or one position – points deficit and claim his second TCR title (2023). 


 

Provided Filippi and Morris start the season finale, they’ll score at least last-place points and have enough in hand to wrap the title, which would extend Herta and Hyundai’s run of title form where both team and manufacturer have won six TCR titles in the last seven years. Hyundai has won the last six manufacturer titles (2020 through 2025) and all driver titles since 2019, except 2024. It’d be a first for both drivers, though. 


 

As for the race itself, four different TCR brands have won at Michelin Raceway in the last five years. All of Alfa Romeo, Honda, Hyundai and Cupra have won since 2021. 


 

There are 45 cars entered for the finale, split 31 GS and 14 TCR. Michelin Pilot Challenge teams practice Wednesday, September 30 and Thursday, October 1 with qualifying Thursday evening at 6:25 p.m. ET. The FOX Factory 120 streams live on Friday, October 2, at 11:35 a.m. ET on Peacock and live, flag-to-flag, ad-free courtesy of Michelin on the IMSA Official YouTube channel. 

Fast Facts

Fox Factory 120

Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta – Braselton, Georgia 

September 30-October 2, 2026


 

Race Day/Time: Friday, Oct. 2, 11:40 a.m. ET

Live Streaming Coverage: LIVE – Flag-to-flag beginning at 11:35 a.m. ET, Peacock in the U.S., globally on IMSA.tv and IMSA YouTube ad-free courtesy of Michelin

Circuit Type: 2.54-mile, 12-turn road course

Classes Competing: Grand Sport (GS), Touring Car (TCR)

Race Length: Two hours


 

Michelin Pilot Challenge Track Records

  • GS: Akhil Rabindra, Aston Martin Vantage GT4, 1:25.715 / 106.678 mph, October 2019 (Qualifying)
  • TCR: Mason Filippi, Hyundai Elantra N TCR, 1:26.917 / 105.203 mph, October 2025 (Qualifying)


 

2025 Fox Factory 120 Winners

  • GS: Moisey Uretsky/Michael Cooper, No. 44 Ibiza Farm Motorsport McLaren Artura GT4
  • TCR: Tyler Gonzalez/Eric Powell, No. 99 Victor Gonzalez Racing Team Cupra Leon VZ TCR


 

Storylines

  • GS Title Battle: With just 40 points covering the top three, and fourth and/or fifth place lurking, it’s wide open to see who will claim this year’s GS crown.
  • Filippi, Morris Close in for TCR: Just starting will net the TCR crown for Bryson Morris and Mason Filippi in TCR. 
  • Manufacturer Championships: BMW leads Ford by 40 points in GS while Hyundai holds a 140-point lead over Honda in TCR. 


 

Who’s Hot? 

  • No. 60 KOHR Ford: They may not win the title but after back-to-back runner-up finishes and four top-fives in five races, Evan Slater and Mike Skeen are on a heater in their No. 60 KOHR Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4.
  • No. 99 Victor Gonzalez Racing Cupra: Tyler Gonzalez and Steven Clemons have won back-to-back races at VIR and Indy in TCR. VGR won here last year too. 


 

Who’s Good Here?

  • Filippi, Wilkins, Herta Hyundai: Mason Filippi and Mark Wilkins have three wins here apiece, and the Bryan Herta Autosport team has five wins with Hyundai at the track with both the Veloster and Elantra N TCR models. 
  • Paul Holton: The fastest man for the series at this track, the co-driver of the No. 46 Team TGM Ford Mustang GT4 has three pole positions here. 


 

Previous Fox Factory 120 Winners in 2026 Field (14)

  • Mason Filippi (3): TCR – 2020 (second race), 2023, 2024
  • Mark Wilkins (3): TCR – 2019, 2023, 2024
  • Billy Johnson (2): GS – 2014, 2016 
  • Michael Cooper (1): GS – 2025
  • Bill Auberlen (1): GS – 2022 
  • Vin Barletta (1): GS – 2020 (second race)
  • Robby Foley (1): GS – 2020 (second race)
  • Tyler Gonzalez (1): TCR – 2025
  • Paul Holton (1): ST – 2015 
  • Tim Lewis (1): TCR – 2021 
  • Dillon Machavern (1): GS – 2022 
  • Moisey Uretsky (1): GS – 2025
  • Owen Trinkler (1): ST – 2017
  • Karl Wittmer (1): TCR - 2022 


 

Previous Fox Factory 120 Pole Winners in 2026 Field (8)

  • Paul Holton (3): GS – 2017, 2018, 2024
  • Mason Filippi (1): TCR – 2025
  • Harry Gottsacker (1): TCR – 2020 (first race) 
  • Dillon Machavern (1): GS – 2022 
  • Chris Miller (1): TCR – 2023 
  • Bryson Morris (1): TCR – 2024 
  • Kenny Murillo (1): GS - 2021
  • Moisey Uretsky (1): GS – 2025

 

Previous Fox Factory 120 Winning Teams in 2026 Field (5)

  • Bryan Herta Autosport (5): TCR – 2019, 2020 (first race), 2020 (second race), 2023, 2024 
  • Turner Motorsport (2): GS – 2020 (first race), 2022
  • Victor Gonzalez Racing (2): TCR – 2022, 2025
  • Ibiza Farm Motorsport (1): GS – 2025 
  • KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering (1): TCR – 2021 


 

Previous Fox Factory 120 Winning Manufacturers in 2026 Field (8)

  • BMW – 5
  • Hyundai – 5
  • Ford – 3
  • McLaren – 3
  • Porsche – 3
  • Audi – 2
  • Honda – 2
  • Cupra – 1
 

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