Early Incidents Affect GTP Title Hopes for Several Frontrunners
By Mark Robinson
Motul Petit Le Mans Four-Hour Results
BRASELTON, Ga. – The No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 led a wild 26th annual Motul Petit Le Mans at the four-hour mark today, with several contenders vying for the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class championship encountering issues early into the race that concludes the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.
With Matt Campbell at the wheel, the No. 7 Porsche was 6.192 seconds ahead of Renger van der Zande in the No. 01 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R after four hours and 160 laps at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta’s 2.54-mile, 12-turn road course. Other class leaders after four hours were: the No. 04 Crowdstrike Racing by APR ORECA LMP2 07 in Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), the No. 74 Riley Ligier JS P320 in Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3), the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 in Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) and the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 in GT Daytona (GTD).
The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 was the GTP points leader heading into the race, with five other cars remaining mathematically alive in the new-for-2024 hybrid-powered class when the green flag dropped to start the 10-hour endurance race. Some, however, saw their hopes dashed early on.
The No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963, third in the standings coming in, was taken out of contention when it was caught in the aftermath of an incident just more than an hour into the race.
The No. 20 High Class Racing ORECA LMP2 07, with driver Dennis Andersen, made contact with Charles Scardina in the No. 023 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 as they sped downhill toward Turn 10. The Ferrari spun and ricocheted into the No. 70 Inception Racing McLaren 720S EVO driven by Brendan Iribe, which then collected Nick Tandy in the No. 6 Porsche.
Stranded in the gravel in Turn 10A, Tandy unsuccessfully pleaded with course workers to be pulled into the grass so he could drive to pit lane. The car was instead towed to the garage area.
“It’s broken, you can see that,” Tandy said as he observed the car being worked on, “but we were just stuck in the gravel. All I needed was a little pull into the grass and I could drive to the pit lane and maybe repair it. But now we’ve lost, I don’t know, 10 laps waiting for the car to get back. But at least we’ve got it back.
“They look after our safety and I 100 percent appreciate that; I appreciate everything that all the track workers do for us. I just wanted to give the people in this team and everyone that’s worked on this car the best chance to get back out in the race.”
The No. 6 Porsche did return to the race but was 69 laps off the pace after four hours.
Just before the two-hour mark, the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura ARX-06 went a lap down from damage sustained when it was rear-ended by the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 as the two encountered slower traffic in Turn 11. Tom Blomqvist was able to drive the No. 60 Acura to the pits for repairs but the No. 1 BMW with Corey Lewis driving slid into a tire barrier, bringing out the fourth full-course caution of the race.
“I got a little tap from behind,” said Blomqvist, who along with co-driver Colin Braun had slim GTP championship points in sixth place. “I was trying to drive back past a P2 car and I think one of the GT cars hit me from behind. … I think we only lost two laps so it’s not over yet.”
In the ensuing pit stops during that caution, Alexander Sims ran the red light at the pit exit in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R – which was second in points at the race start. Realizing his error, Sims stopped quickly in the pit exit lane and was rear-ended by Sheldon van der Linde in the No. 25 BMW M Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8 that’s fourth in points.
The No. 31 sustained left rear damage from the collision and both cars were penalized with pit-lane drive-through penalties for running the red light mandating that cars in the pits stop until the field on track passes by. In addition, the No. 25 earned a second drive-through penalty for running into the back of the No. 31.
GTD PRO, LMP3 Champions Decided at Race Start
Two WeatherTech Championship classes – GTD PRO and LMP3 – had their championships clinched as soon as the race started. The No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 with co-drivers Ben Barnicoat and Jack Hawksworth, and the No. 74 Riley Ligier JS P320 with driver Gar Robinson secured their respective titles. It marked the first for the Lexus drivers in GTD PRO and the second in three seasons for Robinson and the No. 74 Ligier.
“We’ve been at it 12 years,” said James “Sulli’ Sullivan, co-owner of Vasser Sullivan. “To do it with Lexus and for Lexus has definitely been one of the greatest honors in our career. But this is not a destination for us, either. This is a checkpoint in where we’re going. We couldn’t be prouder and the honor is incredible.”
IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Update
The Motul Petit Le Mans is also the final round of the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup consisting of the four longer races on the schedule. Teams in each class may earn a Michelin Endurance Cup championship by acquiring points for their position in class at designated junctures in the race. Points at Motul Petit Le Mans are awarded at the four- and eight-hour marks as well as the race finish.
At the four-hour juncture, the Michelin Endurance Cup leaders in each class were: the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac in GTP, No. 04 Crowdstrike by APR Racing in LMP2, the No. 74 Riley Ligier in LMP3, the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 in GTD PRO and the No. 32 Korthoff Preston Motorsports Mercedes in GTD.