Seven Different Competitors Remained in Contention Before IMSA Season Finale
By David Phillips
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Looking back on the past season’s Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) competition a little over a week removed from a Motul Petit Le Mans that saw 13 of 14 competitors and all eight participating manufacturers lead the race at one time or another, one can’t help but be impressed by the category’s depth, variety and competitiveness. That impression is only strengthened by the fact that seven of the eight manufacturers notched at least one victory, no team or manufacturer won more than twice, only one team and manufacturer won two races in a row and seven entries had a mathematical championship chance going into the finale. It added-up to a season of fierce racing, sometimes a little too fierce at times, but one that was always unpredictable and never, ever dull.
Given the balanced competition, consistent performance was vital to the drivers, team and manufacturer championships. It was no surprise, then, that the category’s two most consistent performers – the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO (with Neil Verhagen and Connor De Phillippi) and the No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R (piloted by Nicky Catsburg and Tommy Milner) – with only one win between them wound up as the chief title protagonists in the final reckoning.
Which is not to say either the No. 1 BMW or the No. 4 Corvette lacked pace. But it was their regular appearance in the top six at races’ end that put them on the front row, so to speak, of the championship decider. Together with IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup co-drivers Dan Harper and/or Max Hesse, De Phillippi and Verhagen only once came away from a weekend with less than 250 points. Similarly, Catsburg and Milner (with Michelin Endurance Cup co-driver Nico Varrone) never scored less than 250 points until the final round when Catsburg was punted off the track by a competitor . . . and slipped to third in the final driver/team championship standings as a result.
“We went race by race, maximized what we had each given weekend,” De Phillippi said. “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.”
Disappointing as the outcome may have been to Catsburg and Milner, Chevrolet still won the GTD PRO manufacturer championship. A key part there came when the sister No. 3 Corvette of Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims – last year’s GTD PRO champions – captured two poles and won at Detroit.
The No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Temerario GT3 of regulars Andrea Caldarelli, Sandy Mitchell and usual third driver Franck Perera took advantage of Corvette’s misfortune at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta to claim runner-up spot in the driver and team championships.
In many ways, theirs was no less an impressive campaign than that of the champions, given the fact that they opened the season with the tried-and-true Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 before delivering the Temerario’s worldwide competition debut in Sebring. Developing the new car during the season was a formidable task and, predictably, results were initially inconsistent. But a surprising runner-up finish at Detroit proved a harbinger of things to come as the plaid Lambo scored its maiden win at Road America before a clean sweep of the pole and victory at VIRginia International Raceway which, followed by a podium finish at Indianapolis, gave them a distant chance of taking the title.
The Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) continued to be a force in GTD PRO with a win at Sebring and pole at Road America. However, it took a couple of teams to amass that record, namely AO Racing with their now familiar No. 77 “Rexy” and European powerhouse Manthey in a WeatherTech Championship debut that saw them contest the Michelin Endurance Cup events in both GTD PRO and GTD. Manthey’s Klaus Bachler, Thomas Preining and Ricardo Feller scored an impressive win in just their second event at Sebring, while AO had four runner-up finishes (Sebring International Raceway, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Road America and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta). Nick Tandy and Harry King proved a formidable force in their first year together at AO, joined by Alessio Picariello in the Michelin Endurance Cup rounds.
Manthey was not the only new team to flex its muscles in GTD PRO. After debuting in GTD at Watkins Glen International, the new Car Blanche outfit made its first GTD PRO start at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and ran the final three races in this class. They came within a whisker of a podium at VIR before Valentin Hasse Clot, Marco Sorensen and Mattia Drudi scored a resounding win at Motul Petit Le Mans.
Meanwhile, Ford Racing’s No. 64 and 65 Mustang GT3s – newly updated with an evo package – were evenly matched throughout the season, witness the fact that the No. 65 edged its running mate by just four points to claim fifth in the standings. Each car and driving team had its moments, with Christopher Mies and Frederic Vervisch winning at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and Ben Barker and Dennis Olsen returning the favor at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
If there was a poster child for the fact that consistency trumped speed, at least in the overall championship standings, it was the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3. With a trio of pole-winning performances and a win at Watkins Glen for Jack Hawksworth, Ben Barnicoat and third driver Kyle Kirkwood, the Lexus had plenty of speed. However, there were other times where either the luck or pace failed to match up to the team’s usual championship-contending pedigree.
“There’s been moments of brilliance, moments of frustration,” Hawksworth said. “Daytona was a disaster but from Sebring onwards we were very quick, but we failed to capitalize at Laguna and Detroit. We got pole and won at Watkins Glen, but the next three races we struggled with performance. The RC F in several conditions, it’s exceptional. But in other conditions it would be difficult sometimes.”
Although McLaren was the only full-season manufacturer to go winless over the season, it was not lack of speed or effort that kept the No. 59 RLL Team McLaren McLaren 720S GT3 EVO from victory lane or a podium finish. Youngsters Max Esterson and Nikita Johnson were no strangers to the sharp end of the GTD PRO grid and led a number of races only to be denied strong finishes by reliability issues and bad luck – and sometimes both. Indianapolis proved their cruelest fate as Johnson topped off for energy with just over a lap remaining from the lead.
It’s never too early to gaze into the crystal ball and ponder what lies ahead. The GTD PRO cast of characters is nothing if not dynamic, with Chevrolet, Ford and Car Blanche’s Aston Martin having already officially confirmed their 2027 full-season plans and RLL McLaren poised to continue, as well as a confirmed full Michelin Endurance Cup entry from Bartone Bros. Racing with GetSpeed who will once again run a Mercedes-AMG GT3. The burgeoning AO vs. Manthey rivalry among Porsche’s GTD PRO combatants became a story this year. Quite how programs from BMW, Lamborghini and Lexus’ eventual successor from Gazoo Racing (GR) appear in 2027 remain to be seen, as well as a likely endurance entry from Ferrari, but no doubt will be fascinating to watch in whatever form they take.
All of which is to say, Jan. 30 can’t come quickly enough.