Petit Le Mans preview: GTP title fight nears conclusion

Credit: Kevin Dejewski

Ahead of the final race of the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar season at Road Atlanta, Motorsport Week explores the championship title contenders from the GTD class to GTP.

The 11th and final round has come around in the blink of an eye and it is set to be a grueling, sensational 10-hour endurance race which will conclude the ongoing championship fights across five classes.

The revived GTP category name highlights a thrilling title battle whereby the top three competitors are situated just 5 points within each other’s reach.

At first glance on the complex yet unique points system IMSA uses, working out the championship standings could be flawed as an awkward task on the layman viewer.

Points are awarded in qualifying and the race, which maintains the excitement of the championship fights and values consistent qualifying performances, so that drivers target a healthy points haulage from the main race too.

Throughout this article, we highlight the championship battles in each class prior to the Road Atlanta event, whilst exploring appropriate contenders.

About the IMSA WeatherTech formula

IMSA’s 2023 WeatherTech SportsCar package runs five car classes – GTP, LMP2, LMP3, GTD Pro, GTD – and 11 races in total this year, split into four endurance and three sprint events.

There were a selection of rounds which involved specific classes, such as the races at: Long Beach (GTP, GTD Pro, GTD only), Laguna Seca (all but LMP3), Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (all but LMP2), Lime Rock Park (GTD Pro and GTD only), and VIR (GTD Pro and GTD only).

Despite all this, it is most important to acknowledge within each class, there is a Drivers’ and Teams’ Championship for the overall championship and Endurance Cup.

Winners and Losers from IMSA’s Battle on the Bricks

Endurance Cup points are given at equal intervals throughout their races, on a 5–4–3–2 basis for drivers, teams and manufacturers. At Petit Le Mans, it will be awarded at 2–4–8–10 hour intervals.

Race points are allocated per class: 350 for P1, 320 for P2, and 300 for P3… 260 for P5, then continues in 10 point-intervals down to P30.

In qualifying beforehand, points are given at a 10% value. For instance, 35 points are awarded for pole position for each class.

Additionally for the GTP category, there is a standings for the Manufacturers’ title based on the highest finishing car of the respective make; another is for the Sprint Cup in GTD.

Two full-season/main drivers run in each car, and a third who joins at the endurance rounds, plus a fourth solely for the season-opener 24 Hours of Daytona.

Each car is considered individually as its own in the Teams’ Standings, regardless on some teams running two cars and others running one.

GTD: A dominant display

In this category, the overall Teams’ Championship title has already been secured by #1 Paul Miller Racing, after they started the Battle of the Bricks race at Indianapolis.

Drivers Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow have put on the most dominant GTD pursuit seen in IMSA, running unchallenged for the championship after scoring five wins this year, resulting in 375 points margin ahead of second placed-#27 Heart of Racing after Indy (on 3331).

As the Brickyard race was the final round on the Sprint Cup, the #1 BMW M4 GT3 won the championship on 2355 points as the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 was in second place on 2096.

This commanding effort from Paul Miller Racing means that they will likely win the Drivers’ title at Petit Le Mans, provided they start the race.

With a field of 19 GTDs, the minimum scoring they can achieve if they finish the race, will be 131 points (P19 in qualifying and the race).

On the other hand, things are closer in the Endurance Cup standings. The #27 crew of Ian James, Roman De Angelis, and Marco Sorensen sit on 27 points.

Just one point behind are the #32 Team Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 drivers Kenton Koch, Mikael Grenier, and Mike Sheen.

Third place is held by the #1 duo of Sellers and Madison, as well as their endurance driver Corey Lewis on 25 points. In fact, the top-12 teams are covered by 10 points.

GTD Pro: In Vasser Sullivan’s hands

#14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 – Credit: Kevin Dejewski

Like the other GTD class, the overall championship title is nearly wrapped up for the professionals, as the #14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 sits on 3495 points.

They scored a P3 finish at Indianapolis, and only need to start Petit Le Mans in order to win the championship title.

This would ensure Jack Hawksworth and Ben Barnicoat will seal the GTD Pro Drivers’ Title with the current 3495 points tally each.

In the Endurance Cup, the #79 WeatherTech Racing duo of Daniel Juncadella, Jules Gounon lead on 33 points. An important note to consider is that at the 6 Hours of the Glen, some teams across the whole WeatherTech field chose to run solely two drivers whereas others brought in the third endurance driver.

As Maro Engel did not enter the Glen, he sits on 29 points, behind the #3 Corvette duo of Jordan Taylor and Antonio Garcia on 30.

Incidentally, Corvette chose to do the same in not bringing their endurance driver of Tommy Milner, who sits on 25 points behind the #14 duo’s 28.

If WeatherTech Racing, Corvette or Vasser Sullivan win the Endurance Cup, it will be awarded to their full-season drivers and the team.

#74 Riley Ligier JS P320 at the Battle on the Bricks – Credit: Kevin Dejewski

LMP3: The final hurrah

Petit Le Mans will be the final WeatherTech race for the LMP3, although it will continue in the feeder VP Racing Sportscar Challenge series.

Naturally, the glory at Petit Le Mans will be for the champion, and more so for the LMP3 class-winner.

Gar Robinson, who will make his move into LMP2 next year with his current team Riley and teammate Felipe Fraga, leads the standings by a substantial margin.

His individual points tally of 1838 makes him undoubtedly the favourite to win the Drivers’ Title, in the #74 Riley Ligier JS P320, setting himself up on a high for his LMP2 debut next year.

The closest rival is the #17 AWA Ligier duo of Anthony Mannella and Wayne Boyd on 1594 points.

LMP2: A tight battle

With the departure of LMP3, the secondary prototype class is set to have an expanded grid in 2024 of mostly Oreca 07s, and one Ligier JS P217.

At the Battle on the Bricks, the #11 TDS Racing duo of Mikkel Jensen and Steven Thomas charged to victory which bumped them into the LMP2 championship lead, which was held prior by the #52 PR1 Mathiasen drivers of Ben Keating and Paul Loup Chatin.

The #52 have shown promising form in qualifying, thanks to the efforts of a certain WEC champion and two-time GTE-Am Le Mans winner.

Heading into Petit Le Mans, these two teams will be protagonists as just 20 points separate them.

#04 Crowdstrke by APR and the #11 TDS Racing Oreca 07s – Credit: Kevin Dejewski

Up to 35 points are awarded in qualifying, so the pressure will be on for each of them to perform well on securing their grid positions, as one or the other can retain or retake the championship lead.

Quite simply, whoever finishes ahead will take the Drivers’/Teams’ Championship, so the maximum 350 points from the Petit Le Mans victory will be the maximum achievement, compared to 320 for P2, and 300 for the final podium spot.

Both of them will be expected to compete at the sharp end of the LMP2 field.

The #04 Crowdstrike Racing by APR (Algarve Pro Racing) team are still in the game, just 100 points behind the standings leader on 1580.

If turmoil strikes for the #11 and #52, crucially resulting in a DNF result from a major incident, then the #04 will take advantage on a points haulage which could put them as champions.

GTP: Top 3 battle

In the list of IMSA classes, the best title fight has been saved for last.

In the debut season of the GTP era, it has delivered fantastic races in flying colours, as there has yet to be a repeat race winner so far.

Only five points covers the top three competitors, with the factor of consistent points haulages making the difference.

An example would be the #31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V Series.R who leads on 2460, after seemingly contending for the win at Indianapolis, but was unable to match the pace of Porsche Penske who won.

Nevertheless, the #31 finished in fourth which was enough to jump the #10 Konica Minolta Acura for the lead who finished behind them in fifth position.

Porsche Penske struggled to deliver strong results towards the beginning of the season, but the recent results at Indy, has brought the #6 back up into contention.

Arguably, the same could be said for BMW M Team RLL, who upon closer examination have run a bitter-sweet campaign between their two BMW M Hybrid V8s.

The #24 has struggled with reliability problems, though remembering the #25 stopping on the side of the main straight banking at the Daytona 24 Hours, makes it a truly unlikely sight for them to now be in a feasible position where they can win their first IMSA GTP Championship title.

An IMSA GTP champion will be crowned for the first time in 30 years – Credit: Kevin Dejewski

Road Atlanta is a fast, engaging circuit with its famous ‘esses’ section from Turns 3 to 5, and the downhill Turn 12 which leads drivers back onto the start-finish straight.

Last year, it was the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura DPi which took victory after the drama from last year when both Chip Ganassi Cadillacs collided and the #10 Konica Minolta crashed into a GT car.

This year poses the same grounds for drama and action, but it won’t be so advantageous for the #60 to target their third 2023 win.

They struggled to turn a strong result at the Brickyard after Tom Blomqvist made (minor) unavoidable front-end contact at the first corner, with a spinning #01 Cadillac of Sebastien Bourdais.

Along with teammate Colin Braun, they finished sixth, and Helio Castroneves will join the pair for Petit Le Mans.

Porsche Penske finished on a high with a dominant 1-2 in qualifying and the race, evidently so in the latter situation when their consistent pace was unmatched by others.

Petit Le Mans is, however, a different race entirely to the incident-filled, sprint at the Brickyard; long-term reliability will be a key factor for teams to refrain from going behind the wall, as well as smoothly executed pit stops to keep them in the game, even when a caution is deployed.

It requires drivers to behave in the dark, final hours of the race, as being too ambitious on traffic management can give way to rival teams making the most of the situation at the most crucial phase.

It is all to play for at Road Atlanta, both for the decorated overall win and the very first GTP title.

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