2024 is finally here and with our transition to a new year IMSA has announced the provisional schedule for the season opener the Roar Before The Rolex 24 and Rolex 24 weekends.
The Roar Before The Rolex 24 Schedule
Friday January 20, 2024
8:45 AM to 9:15 AM ET; Practice 1 – VP Racing SportsCar Challenge
9:30 AM to 10:45 AM ET; Practice 1 – Michelin Pilot Challenge
11:00 AM to 12:30 PM ET; Practice 1 – WeatherTech Championship
1:45 PM to 2:15 PM ET; Practice 2 – VP Racing SportsCar Challenge
2:30 PM to 4:00 PM ET; Practice 2 – Michelin Pilot Challenge
4:15 PM to 6:00 PM ET; Practice 2 – WeatherTech Championship
Saturday January 21, 2024
8:40 AM to 9:15 AM ET; Qualifying – VP Racing SportsCar Challenge
9:30 AM to 11:00 AM ET; Practice 3 – Michelin Pilot Challenge
11:15 AM to 12:45 PM ET; Practice 3 – WeatherTech Championship
2:05 PM to 2:50 PM ET; Race 1 of 2 – VP Racing SportsCar Challenge
3:10 PM to 4:10 PM ET ;Practice 4 – WeatherTech Championship
4:30 PM to 5:30 PM ET; Practice 4 – Michelin Pilot Challenge
6:30 PM to 8:30 PM ET; Practice 5 – WeatherTech Championship
Sunday, January 22, 2024
10:15 AM to 11:15 AM ET; Practice 1 – Michelin Pilot Challenge
12:20 PM to 1:05 PM ET; Race 2 of 2 – VP Racing SportsCar Challenge
1:25 PM to 1:40 PM ET; Practice 6 – WeatherTech Championship
1:45 PM to 3:20 PM ET; Qualifying – WeatherTech Championship
The 2024 Rolex 24 Schedule
Wednesday, January 25, 2024
1:45 PM to 2:30 PM ET; Practice 1 – Mazda MX-5 Cup
2:45 PM to 3:45 PM ET; Practice 1 – Michelin Pilot Challenge
Thursday, January 26, 2024
9:00 AM to 9:30 AM ET; Practice 2 – Mazda MX-5 Cup
9:45 AM to 10:45 AM ET; Practice 2 – Michelin Pilot Challenge
11:05 AM to 12:35 PM ET; Practice 1 – WeatherTech Championship
12:55 PM to 1:10 PM ET; Qualifying – Mazda MX-5 Cup
2:25 PM to 3:00 PM ET; Qualifying – Michelin Pilot Challenge
3:20 PM to 5:05 PM ET; Practice 2 – WeatherTech Championship
5:30 PM to 6:15 PM ET; Race 1 of 2 – Mazda MX-5 Cup
7:15 PM to 9:00 PM ET; Practice 3 – WeatherTech Championship
Friday, January 27, 2024
9:25 AM to 9:55 AM ET; Practice 3 – Michelin Pilot Challenge
10:15 AM to 11:00 AM ET; Race 2 of 2 – Mazda MX-5 Cup
11:20 AM to 12:20 PM ET; Practice 4 – WeatherTech Championship
1:45 PM to 5:45 PM ET; BMW M Endurance Challenge At Daytona
6:25 PM to 6:45 PM ET; Practice 4 – WeatherTech Championship (GTP Only)
Saturday, January 28, 2024 – Sunday, January 29, 2024
Saturday 1:40 PM to Sunday 1:40 PM ET; Rolex 24 At Daytona
Streaming will be available on IMSA.tv and Peacock
Due to shipping logistical problems the 24 Hours of Dubai will be postponed. The decision was fueled by the large number of cars that would not arrive in Dubai on time for the event that was originally scheduled for January 13-15th 2024. The date has been pushed to January 27th and 28th which will be in direct conflict with the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener, the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona; one of the most prestigious racing events of the year.
Ultimately teams who had planned to enter both races will have to make some tough decisions in terms of what is possible regarding staffing and car entries. Considering the races are on complete opposite sides of the world we imagine the decision to reschedule the 24 Hours of Dubai on a competing weekend will negatively impact the event.
The source of the delay is reported to be due to attacks on shipment vessels by Iranian raiders in the Red Sea. The attacks are said to be related to the Israel-Gaza war that has recently flared up in intensity. With no end to that conflict in site it may be difficult to justify forgoing the Rolex 24 which has no issues in terms of access. It is yet to be determined the full impact of this delay. We will report back when more information is available. As of now the Heart of Racing Team is the only team that has confirmed entry into both the 24 Hours of Dubai and Rolex 24.
Iron Lynx announced today that Romain Grosjean and Mateo Cairoli will be added as drivers for the upcoming Rolex 24 Hour of Daytona in January in the #60 GTD Pro Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO 2. The announcement comes shortly after Iron Lynx announced their driver lineup for the new SC63 Hypercar/GTP programs in IMSA and the World Endurance Championship. Grosjean make his return to Rolex 24 after racing for the team last year placing 4th in class.
The team will field two additional cars, the #19 entry in GTD Pro driven by Mirko Bortolotti, Jordan Pepper, Andrea Caldarelli and Franck Perera. and the Iron Dames #83 car entry in GTD will be Michelle Gatting, Rahel Frey and Sarah Bovy with the fourth driver still to be detemrined.
Iron Lynx Team Principal and CEO, Andrea Piccini
“We are delighted to welcome Romain and Matteo to the #60 car for the 24 Hours of Daytona. Romain drove with us in car #63 last year and raced well; Matteo is well known at Iron Lynx as we shared an ELMS season but will race together for the first time with Lamborghini, so we’re really looking forward to seeing him driving at Daytona. They will make a very strong addition to the line-up of car #60.”
The second testing weekend for the Lamborghini Iron Lynx SC63 Hypercar concluded on a positive note. In addition, the team has finalized its driver lineup with the additions of Andrea Caldarelli who will compete in the IMSA WeatherTech Championship along side Romain Grosjean and Matteo Cairoli. Edoardo Mortara has also joined the team for the World Endurance Championship and will join long-standing Lamborghini driver Mirko Bortolotti and former F1 star Daniil Kvyat.
Despite the Lamborghini no debuting until the 12 Hours of Sebring the Lmaborghini Iron Lynx team has had very positive results in pre season testing. Now with the short winter break and just a few month until the 2024 debut Iron Lynx will be in final preparations as they make thier entry into the hypercar era.
Words from the Team
Iron Lynx CEO, Andrea Piccini, said: “Coming from two positive tests in Daytona and COTA, where the car proved competitive and consistent, it’s amazing to announce a lineup made of so many talented drivers. We cannot wait to welcome Matteo and Edoardo to the team as Lamborghini Squadra Corse Factory Drivers, and we are sure they will be an instant fit within our operation. They are fast, experienced and professional, and these are consistent features across the whole driver roster, so we couldn’t be happier with how it shaped up. We have a lot of work still to do to be ready, but we are looking forward to the final preparations and to the start of the season.”
Andrea Caldarelli said: “I am delighted to be racing in IMSA next year with our new Lamborghini SC63 GTP race car. IMSA has always been my favourite championship to race in, also in my past GT experiences and I am very grateful for this opportunity given by Lamborghini to return to the series. I look forward to competing with Lamborghini Iron Lynx. I know they have been working very hard on this project, and I am certain that it will be a very tough but successful year.”
Edoardo Mortara said: “I am super happy to be joining Lamborghini Squadra Corse, which is allowing me this incredible opportunity to compete in the Le Mans 24 Hours and the World Endurance Championship, both of which I have wanted to take part in for a long time. It is a very proud moment for me, and I hope we can achieve some good results next season.”
Photo Courtesy of Lamborghini Iron LynxToday IMSA announced the preliminary lineup for Rolex 24 which is set to take place in two months time. Unfortunately but not unexpected the much anticipated Lamborghini SC63 was not on the list. It has been indicated that the SC63 will debut at the 12 hours of Sebring in March. Aside from the Lamborghini not making the preliminary list the GTP class currently features 10 cars from 4 different manufacturers. The grid won’t see last years winners, Meyer Shank Racing but instead a second Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX will join the grid.
You can find the full preliminary line up listings here: 2024 Rolex 24 Entrants by Class GTP | LMP2 | GTD PRO| GTD
IMSA President Jon Doonan had the following words, “We could not be prouder to release this preliminary list of participants for the Rolex 24 At Daytona significantly earlier than we ever have before. Looking up and down the lineup, we will have a tremendous field of teams, cars and drivers and no shortage of compelling storylines to develop and follow in the next two months as we lead up to the race. With such a stacked field, it would be impossible to identify a favorite in any of the four classes.”
The race weekend is scheduled for Jan. 25-28, 2024. Thus far 60 cars have entered the competition, 10 GTP, 12 LMP2, 13 GTD Pro and 25 GTD.
Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti announced today that Brendon Hartley and Colton Herta will be joining the 2024. Hartley will join Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque in the No. 10 WTRAndretti Acura ARX-06. WTRAndretti will field a second GTP car in 2024 piloted by Herta, Jordan Taylor and Louis Delétraz. WTRAndretti will announce additional drivers for the Rolex 24 At Daytona in the coming weeks. Driver lineups are typically 4 drivers plus a reserve so we’d expect at minimum two more names to be announced to join for the 2024 GTP campaign. For now, here is what the team said.
Wayne Taylor, Team Principal, Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti:
“It’s exciting that we’ve managed to get the services of Brendon Hartley again and Colton Herta as our third drivers who will be doing the IMEC. Brendon has driven for us before, and we’ve got to know him really well. Obviously, Colton is a part of the Andretti Global group which opened the door for us with him. He’s won Daytona in an GT car and drove a LMDh car last year and did a really good job. I’m really excited about having both Brendon and Colton on board.”
Michael Andretti, Chairman and CEO, Andretti Global:
“The addition of Colton and Brendon as endurance drivers for next season will be a major boost to our already very talented IMSA driver lineup. They both have quite a bit of experience competing in endurance events and have built such strong on-track resumes across multiple series, so we’re excited to watch what they can do in 2024.”
Graphic courtesy of Wayne Taylor Racing with AndrettiBrendon Hartley, 2024 No. 10 WTRAndretti Acura ARX-06 GTP Endurance Co-Driver:
“I really enjoyed my time with WTRAndretti at Petit last year and Daytona this year, so I jumped at the opportunity to compete in the endurance races in 2024 when Wayne called me. WTRAndretti knows how to win and going to a two-car team will strengthen the whole operation even further.”
Colton Herta, 2024 No. 40 WTRAndretti Acura ARX-06 GTP Endurance Co-Driver:
“It’s super exciting to join such a prestigious team like WTRAndretti for the endurance events. They’ve shown how successful they can be in the past and I’m looking forward to hopefully adding to that!”
The 2024 IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship season kicks off with the Roar Before the 24 testing, January 19 – 21, 2024, followed by the endurance classic, the Rolex 24 At Daytona, January 25-28, 2024. NBC and Peacock, along with IMSA.TV, will provide flag-to-flag coverage of the race on its family of networks.
The following article was not written by Speed Trap Magazine Staff
From Mid Ohio Sports Car Course…
LEXINGTON, Ohio (Oct. 31, 2023) – A full repave project of the entire racing surface at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course was completed last week, officials from Green Savoree Racing Promotions, which owns and operates the track, announced today. Ohio-based Kokosing Construction Company, Inc. began initial repair work the week of October 16th, followed by milling the existing track surface on Monday, October 23 and completing the paving of the final asphalt surface layer on Friday, October 27.
The project was a collaborative effort using the expert services of Kokosing Construction Company, Inc., Kokosing Materials, Inc. and Advanced Materials Services, LLC. Planning and thorough research for the repaving began in 2022 with a test layer placed in Turn 1 for performance evaluation of a racetrack-specific asphalt mixture during the 2023 racing season. The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course racing surface was last repaved starting fall 2005 and completed in spring 2006.
“We were blessed with outstanding weather last week for the crews to complete this major project in a relatively short amount of time,” said Kevin Savoree, co-owner, president and chief operating officer of Green Savoree Racing Promotions. “It was a tremendous accomplishment and collaboration between Kokosing Construction, Kokosing Materials, Advanced Materials Services and our own track operations team to make it happen. We look forward to getting race cars on it for the first time next spring!”
Last week’s work utilized approximately 100 people, 5,000 manpower hours, 15 trucks to remove approximately 6,000 tons (300 truckloads) of old track material and 30 trucks to haul in 6,000 tons of the new asphalt mixture onto the property. The project encompassed 11,550 feet of surface paving, 3,500 feet of various turn reinforcement, 500 feet of full depth repair in the Keyhole and Turn 12 areas and 300 feet of transverse joint repair.
After milling the racing surface, the second step of the process for Kokosing featured asphalt repairs and reinforcement of high stress areas which required additional milling depth. For the final stage, two pavers placed the asphalt surface layer at 40-foot width around the entire circuit, working in echelon (side-by-side pattern) to avoid a centerline joint throughout the track’s 2.258-mile, 13-turn or 2.4-mile, 15-turn layout. The old, milled track material is being recycled and regraded to create additional paddock and parking surface areas on the Mid-Ohio property.
“Plans for the 2023 project started in 2022, immediately after completing the resurfacing of Turn 1,” said Bart Moody, vice president of asphalt estimating and engineering at Kokosing Construction Company, Inc. “Logistical challenges had to be overcome to produce the mix and perform the work with limited time and access. A full-time truck coordinator was in constant communication with material trucks to ensure they entered and exited the track at the correct locations as work progressed. Crews worked extended hours in order to maintain the schedule that made use of unseasonably warm weather for October in Ohio.”
Aggregates were sourced locally in Ohio from Olen Corporation’s Upper Sandusky and Fredericktown plants. Durable aggregates were selected to withstand the loading applied to the track, and a highly polymerized asphalt binder was produced by Kokosing Materials, Inc. to withstand the high temperatures and stresses. The asphalt mixture used was tested at the Kokosing Materials Asphalt Plant and at the track for a variety of properties such as asphalt content, gradation and density.
“The stresses on a racetrack, especially road courses with tight turns, are much higher than those typically seen on conventional asphalt pavements,” said Graham Hurley, project engineer at Advanced Materials Services, LLC. “The much stiffer PG 88-22 asphalt binder used counteracts the shear stresses imparted on the track surface by race cars, which prevents any ravelling that may occur. Additionally, the specifications used for this project were much tighter than a traditional highway specification. The target minimum softening temperature for asphalt binder and the target in-place density values were both set higher than conventional specifications for vehicular traffic. Kokosing successfully met these higher conditions with ease.”
The new track surface will be allowed to cure for over five months in advance of the 2024 season. The road course annually hosts a variety of locally, regionally and nationally sanctioned race events as well the driving and riding courses provided by The Mid-Ohio School.
The full schedule and ticket information for the 2024 major spectator events featuring IMSA, SVRA’s SpeedTour, NTT INDYCAR SERIES, American Motorcyclist Association and MotoAmerica will be announced at a later date. Children 12 and under receive free general admission when accompanied by a ticketed adult at all Mid-Ohio events. Visit midohio.com for more information, and follow its Facebook page @MidOhioSportsCarCourse, Twitter at @Mid_Ohio or Instagram at @officialmidohio for the latest news.
About Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course:
A comprehensive motorsports facility in Lexington, Ohio, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course sits on 380 acres and features a permanent road-racing circuit with two primary race track configurations: 2.4-mile, 15-turn or 2.258-mile, 13-turn layout. Located 60 miles north of Columbus and 75 miles south of Cleveland near Mansfield, the natural terrain road course is commonly referred to as the “Most Competitive in the U.S.” and annually hosts a diversity of locally, regionally and nationally-sanctioned race events for amateur, club and professional drivers and riders. It is also home to The Mid-Ohio School, featuring over 20 driving and riding courses, for teenagers to professional racers using Honda vehicles. Opened in 1962, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course has been owned and operated by Green Savoree Mid-Ohio, LLC since 2011, just the raceway’s third private ownership group in its history.
For more information, visit midohio.com, ‘like’ its Facebook page @MidOhioSportsCarCourse or follow updates on Twitter @Mid_Ohio and Instagram @officialmidohio.
About Kokosing:
Kokosing is one of the largest family-owned construction companies in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic. Known for unwavering integrity and exceptional safety and quality, Kokosing companies provide extensive resources for their customers. Kokosing’s primary business lines include industrial, transportation, pipelines, water and wastewater, marine and renewable energy. Additionally, aggregates and asphalt material suppliers are part of the Kokosing family of companies.
About Advanced Materials Services LLC:
Founded in 2007 and located in Auburn, Alabama, Advanced Materials Services, LLC provides pavement engineering, testing, and consulting services. AMS supports all aspects of flexible pavement design, testing, and construction inspection, particularly for specialty pavements, such as airfields, automotive proving grounds, intermodal facilities, and racetracks. AMS staff have over 60 years of cumulative experience in the development of asphalt specifications, asphalt mixture design, quality assurance support, materials research, and geotechnical engineering. To date, AMS has provided support to over 35 racetracks across the country.
The 2023 Motul Petit Le Mans 10 hour race and the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Season is over. Meyer Shank Racing won the race after drama ensued with 1 hour to go in the race. The race for some was a winner takes all situation. Earlier this season Meyer Shank Racing announced that they would be taking a step back from the championship next year. To start the season with a win at the Rolex 24 and to end with a win at Petit Le Mans is an accomplishment the team can be proud of. They finished third overall in the championship after fighting out of the hold associated with penalties the team was handed associated with their win at Rolex at the start of the season.
Entering the race 6 cars had the potential to win the GTP class championship. The race started off with multiple positions being traded after pit stops were triggered. Weather conditions continued to improve throughout the day. With 2 hours left in the race the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura Arx-06 was 24 seconds behind the race leader at the time; the No. 01 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R. The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 was in second poised to secure the GTP championship if they could hold position.
Heartbreak for Konica Minolta
The demise of the No. 10 car would come with about 1 hour left in the race as Felipe Albuquerque attempted to make a pass on the outside of the final turn. At this point in the race the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing car was leading the race. Albuquerque had to take the long way around and ran out of track. The No. 10 and No. 60 made brief contact and the Konica Minolta Acura was sent into the wall. Given the stage of the race the move felt a bit ambitious to take such a risk with so much time left. The No. 10 Acura was not able to continue the race which effectively eliminated them from championship contention. The race was flagged to clear the crashed No. 10.
While Meyer Shank Racing won the race, it was the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac that took the 2023 GTP crown finishing in P6.
Corwdstrike wins LMP2, PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports Secures LMP2 Title
The LMP2 win was decided by less than one second with the No. 04 Crowdstrike P2 taking the win and LMP2 Michelin Endurance Cup. The Michelin Endurance Cup is awarded to the team who is most successful in the endrance portion of the IMSA WeatherTech Season. Crowdstrike driver George Kurtz also won the Jim Trueman Bronze Cup. The prestigious award is awarded annually to the top-placed Bronze-rated driver in the LMP2 class. The criteria takes into account race results but excludes qualifying points. The winner gets an official invitation to the 24 Hours of Le Mans next year.
The No. 04 Crowdstrike LMP2 won the LMP2 class and Michelin Endurance Cup titles. Photo by Ramon Jones/Chroma VisualGeorge Kurtz Was Thrilled After the Result
“The big implication was Le Mans,” Kurtz said. “That was really the prize for us. We would’ve had to have a lot go right to win the championship, but the two things we were focused on was the endurance championship and Le Mans. At the end of the race with 20 minutes left, you never think it’s going to be a green flag to the end. So many emotions go through your mind.”
However, the win alone was not enough to dethrone the No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports P2 who secured the 2023 LMP2 championship. The No. 52 car’s day did not start out under ideal circumstances after the team found themselves traveling through the gravel trap early in the race from the lead. However, the team was able to bounce back and over the course of the race took advantage optimal pitstop timing where it benefitted due to multiple yellow flags.
Three cars finished on the lead lap logging 391 laps in the 10 hours stent. Due to the No. 11 TDS Racing LMP2 car retiring at lap 262. Their championship hopes were eliminated in a heartbreaking finish to what was an amazing season. The sister No. 35 car finished second in the race which is a small consolation for the team.
LMP3/GTD/GTD Pro
The LMP3 Championship was decided at the start of the race. The No. 74 Riley Motorsports Ligier JS P320 secured the championship after 4 season wins this year. This didn’t stop them from racing until the checkered flag however. With about 45 minutes to go in the race the No. 74 car caught a puncture and had to come in for a lap pit stop. The pit stop ultimately resulted in the car losing track position from the front of the class. The team had to settle for third int he race. The No. 30 Jr III Racing Ligier JS P320 took the win logging 379 laps.
The No. 74 Riley Motorsport Ligier JS P320 traded the lead for the majority of the 10 hour race. Photo by Ramon Jones/Chroma VisualThe GTD championship was also decided at the start of the race. Paul Miller already had the championship wrapped up but would not finish the season as race winners. The car was retired on lap 207 but the team still celebrated a very successful season.
The WeatherTech racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 won the GTD Pro class race. However, the lead built up by the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus was too big to overcome in the standings. The No. 14 car only needed to start the race to secure the title. Ultimately it was retired on lap 153. This was about half of the in class maximum race distance of 350 laps.
Full Race Results are Below
Final IMSA WeatherTech Championship Standings
GTP; The Konica Minolta Acura Secures Pole
The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura Arx-06 secure a crucial pole position in a winner takes all weekend in Atlanta. With the top 6 GTP cars all in contention for the 2023 championship. The Konica Minolta Acura got the job done in qualifying to secure the front spot for tomorrow’s 10 hours race. Currently the No. 10 Acura sits atop the GTP class championship standings after securing 35 points for finishing P1 in qualifying taking advantage of the formerly first place No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac who finishes P19 overall and 8th in class.
Qualifying threw most of the teams a curve ball as surprise rain started at the very beginning of the session. Konica Minolta now holds a 9 point lead over Whelen Engineering. The No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 and the No. 25 BMW M Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8 are still within striking range. The gap is now 45 points for the Team RLL No. 25 and 11 points for the Porsche Penske No. 06.
LMP2
In LMP2 the weekend started off with a the No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA LMP2 07 leading the championship by 20 points. However, due to qualifying P2 that lead was cut to 17 points. PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports claim in class pole. Ben Keating secured pole with a lap of 1:13.859 (123.803 mph). He stated the follwoing to IMSA after the session, “I had nothing to lose,” said Keating. “I took a ton of risk and completely sent it across (Turns) 10A and 10B and pulled it off. It was pretty magical to get it in that way. Now I hope the championship comes down to that qualifying.”
The LMP2 championship is still up for grabs and the actions in tomorrow’s 10 hour races will dictate who leaves Petit Le Mans a winner and who will be left asking what happened. Action gets started at 11:40am EST.
LMP3
The No. 74 Riley P3 car will clinch the championship title by starting the race tomorrow. Knowing this the team did not participate in qualifying to avoid any risk of damaging the car before hand. They will start from the back in P51 but by starting the race they will secure the LMP3 championship. That aside, Andretti Autosports No. 36 Ligier JS P32 secured pole. The effort put the team in line to possibly repeat last years result starting from pole. Andretti will attempt to win for the second time in a row tomorrow when the green flag flies.
GTD Pro/GTD
Paul Miller Racing has already secured the GTD title. However, the No. 27 Heart of Racing received the Motul Pole Award. While the title is already decided, the No. 27 car will attempt to bring home another win to close out the season.
In GTD Pro the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus looks to close out the championship after missing the opportunity in GTD. By making it through qualifying all the No. 14 car needs to do is start the race to clinch the title. It is yet to be determined if the No. 14 car will participate in the morning warm up.
Full Qualifying Results are Below
The final weekend of the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship has finally arrived. With all three practice sessions complete the 5 championship classes will participate in qualifying late afternoon on Friday to set the grid for Saturday’s 10 hour race. Championships are on the line for the season finale. In the GTP class all 4 manufacturers sit poised for championship contention. The field is separated by just 64 points from top to bottom. No one could have predicated that it would come down to the final round to decide a champion. However, in the ultimate spirit of racing fans are being provided with a treat. Its anyone’s championship at this point which leaves no room for error tomorrow when the green flag flies.
Who Will Take the GTP Crown?
At the top of the table Whelen Engineering sit just 14 points behind the Konica Minolta WTR Acura ARX-06. After early season success at Sebring the Whelen Engineering side has not one a race since. The teams had had a handful of podiums this year. A year that many would consider very up and down with many highs and lows. In a must win scenario the cars will be put to the ultimate test in the 10 hour long race come tomorrow but before we go racing we need to determine the starting order. Qualifying starts at 3:20pm EST at Road Atlanta.
In LMP2 three cars are in the discussion regarding the 2023 championship title. The No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA LMP2 07, tops the LMP2 class with 1,680 points. Just 20 points back is the No. 52 ORECA driven by PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports. The No. 04 Crowdstrike Racing by APR machine car is 100 points behind the championship leaders. Similarly to the GTP, this is a winner takes all situation.
The LMP3, GTD Pro and GTD championships were all essentially wrapped up before the start of the race week in Atlanta. We will report if this changes but currently the No. 74 Riley LMP3 car will be crowned champion, Paul Miller Racing won the GTD class and the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan GTD Pro car is poised to take the championship.
2023 Petit Le Mans Spotters Guide
Motul Petit Le Mans
Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta – Braselton, Georgia
October 11-14, 2023
Race Day/Time: Saturday, October 14 – 11:40 a.m. ET
Peacock Streaming Coverage: LIVE – Flag-to-flag beginning at 11:35 a.m. (outside the U.S. on IMSA.com/TVLive)
USA Network Coverage: LIVE – 6:30-10 p.m.
Live Qualifying Stream: Friday, October 13 – 3:15-4:30 p.m. ET on Peacock and IMSA.com/TVLive