Cadillac’s Earl Bamber, Jack Aitken and Frederik Vesti have won Petit Le Mans, the IMSA season closer, in a dramatic, close finish at Road Atlanta.
Second was Roman de Angelis, in the #23 THOR Aston Martin Valkyrie, along with his teammates Alex Riberas and Ross Gunn. De Angelis was just over 3 seconds off Bamber, in the #31 Action Express Cadillac, at the line.
Third was Mathieu Jaminet, in the #6 Porsche, a further 8 seconds off. Jaminet and his teammate Matt Campbell won the IMSA title through finishing third, with their Porsche factory driver teammate Laurens Vanthoor.
Aitken started the #31 Action Express Cadillac second, behind polesitter Tom Blomqvist in the #60 Meyer Shank Acura. The two Britons duked it out early on amid multiple cautions in the opening few hours of the race, and were never separated by more than a second or so through those opening hours.
Aitken eventually got by at turn 1, and proceeded to open a gap. He then handed over to Bamber, who solidified the gap, with teammate Frederik Vesti in the car after Bamber who continued to lead.
Through the pitstop cycle and strategy, they lost the lead to Jaminet and Vanthoor in the #6 Porsche, but were never far away from the front throughout the race, as the #31 Cadillac’s race pace proved superior.
As darkness fell, Aitken was back in the car and took the lead back again, with a small but workable lead of around 5 seconds by the end of his stint, with just over two hours remaining in the race.
Bamber was in the car for the final couple of hours, with the #6 Porsche of Campbell, and then Jaminet, behind.
However, what looked like a secure win for Action Express and Cadillac was complicated by fuel strategy. The #23 Aston Martin, with Ross Gunn and then Roman de Angelis at the wheel, pitted at the earliest possible opportunity, with an hour and 5 minutes to go in the race.
This meant de Angelis wouldn’t have to stop again, and could run until the end. He emerged seventh, behind Romain Grosjean in the #63 Lamborghini, but cars ahead would have to stop, boosting de Angelis through the order.
De Angelis, Aston Martin, and The Heart of Racing clearly wanted the win, but Grosjean’s Lamborghini was in the way. The cars ahead in the lead, Jaminet in the #6 Porsche and the #31 Cadillac of Bamber, would need to stop. Was a first IMSA win on the cards for either Lamborghini or Aston Martin?
Jaminet and Bamber pitted to take fuel with just over 10 minutes remaining, alongside Blomqvist in the #60 Acura, who was sitting third, with Grosjean and de Angelis behind.
Bamber exited the pits just a second ahead of Grosjean, with De Angelis third. Jaminey rejoined fourth in the #6 Porsche.
Grosjean, though, was running out of fuel as well. With just minutes to go, he too would pit for a splash or fuel, finishing fourth and agonizingly close to the podium, although fourth is still Lamborghini’s best result globally with the SC63.
Try as he might, de Angelis couldn’t catch Bamber. And that was the way it finished, with Bamber 3.2 seconds ahead of the Canadian in the Aston Martin Valkyrie. Jaminet was almost 11 seconds adrift of the winner in third, but in doing so also took the IMSA championship title alongside Campbell.
Grosjean brought the Lamborghini home fourth, sealing a good result for him, his team, and his teammates Edo Mortara and Daniil Kyvat.
Fifth was Tom Blomqvist in the #60 Acura, along with co-drivers Colin Braun and Scott Dixon.
In LMP2, the #11 TDS Racing Oreca crew of Steven Thomas, Mikkel Jensen and Hunter McElrea claimed victory, after starting last on the grid. Thomas had taken pole in qualifying was disqualified due to a technical infringement, but in the opening hours he stormed through the field to lead by the time he handed the car over to McElrea.
When their chief rivals for the win, the #22 United Autosports Oreca of Rasmus Lindh, Daniel Goldburg, and Paul Di Resta hit trouble, it was TDS’s race to lose – and lose they did not. Jensen brought the car home 27 seconds ahead of Tom Dillmann in the #43 Inter Europol Competition Oreca.
Jeremy Clarke had started that car on pole after TDS’s disqualification, but weren’t able to beat TDS in the race. Third was Oliver Jarvis in the #18 Era Motorsport Oreca, along with his teammates Tobi Lutke and David Heinemeier-Hansson.
In GTD Pro, polesitter Dan Harper brought the #48 Paul Miller BMW home to win, with his teammates Max Hesse and Connor de Phillippi. Second was Nicky Catsburg in the #3 Corvette, 26 seconds adrift of Harper, with Catsburg driving alongside his teammates Nico Varrone and Tommy Milner.
Third in class was the sister #4 Corvette of Alexander Sims, Antonio Garcia and Daniel Juncadella. By finishing third, Sims and Garcia took the IMSA GTD Pro title. This was Garcia’s sixth IMSA title – quite an achievement.
Finally, the #21 AF Corse Ferrari crew of Lilou Wadoux, Simon Mann, and Alessandro Pier Guidi took victory. In fact it was a Ferrari 1-2 in GTD, with the #021 Triarsi Ferrari second, with Onofrio Triarsi, Kenton Koch and James Calado finishing second. Third was Jack Hawksworth, Frankie Montecalvo, and Parker Thompson in the #12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus.
See the full unofficial race results on IMSA’s website.
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