Jack Aitken is the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP champion after starting the 29th Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
Aitken had already put himself in a commanding position with fourth place in qualifying, gaining four points on his only remaining championship rival, Laurin Heinrich, who qualified seventh in the #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963.
That meant Aitken only needed to take the start to secure the championship. By rolling off the grid in the #31 Cadillac Whelen V-Series.R, he also secured the GTP team championship for Action Express Racing and the manufacturers’ championship for Cadillac.
“It’s been a long year and feels like we’ve got it done slightly early, which is a bit surreal after such a hard battle,” Aitken told Sportscar365 after qualifying. “I mean, I can only say I’m massive thank you to all the boys and girls here at Whelen Cadillac. And Cadillac put an awesome car out from the word go. We’ve had a lot of fun, and it means we can go out and race properly tomorrow, so going to enjoy that one too.”
The championship may be decided, but the 10-hour Petit Le Mans is still underway. Aitken ran sixth at the end of the opening hour, directly behind Heinrich in fifth. With the pressure of the championship now off his shoulders, Aitken can focus on trying to add a Petit Le Mans victory to his title-winning season.
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