Written by Owen Bradley
After 12 Full Course Yellows, 10 Hours of racing, multiple championship contenders at the IMSA finale in Road Atlanta - The Petit Le Mans 2023 was thoroughly entertaining as the IMSA championship was sealed and one of the most significant events of the endurance racing year crowned a new victor.
It was No.60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura squad of Tom Blomqvist, Colin Braun and Hélio Castroneves who took the win at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in a dramatic, crash-filled race, while the No.31 Cadillac squad of Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims and Jack Aitken sealed the overall championship, with a sixth place finish at the conclusion of the 10 hours.
It was a race where the drama started before the green flag had even been waved, as the No.8 Tower Motorsport LMP2 of Ari Balogh spun off the track on the formation lap. However, the 10-hour endurance race started as it meant to go on, with the drivers being tested in tough mixed conditions, with damp patches of water in some areas of the circuit in the opening stages of the day.
The No.01 Cadillac of Sébastien Bourdais would take an early lead round the outside into Turn 1, driving around the outside of the polesitters, the No.10 Wayne Taylor Racing driven by Louis Delétraz. Another crash would occur for the No.8 Tower Motorsports LMP2 car, as they realised that they had sustained rear wing damage from their formation lap crash, later spinning into the barriers at Turn 3, putting them on the sidelines for 40 minutes and neutralising the race.
In just the second hour of the race, the No.6 Porsche Penske team would get collected in a huge crash between the No.023 Ferrari and the No.70 McLaren, which was instigated by the No.20 LMP2 of Dennis Andersen, with Nick Tandy having nowhere to go, the Porsche sustaining heavy damage, a crucial blow to their championship, the crash putting them effectively out of championship contention, despite continuing after two hours.
Between the GTP, LMP2 and GT3 classes, the flowing, undulating and difficult Road Atlanta circuit proved tough to master, with multiple GT3 cars colliding with other cars in their own class, as well as contact with the GTP's and LMP2's. This would include the No.60 Meyer Shank car, as Tom Blomqvist collided with the No.1 Paul Miller Racing GT3 of Paul Miller BMW which would bring out the fourth caution of the race and forcing both to return to the pits.
During the early pit stop phases in the race, the No.31 Cadillac would sustain rear end damage after contact at the pit lane exit with the No.25 BMW, with Sheldon van der Linde piling into the back of Alex Sims, with the South African deemed responsible. whilst there was a red light displayed on the exit of pit lane another twist in the tale of the race as the Cadillac began to lose positions.
Ben Barnicoat would cause the seventh caution in the No.14 GTD after spinning into the grass at Turn Four. After not throwing in the towel, the Porsche No.6 team would briefly continue in the race before another self-inflicted crash from Laurens Vanthoor would come at the uphill section in Sector 1, the team suffering further damage after just over half the race distance completed.
As the sun set in the distance and daylight began to fade, more crashes would occur, predominantly throughout the GT3 and LMP2 field, the circuit proving difficult to navigate for many of the drivers across all classes, as multiple cars ended up buried within the tyre barriers at the edge of the circuit. This included the No.11 LMP2 of Mikkel Jensen who caused the eighth full course yellow after crashing at Turn 5.
As darkness fell over Road Atlanta, the most significant moment of the race would occur. The No.10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura of Filipe Albuquerque and the No.31 of Pipo Derani would go side-by-side into Turn 1, Albuquerque on the outside. However, the Portuguese driver would be squeezed onto the grass and went straight into the barrier, causing an 11th full course yellow and the end of the Acura's day. Derani was not penalised for the incident, ending the No.10's chance of the championship.
When the green flag next waved, Colin Braun in the No.60 would take the lead from the No.1 of Renger van der Zande.
The final yellow would occur after Christian Rasmussen crashed his LMP2 late on at Turn 3.
After 10 hours of action, the Meyer Shank No.60 Acura would take the chequered first under yellow in their final race in the series for the foreseeable future, as they put their focuses into IndyCar, with Blomqvist switching to the team's IndyCar program.
The No.1 of Bourdais, van der Zande and Scott Dixon would finish second, ahead of the No.59 Porsche of Harry Tincknell, Gianmaria Brunia and Neel Jani. LMP2 honours would go to the No.4 APR squad of Ben Hanley, George Kurtz and Nolan Siegel, whilst Siegel found further honours in LMP2 winning alongside Bijoy Garg and Garett Grist in the 30. Jr Motorsports.
The No.79 WeatherTech Racing of Maro Engel, Jules Gounon and Dani Juncadella would take the victory in GTD Pro, with Misha Goikhberg, Patrick Liddy and Loris Spinelli the victors in GTD in the No.78 entry.
It would more importantly be a championship-winning day for the No.31 Action Express Racing of Jack Aitken, Alexander Sims and Pipo Derani who re-claimed their 2021 title. The No.10 Wayne Taylor Racing car had to settle for second, 21 points behind, whilst the No.60 added to their Daytona win and finished third in the standings.
IMSA Petit Le Mans - GTP Results
1st No.60 Acura - Blomqvist, Braun, Castroneves
2nd No.01 Cadillac - Bourdais, van der Zande, Dixon
3rd No.59 Porsche - Tincknell, Bruni, Jani
4th No.7 Porsche - Campbell, Nasr, Newgarden
5th No.5 Porsche - van der Helm, Rockenfeller, Button
6th No.31 Cadillac - Aitken, Sims, Derani
7th No.25 BMW - de Phillippi, Yelloly, S. Van der Linde
8th No.24 BMW - Eng, Farfus, Wittmann
DNF No.10 Acura - Taylor, Barbosa, Deletraz
DNF No.6 Porsche - Tandy, Jaminet, Vanthoor
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