IMSA Petit Le Mans: MSR wins, Cadillac scoops title after Acura clash

Meyer Shank Racing’s Tom Blomqvist, Colin Braun and Helio Castroneves won the race at Road Atlanta, in the team’s final GTP event with Acura, as Action Express Racing’s Cadillac V-Series.R of Derani and Alexander Sims scooped the GTP championship, aided by Jack Aitken.

Ten hours earlier, Acura’s Louis Deletraz led the 54-car field to the green around the undulating 2.54-mile road course in Georgia, but Sebastien Bourdais took little time in taking the lead, sweeping his Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac around the outside of the Wayne Taylor Racing ARX-06 at Turn 1.

After a series of yellow flags, the first coming in just the third minute, a hugely significant moment occurred in Hour 2, when a multi-car crash on the approach to the downhill Turn 10 chicane saw Porsche’s title contender Nick Tandy taken out following a clash between the #20 High Class Racing LMP2 car of Dennis Andersen and the #023 Triarsi Ferrari GTD of Charles Scardina, a shunt that also involved the #70 Inception McLaren GTD entry of Brendan Iribe.

The #6 car returned to the race many laps down, but Laurens Vanthoor suffered another crash at the Esses in hour seven, which damaged the car even more.

That narrowed the field of title contenders, and the pendulum swung towards Acura when Albuquerque passed Aitken with two hours remaining to snatch the points lead, only for Aitken to grab it back just 15 minutes later when Albuquerque tripped over an LMP2 car.

The truly controversial moment came with just over an hour to go, as Albuquerque got a run on Derani towards Turn 1 and made his move around the outside, but he found Derani in no mood to give him any space, and Albuquerque got shoved onto the exit kerb and plunged head-on at high speed into the tyrewall.

Albuquerque was in audible pain via the onboard camera and he had to be helped to the AMR Safety Team’s vehicle to be taken to the medical center and then on to hospital. He later posted on social media that he had left the hospital with no injuries. 

The crash caused the race’s 11^th caution, and Race Control reviewed the collision but took no action despite Albuquerque having his nose in front from Derani’s onboard.

#31 Action Express Racing, Cadillac VSeries.R, GTP: Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims, Jack Aitken, podium (Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Images)

The other MSR Acura was delayed at the start of the third hour, when Blomqvist was right on Deletraz’s tail in the lead battle but was sent into the pits for suspension repairs after being hit by the #1 BMW GTD car at the exit of the chicane.

But Braun grabbed the lead from Renger van der Zande (who shared the CGR Caddy with Bourdais and Scott Dixon) straight after the penultimate restart.

Van der Zande had stayed out during the yellow for the Albuquerque crash with 40mins to go, and although he dropped back by 3s to save fuel, he closed right up before the final sequence of yellows that effectively ended the race prematurely.

The 10-hour race came down to a 5m30s restart, with Braun leading van der Zande, Harry Tincknell (Proton Porsche) and Matt Campbell in the works Penske-run 963, but Jan Heylen’s GTD class Porsche erupted in flames after a multi-car collision before the green flag to effectively end the race and season.

Derani finished sixth to claim the title but only after a light touch late on with the other title contender, the #25 BMW of Connor De Phillippi, Nick Yelloly and Sheldon van der Linde. They had previous clashed hours earlier when van der Linde hit Sims as they both ran a red light at the end of the pitlane.

Jenson Button finished fifth on his IMSA debut with JDC Miller MotorSport’s Porsche 963, along with Mike Rockenfeller and Tijmen van der Helm.

In LMP2, TDS Racing’s Steven Thomas led Ben Keating initially but PR1 Mathiasen ace Keating got ahead and stayed there, despite a quick spin towards the end of the opening hour.

Alex Quinn took over the #52 PR1 car from Keating and the car held the lead for the majority of the race. But Quinn suffered a spin at Turn 10 after a clash over the lead with the #18 Era Motorsport machine of Christian Rasmussen inside the final two hours, and only just managed to extricate himself from the gravel.

Race winner #60:Meyer Shank Racing W/Curb-Agajanian, Acura ARX-06, GTP: Colin Braun, Tom Blomqvist, Helio Castroneves (Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Images)

Rasmussen and Ben Hanley (Crowdstrike by APR) fought out the class win between them, with Hanley crucially getting ahead after the penultimate yellow. Rasmussen crashed out in the Esses with just 13 minutes remaining, handing second to the TDS car of Giedo van der Garde, John Falb and Josh Pierson.

Hanley won by less than a second, partnered by George Kurtz and Nolan Siegel.

The #11 TDS car lost its title hopes when Mikkel Jensen shunted the car into the tires at the bottom of the Esses just before sunset.

In the minnow LMP3 prototype class, Glenn van Barlo led for Andretti Autosport from the start but Cameron Shields soon took up the running for Performance Tech Motorsports.

There was even action before the green flag in this class, when Indy NXT racer Rasmus Lindh crashed the frontrunning #85 Duqueine LMP3 car seconds after leaving the dummy grid, substantially damaging its rear end.

The #74 Riley crew of Gar Robinson and Felipe Fraga were confirmed as champions in the closing stages, but Fraga had lost top spot to Garett Grist in the #30 Jr III car when he was assaulted by Matt Bell’s AWA car at Turn 10, sending him into the pits.

Grist, and team-mates Bijoy Garg and Dakota Dickerson, won the class by 1.4s from Bell.

Ian James led the charge in GTD initially in his Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage but quickly came under attack from Jack Hawksworth in the Lexus, which was crowned as class champion as it took the start.

#79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes AMG GT3: Daniel Juncadella, Jules Gounon, Maro Engel (Photo by: Art Fleischmann)

Just before half distance, however, the Lexus was taken out when Ben Barnicoat went off and smashed the nose of the car across the damp infield in the Esses. Bizarrely, both GTD champions wouldn’t see the finish, as the pro-am #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW also retired.

GTD Pro came down to a shootout between Dani Juncadella (WeatherTech Mercedes) and Kevin Estre (Pfaff Motorsports Porsche), with Juncadella hanging on through the disrupted finish.

In pro-am version of GTD, the #78 Forte Racing Lamborghini Huracan of Misha Goikhberg, Loris Spinelli and Patrick Liddy took victory over the #96 Turner Motorsport BMW.

IMSA Petit Le Mans race results

Main Information Additional Data Additional Data Driver Info

       

Driver Info			Main Information Additional Data
Cla	Drivers	#		Chassis	Laps	Time	Interval	Pits	Points	Retirement
1	T. Blomqvist C. Braun H. Castroneves Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb-Agajanian	60		Acura ARX-06	397	10:01'40.400		14
2	S. Bourdais R. van der Zande S. Dixon Cadillac Racing	01		Cadillac V-LMDh	397	+0.452	0.452	11
3	H. Tincknell G. Bruni N. Jani Proton Competition	59		Porsche 963	397	+1.077	0.625	14
4	M. Campbell F. Nasr J. Newgarden Porsche Penske Motorsport	7		Porsche 963	397	+1.825	0.748	12
5	T. van der Helm M. Rockenfeller J. Button JDC/Miller Motorsports	5		Porsche 963	397	+2.165	0.340	13
6	P. Derani A. Sims J. Aitken Action Express Racing	31		Cadillac V-LMDh	397	+2.927	0.762	14
7	C. de Phillippi N. Yelloly S. Van Der Linde BMW M Team RLL	25		BMW M Hybrid V8	397	+4.275	1.348	18
8	P. Eng A. Farfus M. Wittmann BMW M Team RLL	24		BMW M Hybrid V8	397	+4.839	0.564	16
9	G. Kurtz B. Hanley N. Siegel Crowdstrike Racing by APR	04		ORECA 07	391	+6 Laps	6 Laps	16
10	J. Falb G. van der Garde J. Pierson TDS Racing	35		ORECA 07	391	+6 Laps	0.996	16
11	B. Keating P. Chatin A. Quinn PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports	52		ORECA 07	391	+6 Laps	6.586	18
12	F. Perrodo M. Vaxiviere E. Collard Af Corse	88		ORECA 07	390	+7 Laps	1 Lap	23
dnf	D. Merriman R. Dalziel C. Rasmussen Era Motorsport	18		ORECA 07	383	+14 Laps	7 Laps	15		Retirement
14	D. Andersen E. Jones A. Fjordbach High Class Racing	20		ORECA 07	381	+16 Laps	2 Laps	15
15	N. Siegel B. Garg G. Grist Jr III Racing	30		Ligier JS P320	379	+18 Laps	2 Laps	12
16	O. Fidani M. Bell L. Kern AWA	13		Duqueine M30-D08	379	+18 Laps	1.419	15
17	G. Robinson F. Fraga J. Burdon Riley Motorsports	74		Ligier JS P320	379	+18 Laps	7.924	17
18	D. Juncadella J. Gounon M. Engel WeatherTech Racing	79		Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo	370	+27 Laps	9 Laps	13
19	K. Bachler P. Pilet K. Estre Pfaff Motorsports	9		Porsche 911 GT3 R	370	+27 Laps	0.980	15
20	M. Goikhberg L. Spinelli P. Liddy US RaceTronics	78		Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2	370	+27 Laps	1.979	13
21	P. Gallagher R. Foley M. Dinan Turner Motorsport	96		BMW M4 GT3	370	+27 Laps	5.873	12
22	A. Brynjolfsson T. Hindman M. Root Wright Motorsports	77		Porsche 911 GT3 R	370	+27 Laps	0.526	13
23	A. Pier Guidi D. Serra D. Rigon Risi Competizione	62		Ferrari 296 GT3	370	+27 Laps	0.588	10
24	D. Brule A. Udell J. Andlauer Kellymoss with Riley	92		Porsche 911 GT3 R	370	+27 Laps	1.938	16
25	R. De Angelis M. Sorensen I. James Heart Of Racing Team	27		Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3	370	+27 Laps	2.798	14
26	M. Skeen M. Grenier K. Koch Team Korthoff Motorsports	32		Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo	370	+27 Laps	0.872	10
27	B. Auberlen C. Hull T. Merrill Turner Motorsport	97		BMW M4 GT3	370	+27 Laps	0.919	12
28	P. Hyett S. Priaulx G. Jeannette AO Racing	80		Porsche 911 GT3 R	370	+27 Laps	1.913	12
29	R. Gunn A. Riberas D. Pittard Heart Of Racing Team	23		Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3	370	+27 Laps	2.568	10
30	R. Ward P. Ellis I. Dontje Winward Racing	57		Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo	370	+27 Laps		13
31	S. Mann M. Molina J. Calado Af Corse	61		Ferrari 296 GT3	370	+27 Laps	0.298	14
32	O. Triarsi C. Scardina A. Rovera Triarsi Competizione	023		Ferrari 296 GT3	370	+27 Laps	1.167	16
33	A. Balogh S. McLaughlin K. Simpson Tower Motorsport	8		ORECA 07	369	+28 Laps	1 Lap	16
dnf	R. Hardwick Z. Robichon J. Heylen Wright Motorsports	16		Porsche 911 GT3 R	367	+30 Laps	2 Laps	12		Retirement
35	R. Frey S. Bovy D. Pin Iron Dames	83		Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2	367	+30 Laps	7'23.335	14
dnf	M. Bortolotti J. Pepper F. Perera Iron Lynx	63		Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2	366	+31 Laps	1 Lap	13		Retirement
dnf	R. Taylor J. Barbosa L. Deletraz Konica Minolta Acura	10		Acura ARX-06	365	+32 Laps	1 Lap	10		Retirement
38	R. Lacorte G. Sernagiotto A. Fuoco Cetilar Racing	47		Ferrari 296 GT3	364	+33 Laps	1 Lap	13
39	T. Bechtolsheimer D. Goldburg R. Lindh JDC/Miller Motorsports	85		Duqueine M30-D08	359	+38 Laps	5 Laps	14
40	A. Harrison D. Formal K. Marcelli Racers Edge Motorsports with WTR	93		Acura NSX GT3	355	+42 Laps	4 Laps	12
dnf	S. Monk K. Legge M. Miller Gradient Racing	66		Acura NSX GT3	323	+74 Laps	32 Laps	11		Retirement
dnf	F. Montecalvo A. Telitz P. Thompson Vasser Sullivan	12		Lexus RC F GT3	304	+93 Laps	19 Laps	12		Retirement
dnf	J. Potter A. Lally S. Pumpelly Magnus Racing	44		Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3	298	+99 Laps	6 Laps	12		Retirement
dnf	T. Steven M. Jensen S. Huffaker TDS Racing	11		ORECA 07	262	+135 Laps	36 Laps	10		Retirement
dnf	B. Thienes J. Woolridge C. Shields Performance Tech Motorsports	38		Ligier JS P320	221	+176 Laps	41 Laps	10		Retirement
dnf	B. Sellers M. Snow C. Lewis Paul Miller Racing	1		BMW M4 GT3	207	+190 Laps	14 Laps	13		Retirement
dnf	N. Tandy M. Jaminet L. Vanthoor Porsche Penske Motorsport	6		Porsche 963	196	+201 Laps	11 Laps	10		Retirement
dnf	A. Garcia J. Taylor T. Milner Corvette Racing	3		Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD	189	+208 Laps	7 Laps	4		Retirement
dnf	J. Hawksworth B. Barnicoat K. Kirkwood Vasser Sullivan	14		Lexus RC F GT3	153	+244 Laps	36 Laps	4		Retirement
dnf	A. Mantella W. Boyd N. Varrone AWA	17		Duqueine M30-D08	118	+279 Laps	35 Laps	7		Retirement
dnf	J. Andretti G. Chaves G. van Andretti Autosport	36		Ligier JS P320	85	+312 Laps	33 Laps	8		Retirement
dnf	B. Iribe F. Schandorff O. Millroy Inception Racing	70		McLaren 720S GT3	44	+353 Laps	41 Laps	2		Retirement
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