Without winning the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship finale, Cadillac made a clean sweep of the major awards in the Petit Le Mans.
The General Motors brand clinched the inaugural Grand Touring Prototype championship with the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R and also won its fourth IMSA manufacturers title and fifth Michelin Endurance Cup crown.
“You can’t ask for better than straight As,” GM sports car racing program manager Laura Wontrop Klauser said. “This program has been a challenge of resilience, and everyone has stepped up -- all of the partners that are involved from GM, Dallara, our race teams, our hybrid-supplier partners. We delivered excellent results,” “It was not an easy year. We had our ups, and we had our downs. Ultimately our eyes were on the prize, and we were ready to seize any opportunity that was thrown at us.”
RESULTS: Click here for the final overall finishing order l Class breakdown
POINTS: Final standings after Road Atlanta l Endurance Cup standings l Endurance Cup points at Petit Le Mans
Pipo Derani, co-driving with Alexander Sims and Jack Aitken, clinched his second driver title with a sixth place at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, where the first season of IMSA’s new premier hybrid prototype category concluded.
Meyer Shank Racing’s No. 60 Acura led the final 20 laps to win in a race mostly dominated by Cadillac.
Colin Braun took the lead for the final time on a restart from Renger van der Zande (who was conserving energy after skipping a late pit stop) in the No. 01 Cadillac. The Chip Ganassi Racing-supported entry with van der Zande, Sebstien Bourdais and Scott Dixon finished second while leading 223 of 397 laps.
Other class winners:
LMP2: The No. 04 Crowdstrike Racing by APR ORECA LMP2 07 co-driven by George Kurtz, Ben Hanley and Nolan Siegel earned its second victory.
LMP3: The No. 30 Jr III Racing Ligier JS P320 co-driven by Garett Grist, Dakota Dickerson and Bijoy Garg earned its first IMSA victory in the final race of the category.
GTD Pro: The No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 co-driven by Jules Gounon, Daniel Juncadella and Maro Engel earned its eighth IMSA victory and fourth this season.
GTD: The No. 78 Forte Racing Powered by USRT Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 co-driven by Loris Spinelli, Patrick Liddy and Misha Goikhberg earned its first IMSA victory.
STATS PACKAGE FOR PETIT LE MANS AT ROAD ATLANTA
Fastest laps by driver
Fastest laps by driver after race (over the weekend)
Fastest laps by driver and class after race
Fastest lap sequence
Leader sequence
Lap chart
Race analysis by lap
Stint analysis
Time cards
Pit stop time cards
Best sector times
Race distance and average speed
Flags analysis
2023 SEASON RECAPS
ROUND 1: Meyer Shank wins second consecutive Rolex 24 at Daytona to open GTP era
ROUND 2: No. 31 Cadillac wins Twelve Hours of Sebring after rebounding from mishap
ROUND 3: Porsche Penske Motorsport earns first victory at Long Beach
ROUND 4: Emotional victory for the No. 01 Cadillac at Laguna Seca
ROUND 5: BMW earns first GTP victory after Porsche fails postrace inspection
ROUND 6: Mike Shank dedicates victory to team’s critics
ROUND 7: No. 7 Porsche captures first victory of season
ROUND 8: Porsche Penske Motorsport finishes 1-2 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
