It’s another massive disappointment for Wayne Taylor Racing Andretti in the closing moments of the Petit Le Mans.
For the fourth consecutive year, the venerable sports car team’s No. 10 Acura was involved in an incident late in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season finale — and this might have been the most bizarre episode yet.
With just under an hour to go, Ricky Taylor was slicing through traffic and about to take the overall lead when he sideswiped the No. 55 Ford Mustang GT3 of Corey Lewis, who was stalled in the middle of Turn 5 facing oncoming traffic after a spin. Neither Taylor nor Lewis seemed to be injured in the incident, but the impact destroyed the left side of Taylor’s Acura ARX-06, which the team soon retired.
“I can’t say that I’ve collected my thoughts yet,” Ricky Taylor told NBC Sports’ Dillon Welch. “More than anything, I just can’t believe this race. Within a half-second of taking the lead and then we were out. And I never saw the car sitting there. I think it’s lucky that it was a glancing blow.”
In 2021, Taylor went off course in the final turn of the Petit Le Mans while trying to make a banzai pass of Felipe Nasr that would have won the championship. In 2022, teammate Filipe Albuquerque was hunting the lead and the title when his suspension broke with 14 minutes remaining after contact with a GT car.
Last year with an hour remaining, Albuquerque went off course and head on into a wall (he was OK after a precautionary trip to the hospital) while trying to pass Pipo Derani with the the championship on the line.
Saturday’s DNF was even more bittersweet because it’s the final race with Acura for Wayne Taylor Racing Andretti, which is returning to Cadillac next season. An emotional Taylor was consoled by Albuquerque, team members and Honda officials before and after his interview.
“It’s been since 2018 with Acura, and starting in 2020, I’ve been fighting for the win within the last hour and a half,” Taylor said. “I can’t help but blame myself. It’s been such a good relationship with Acura. I don’t want it to end this way. Thanks to all the guys.”
This incident certainly couldn’t be blamed on Taylor, who was cresting a hill in darkness and had no line of sight in traffic on the road course that has no lights. Though replays showed a local yellow was waving, NBC Sports analyst Townsend Bell said a full-course caution should have been called.
Team owner Wayne Taylor also questioned why the caution went uncalled and likely contributed to his oldest son being eliminated from the race.
“The (No. 55 Ford Mustang GT3) was stopped for a minimum of 20 to 30 seconds,” Wayne Taylor told Welch. “And there was no lights on anywhere, and (Ricky) came over the hill, and there was nowhere to go. I think he got actually lucky because it could have been a much bigger shunt. And I know he’s feeling bad right now, but the team did a great job all race, and it was going to come down to the wire, but I was not expecting anything like this. Every single event of the last three years, we’ve ended up in an accident at this track, and I just don’t understand why they didn’t put a yellow out.
“We’ll win it next year.”
With 15 minutes remaining, the No. 01 Cadillac of Renger van der Zande was leading the No. 6 Porsche of Nick Tandy by 4.5 seconds.
Hour 8
With two hours remaining in the 2024 season, the No. 7 Porsche 963 is on track for potentially clinching the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with a victory.
After 356 laps at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, Matt Campbell was leading Filipe Albuquerque by a half-second.
Nick Tandy, Campbell’s teammate in the No. 6 963, was in third, and GTP retirements during the 10-hour race have ensured that Porsche Penske Motorsport has locked up the title in the Grand Touring Prototype category. The No. 7 entered the race with a 133-point lead over the No. 6.
Rounding out the top five in GTP with two hours remaining was Philipp Eng in the No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8 and Jack Aitken, who started from the pole position in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R.
A lap down in sixth place was the No. 01 Cadillac.
Other category leaders with two hours remaining:
LMP2: Gar Robinson, No. 74 Riley Motorsports ORECA 07
GTD Pro: Franck Perera, No. 19 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2
GTD: Misha Goikhberg, No. 78 Forte Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2
Hour 5
With Nick Tandy behind the wheel of the No. 6 Porsche 963, Porsche Penske Motorsport was soldiering toward a Grand Touring Prototype championship and possible victory halfway through the Petit Le Mans.
With five hours elapsed and five hours remaining in the season finale, Tandy led by nearly 2 seconds over the No. Wayne Taylor Racing Andretti 10 Acura ARX-06 being driven by Filipe Albuquerque.
Through 215 laps, Matt Campell was in third with Porsche Penske Motorsport’s No. 7 963, which entered the race with a 133-point lead over its teammate and needed a seventh-place finish to clinch the 2024 GTP championship.
There were two other cars on the lead lap at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta: the No. 40 Acura ARX-06 and the No. 5 Porsche 963.
The No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R was the first car a lap down at halfway, but six-time IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon had turned the fastest lap of the race in the entry prepared by Chip Ganassi Racing.
Other category leaders at halfway:
LMP2: Gar Robinson, No. 74 Riley Motorsports ORECA 07
GTD Pro: Daniel Serra, No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3
GTD: Misha Goikhberg, No. 78 Forte Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2
Hour 4
Porsche Penske Motorsport’s twin championship contenders were running 1-2 through four hours in the Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
Leading in the No. 7 Porsche 963, Felipe Nasr had a 5.180-second gap on teammate Kevin Estre in the No. 6 Porsche 963. Brendon Hartley was third in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Andretti Acura ARX-06.
Those were the only three Grand Touring Prototype entries on the lead lap with six hours left in the 2024 season finale.
After leading for much of the first two hours, the No. 31 Whelen Action Express Cadillac V-Series.R was a lap down in seventh place after a pass-through penalty on pole-sitter Jack Aitken for passing under yellow two hours and 15 minutes into the race.
There were two Grand Touring Prototype entries out of contention at the four-hour mark because of mechanical problems: The No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8 (six laps off the pace) and the No. 85 Porsche 963 (retired).
The No. 7 Porsche of Nasr, Dane Cameron and Matt Campbell can clinch the championship with a seventh place or better. The No. 6 was ranked second in the standings, 133 points behind entering the race.
Other category leaders after the fourth hour:
LMP2: Mikkel Jensen, No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA 07
GTD Pro: Franck Perera, No. 19 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2
GTD: Elliott Skeer, No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)
Hour 2
Pole-sitter Jack Aitken is back in front at the Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
The No. 31 Whelen Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R led the first 17 laps before yielding first to the No. 40 ARX-06 Acura of Wayne Taylor Racing Andretti.
But Aitken retook first place shortly after the first hour when Jordan Taylor made a fuel-only stop for the No. 40. Taylor made a pass for the lead on Lap 53, but Aitken moved back to the front nine laps later.
After 83 laps, Aitken was ahead by 0.8 seconds over Matt Campbell in the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963. Filipe Albuquerque was third in WTR Andretti’s No. 10 Acura.
Other category leaders after the second hour:
LMP2: PJ Hyett, No. 99 AO Racing ORECA 07
GTD Pro: Franck Perera, No. 19 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2
GTD: Parker Thompson, No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3
Hour 1
After the first hour, Jordan Taylor was leading the Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in the No. 40 Acura ARX-06 of Wayne Taylor Racing Andretti.
It’s the team’s final race with the Acura in the Grand Touring Prototype category. WTR Andretti will switch back to General Motors’ Cadillac next year after four seasons with the Honda brand.
Taylor, who won the Twelve Hours of Sebring with co-drivers Louis Deletraz and Colton Herta, took the lead from pole-sitter Jack Aitken on Lap 18 (24 minutes into the race).
Taylor was in first by 8 seconds over the No. 31 Cadillac of Aitken, who started from the pole position for the first time in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series. The No. 5 Porsche was in third place ahead of the Porsche Penske Motorsports 963s that rounded out the top five.
The No. 6, which is ranked second in the points standings, was running fourth ahead of its No. 7 teammate car, which can clinch the GTP championship by finishing seventh or better.
Other category leaders after the first hour:
LMP2: Ben Keating, No. 2 United Autosports USA ORECA 07
GTD Pro: Frédéric Vervisch, No. 65 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT3
GTD: Mike Skeen, No. 32 Korthoff/Preston Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3
All 11 Grand TouringTouring Prototype entries were on the lead lap through the first hour.
The No. 01 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R pitted in the 17th minute because of a black flag for exceeding system requirements after a failure to adhere to powertrain parameters, but the car managed to stay on the lead lap.
It’s the final race for the entry fielded and prepared by Chip Ganassi Racing, which is losing Cadillac support after four seasons and likely won’t be in sports car racing next year.
During a yellow flag for an incident involving the No. 44 GTD car about 20 minutes after the green flag, GTD pole-sitter Scott Andrews spun No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 into the gravel in Turn 5.
How to watch the Petit Le Mans
TV/STREAMING: Full coverage of the IMSA Petit Le Mans at Michelin Road Atlanta will begin Saturday, Oct. 12 on NBC and Peacock at noon ET. Peacock will carry the entire race, and NBC will have coverage of the race from noon-3 p.m. ET. USA Network will have coverage from 6-10:30 p.m. ET.
Peacock will have flag-to-flag coverage of all IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship events in 2024. (Click here for information on how to sign up for Peacock.)
Kevin Lee and Brian Till will be the announcers with analyst Calvin Fish, Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe as analysts. Georgia Henneberry, Ryan Myrehn, Dillon Welch and Matt Yocum are the pit reporters.
RADIO: Select sessions live on IMSA.com and RadioLeMans.com; SiriusXM live race coverage will begin Saturday, Oct. 12 at 12:00 p.m. (XM 206, Web/App 996).
