The inaugural Grand Touring Prototype championship will be up for grabs as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship concludes the 2023 season Saturday with the Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
All four manufacturers — Acura, BMW, Cadillac and Porsche — have a shot at winning the title with the top three separated by only five points.
The No. 31 Action Express Cadillac is first in the standings by three points over the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing wth Andretti Acura, and the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 is ranked third. The No. 25 BMW M Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8, No. 7 Porsche and No. 60 Acura also are championship eligible.
The field of 54 cars and nearly 160 drivers also will feature a host of cameos by champions and winners from other series.
Defending Indy 500 winner and two-time IndyCar champion Josef Newgarden will be making his GTP debut with Porsche Penske Motorsport, and 2009 Formula One champion Jenson Button (JDC-Miller Motorsports), six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon (Cadillac Racing) and four-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves (Meyer Shank Racing) also will be racing in the premier hybrid prototype category.
IndyCar winners Scott McLaughlin (Tower Motorsports in LMP2) and Kyle Kirkwood (Vasser Sullivan in GTD Pro) also will be racing in the Petit Le Mans.
Here are the start times, schedule and TV info for the IMSA Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta (all times are ET):
IMSA Petit Le Mans start times, schedule, TV info
WHEN: Saturday, 11:40 a.m.-9:40 p.m.
RACE DISTANCE: Ten hours on the 12-turn, 2.54-mile road course
FORECAST: According to Wunderground.com, it’s expected to be 64 degrees with a 10 percent chance of rain.
PRACTICE RESULTS: Session I l Session II l Session III l Warmup
QUALIFYING: Friday, 3:20 p.m. ET (Peacock, IMSA.com/TVLive)
STARTING LINEUP: Click here for the grid that will be led by Louis Deletraz in the Wayne Taylor Racing With Andretti Autosport Acura ARX-06.
ENTRY LIST: Click here for the 54 cars entered over five divisions (GTP, LMP2, LMP3, GTD Pro, GTD) for the IMSA Petit Le Mans
RACE BROADCAST
TV: Peacock will have flag-to-flag coverage of the event from 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m., and the race also will be televised on USA Network beginning at 6:30 p.m. The race also is avaiable on the NBC Sports App and NBCSports.com.
Leigh Diffey and Brian Till will be the announcers with analysts Calvin Fish and Townsend Bell. Kevin Lee, Matt Yocum, Hannah Newhouse and Georgia Henneberry will be the pit reporters.
Peacock also will be the streaming broadcast for qualifying. Click here for more information about how to access Peacock.
IMSA RADIO: Select sessions are live on IMSA.com and RadioLeMans.com; SiriusXM live race coverage will begin Saturday at 11:30 a.m. (XM 207, Sirius XM Web/App 992).
DAILY SCHEDULE IMSA PETIT LE MANS
Wednesday, Oct. 11
12:05-12:35 p.m.: SportsCar Challenge practice
1:35-2:15 p.m.: Mazda MX-5 Cup practice
2:30-3:30 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge practice
3:45-4:15 p.m.: SportsCar Challenge practice
Thursday, Oct. 12
8:10-8:40 a.m.: Mazda MX-5 Cup practice
8:55-9:30 a.m.: SportsCar Challenge qualifying
9:50-11:20 a.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice
11:40 a.m.-noon: Mazda MX-5 Cup qualifying
1:15-2:15 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge practice
2:35-4:20 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice
4:40-5:25 p.m.: SportsCar Challenge Race 1
5:45-6:30 p.m.: Mazda MX-5 Cup Race 1
7:30-9 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice
Friday, Oct. 13
8:30-9:05 a.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge qualifying
9:25-10:10 a.m.: SportsCar Challenge Race 2
10:30-11:15 a.m.: Mazda MX-5 Cup Race 2
12:25-2:25 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge Fox Factory 120
3:20-4:30 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship qualifying
Saturday, Oct. 14
8:45-9:05 a.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice
11:40 a.m.-9:40 p.m.: MOTUL Petit Le Mans
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
