The 22nd Annual Petit Le Mans: Who’s In Contention For Championship

Photo: Brian Cleary/Getty Images – arstechnica.com

With 11 days left until the 22nd Annual Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, there’s still a bit of work to be done by various teams to claim championships. This article on IMSA.com goes over all the details; there will be a lot to keep an eye for during the legendary 10-hour race.

From IMSA: In the DPi field, Acura needs only to score points at Motul Petit Le Mans to wrap up the WeatherTech Championship title. In the Michelin Endurance Cup race, Cadillac is currently in the driver’s seat with a six-point lead, 41-35, over Acura, the only other team mathematically eligible to win.

In the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class, it’ll be an intra-squad battle for the WeatherTech Championship title among the pair of Coca-Cola-liveried Porsche 911 RSRs from the Porsche GT Team. Leading the way is the No. 912 duo of Earl Bamber and Laurens Vanthoor with a 12-point advantage, 304-292, over their No. 911 teammates Nick Tandy and Patrick Pilet.

The No. 911 squad of Pilet, Tandy and Frederic Makowiecki could steal the championship from their teammates if they win Motul Petit Le Mans – which they did last year – and the No. 912 finishes eighth.

Besides the various teams and manufacturers in contention for championship, there are some other things to look forward to during the race.

Some serious IndyCar talent will be in the field after a great final race of the season at Laguna Seca two weekends ago. In addition to Simon Pagenaud co-piloting the #6 Acura Team Penske ARX-05 in DPi, Spencer Pigot will join the Junco’s Racing #50 Cadillac DPi-V.R team, after finishing 3rd with Mazda at last year’s Petit.

Photo: Risi Competizione Twitter

US Ferrari racing institution Risi Competizione returns to IMSA WTSCC with their bright-red 488 GTE in GTLM, after a hard-fought 2nd place finish at the Daytona 24h back in January. Their driver lineup is quite impressive: James Calado, Alessandro Pier Guidi, and Daniel Serra – these gents co-drove the AF Corse #51 Ferrari 488 GTE to victory at the 24h of Le Mans back in June.

Keep an eye out for more Petit Le Mans content here on WR.com. Another big highlight to the weekend if you happen to be attending the race: stop by our newest retail location! Fun fact: one of the pieces of equipment that Risi Competizione uses to make their driver changes easier is the Sabelt Silver Series Endurance 6-Point Harness, which is a customer-favorite.