Road Atlanta Pre-Race Notebook
John Dagys’ pre-race notebook for 26th annual Motul Petit Le Mans…
October 14, 2023
***In addition to the No. 59 Proton Competition Porsche 963, the No. 63 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 also lost all qualifying times. Mirko Bortolotti got out of the GTD Pro class contender prior to the conclusion of the session, which was in violation of the regulations.
***The No. 63 Lamborghini will start from the penultimate spot on the 52-car field, while the Proton Porsche is set to roll off from 10th overall, by virtue of the GTP class cars being re-ordered to the front of the grid. Click Here for the provisional grid.
***The AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R will start from the back of the grid after the team elected to change it starting driver. Seb Priaulx set the eighth-fastest lap in GTD qualifying.
***Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta reminds Petit Le Mans debutant Jenson Button of the Japanese circuit Sugo, where he raced twice in Super GT. “It’s an awesome track,” said the 2009 Formula 1 world champion. “We had 45 cars racing and 30 in a slower category. Traffic all the time. That was good practice for here.”
***Porsche LMDh factory director Urs Kuratle has downplayed any significant changes to Porsche Penske Motorsport’s driver lineup for next year, despite rumors pointing to at least one potential change within its FIA World Endurance Championship squad.
***Kuratle told Sportscar365: “We’re really happy with all of the drivers we have. That’s something we discuss after the season, actually, which is soon to be over anyways. There will not be major changes in the driver lineup.”
***Wright Motorsports team principal John Wright confirmed to Sportscar365 that it has one full season entry currently on the reserve list, alongside its already confirmed No. 120 car that will compete in GTD. He denied that the No. 120 Porsche 911 GT3 R has been earmarked for Elliott Skeer and Adam Adelson, who drove for the team with the same car number in Fanatec GT this year.
***The Claudio Schiavoni-driven No. 60 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 is set to do the Rolex 24 at Daytona and Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring next year according to team principal Andrea Piccini. It is the only GTD car that IMSA has listed to do selected Michelin Endurance Cup rounds.
***The No. 19 GTD Pro class Iron Lynx Lamborghini was also listed for selected enduros, although it’s understood the intention is for it to complete all five races. This is despite Iron Lynx also running a factory-driven Lamborghini SC63 in GTP at some of the long-distance events.
***LMDh and LMH manufacturers took part in a meeting with the FIA and ACO in Paris two weeks ago, with convergence and the state of the WEC’s Balance of Performance among the topics understood to have been discussed.
***Porsche LMDh factory director Urs Kuratle told Sportscar365: “I think it was a good meeting. There was a lot of discussions and a lot of open discussions as well. The benefit now is that we all have almost one season behind us so there’s a lot of things to look at and a lot of chances to make good lessons learned out of it. I see chances that things will be different for next year but for the good. I’m sure there will be improvements because everybody has the same goal.”
***ACO President Pierre Fillon is among those in attendance from the French organization this weekend.
***Newly crowned Michelin Pilot Challenge TCR class champion Robert Wickens has set his sights on an eventual move into the WeatherTech Championship, although the Canadian is set to return to defend his Pilot Challenge title with Bryan Herta Autosport next year. “I would love the opportunity to try and get into the WeatherTech series in some way shape or form,” Wickens told reporters following Friday’s Fox Factory 120. “[But] I would be more than happy to return back with Bryan and Hyundai and try to fight to protect our championship.”
***Scott Pruett will serve as the grand marshal for today’s race. Pruett, who retired from driving in 2018 following a 50-year career, will be inducted into the inaugural class of the IMSA Hall of Fame at the annual WeatherTech Night of Champions celebration on Sunday.
***While the IMSA GTP title is wide-open heading into Saturday’s race, championships will be crowned in multiple other categories. There are three crews in contention for the LMP2 title. Steven Thomas and Mikkel Jensen lead Ben Keating and Paul-Loup Chatin by 17 points, although George Kurtz and Ben Hanley are also in mathematical contention despite being 104 points off the lead.
***Gar Robinson will become a two-time LMP3 champion if his Riley Ligier JS P320 Nissan takes the start of the race. Doing so would keep Robinson more than 100 points clear of second-placed Anthony Mantella and Wayne Boyd, even if they take a perfect score.
***It’s a similar story in GTD Pro, where Vasser Sullivan Lexus drivers Jack Hawksworth and Ben Barnicoat can clinch the title just by starting. Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow secured the GTD crown last time out at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
***Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims and Jack Aitken lead the Michelin Endurance Cup GTP standings by seven points over nearest rivals Taylor, Albuquerque and Deletraz. Nine points would put the leading Action Express Racing trio out of reach, and this could be achieved before the checkered flag.
***Endurance Cup points – on a 5, 4, 3, 2 scale — are distributed at four hours, eight hours and at the end of the ten-hour race.
***NBC Sports’ coverage of Motul Petit Le Mans kicks off on Peacock at 11:40 a.m. EDT before expanding to USA Network at 6:30 p.m. through the finish of the race. Leigh Diffey and Kevin Lee will be joined by Calvin Fish, Townsend Bell, James Hinchcliffe and Brian Till in the booth with Dillon Welch, Hannah Newhouse, Matt Yocum and Georgia Henneberry on pit lane.
***IMSA Radio will have flag-to-flag coverage led by John Hindhaugh, Jeremey Shaw, Shea Adam, Joe Bradley and Nick Damon, meanwhile.
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