Amidst a GTD PRO championship emotional rollercoaster, a Petit Le Mans victory for the No. 19 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2 of Franck Perera, Jordan Pepper and Mirko Bortolotti was almost lost in the fray as they seemed to cruise effortlessly to a 2.361s victory over Risi Competizione.
All eyes were on the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD PRO title fight, though, as an early problem for AO Racing put what seemed like a sure thing for the team and Laurin Heinrich in jeopardy.
The Iron Lynx Lamborghini quickly positioned itself as a contender for the race victory. Pepper only had to fend off an attack by Risi’s Daniel Serra in the No. 62 Ferrari 296 GT3 after the final restart to claim the victory, the first in IMSA competition for Pepper and the Iron Lynx team.
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“It’s been amazing. It’s been two tough seasons, tough years for us. I think we’ve been showing good potential, but we never managed to pull it off, never managed to get the result we got today,” said Bortolotti. “I think it’s a proud moment to be back on the top side of the podium in IMSA. It’s a great championship for us. We always enjoy being here. I think it was about time to have a result like this.”
While the Lamborghini was clearly strong over the long run, the fight with the Ferrari of Serra, Davide Rigon and Alessandro Pier Guidi was tough at times.
“Just an intense, intense battle out there, all stints,” Pepper said. “I think there was a point where we were mixing it up with the GTD cars, and I got to the lead, which was quite good. We had a moment with Daniel. I think it was quite a critical, crucial moment where he got stuck behind a BMW on cold tires where we could regain the lead again. Then it was just head down, full attack, obviously.
“It seemed like they had the pace over us on one lap, but we seemed very strong over the distance, which I think made the difference today. What was really impressive was the guys behind the wall that made some good strategy calls,” he added.
The Risi squad did a lot of work to be in the championship fight. Minor contact early in Saturday’s qualifying session between the Risi Ferrari and the GTD-class No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 left a bit of debris on track. Both cars lost their two best times for causing a red flag, and the No. 62 started 23rd in the GT field.
As intriguing as the intra-Italian battle was, the drama of the GTD PRO championship fight overshadowed it. What seemed like it would be an easy run to the title for Laurin Heinrich and AO Racing was turned on its head when the No. 77 Porsche 911 GT3 R had an electrical connection to the steering wheel go awry, which in turn caused a shifting problem. Several dramatic moments with the car that was co-driven by Michael Christensen and Julien Andlauer eventually led to a lengthy pit stop to replace a cable. The No. 77 was suddenly six laps down and in ninth place.
Coming into the race with a 104-point margin to Ross Gunn and the Heart of Racing Team, the championship could now go either way. The No. 23 HoR Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo was running in the vicinity of second and third. Second place or better meant the championship would go to Gunn and HoR; Third or worse and the title was Heinrich’s. For hours, the championship went back and forth. After the final restart, Gunn was doing everything he could, including turning the race’s fastest lap, half a second better than any other GT car, as well as a whole lot of laps close that fast one.
In the end, though, Gunn fell less than 2s short of second place, a podium for him, Alex Riberas and Roman De Angelis the consolation prize.
“I know everyone was pushing for me and rooting for me because my name was there on the championship, but this is a car No. 23 effort,” said Gunn. “We came so close — four points is the difference of one or two qualifying positions, which is really nothing. A sad day to not win the championship, but the greatest thing that I take away from all of this is that we’ve improved so much over the last few years, and I’m so proud of that.”
For Heinrich, who has had a revolving door of co-drivers after a strong start to the season with Seb Priaulx, winning the championship in his first season of IMSA competition was a relief. It came down to scoring pole position on Saturday – the margin prior to that was 99 points, which was more than erased with the contenders’ respective finishing positions.
“What a year. In the end, it’s decided by four points,” noted Heinrich, whose only previous experience at Road Atlanta came in Porsche Carrera Cup. “If I think back throughout the season, what are four points? I mean, it’s all these small decisions to take in a qualifying or in a race.
“I can’t thank my team enough, and also my teammates. I’ve had plenty of teammates this year. First of all Seb Priaulx – he did most races with me. Exceptional driver and I got along with him really well. Also Michael Christensen, Julien Andlauer and Klaus Bachler were all from the Porsche family. I really appreciate their support, because in the end, they joined me, and they were not fighting for their own championship; they were just there to help the team and me win our championship, and I think it really speaks for them.”
Paul Miller Racing took the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup title for Bryan Sellers, Madison Snow and Neil Verhagen.
Conquest Racing was a surprise winner in GTD. Albert Costa Balboa took advantage of a late caution to get the No. 34 Ferrari 296 into position to attack Loris Spinelli in the No. 78 Forte Racing Lamborghini Huracan and earn victory for himself, Manny Franco and Cedric Sbirrazzuoli. It was an impressive result for a team in its rookie year in IMSA GTD competition, especially given Franco’s limited experience that included only a little Ferrari Challenge racing before he stepped into GT3.
“I’ve only had three years of racing,” Franco noted. “For me, it’s an important sign. You can work your way up through smaller series here at IMSA. It means a lot for me, and it means a lot for everyone who was involved in the Ferrari Challenge program because they work a lot in improving us as drivers. Ferrari themselves are very supportive of me as I’ve continued on in my career here.
“To win here at Petit, I’ve been told already by many people that it’s a huge thing for me, it’s a huge thing for the Conquest Racing team and the guys here,” he added.
Conquest moved up steadily from its eighth-place starting position, but never really looked like a contender for victory until after final caution that came with less than an hour to go.
“To be honest, when I did the first stint, I was not expecting to win,” Costa said. “I was expecting to be maybe top five, top four. Maybe if there was a yellow, maybe in the top three. These guys always manage to move forward. They were overtaking [cars on track] all the time. We keep believing; the team [made] no mistakes, and at the end, yeah, the car was a rocket, and this, of course, makes your life a little bit easy.
“We had also to manage the tires because of degradation. In GTD it’s quite high. [In] the first stint I pushed a little bit too much. At the end I was struggling. [For the] two last stints, I didn’t push at the limit at the beginning to keep the tires safe. I think it also was one of the keys to get the win for us.”
Conquest took a 0.718s victory over defending winners Forte Racing with Spinelli, Misha Goikberg and Devlin DeFrancesco. The No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus of Frankie Montecalvo, Parker Thompson and Aaron Telitz was third, like Risi battling back from the qualifying penalty.
Given the large points margin Winward Racing came into the race with, they took the GTD championship for Russell Ward and Philip Ellis. With Indy Dontje, Winward claimed the IMEC title as well.
“This is the end goal, right?” said Ward. “You come here, and you want to win races. You want to be competitive. All of us have eyes on the championship. You know, it’s just an incredible result for the team. A lot of long nights. It’s been difficult but exciting at the same time. It’s really good to be able to bring it home.”