When looking down the entry list for this weekend’s Rolex 24 At Daytona, with its GTP class filled with factory teams and GTD categories oozing star drivers, it could be easy to overlook the 12-car LMP2 class. But you shouldn’t. This year’s field is …
When looking down the entry list for this weekend’s Rolex 24 At Daytona, with its GTP class filled with factory teams and GTD categories oozing star drivers, it could be easy to overlook the 12-car LMP2 class. But you shouldn’t. This year’s field is packed with quality drivers and world-class teams. And with the entire field racing on equal equipment, the racing promises to be as close as ever.
Picking a winner for the Rolex and the title, is near impossible, but there are a few teams that stand out. One of those is AO Racing, with its “Spike” liveried 07 and new-look driver line-up.
After team owner PJ Hyett completed the 2024 season with a rotating cast of characters that included Paul Loup Chatin, Matt Brabham, Alex Quinn and Louis Deletraz, the team has opted to bring a fresh line-up for the season ahead.
For the team’s sophomore campaign with the ORECA stateside, it’s almost all change. Hyett will be joined for the season by 2024 IMSA GTP champion Dane Cameron and by the team’s 2024 ELMS LMP2 champion Jonny Edgar for the longer races, with IndyCar full-timer Christian Rasmussen signed for the Rolex 24.
The addition of Cameron during the off-season is particularly notable. It’s a statement of intent that the team hopes will take its LMP2 team to the next level. The American — who departed the Porsche Penske Motorsport effort after Petit Le Mans on the highest of notes after helping the team sweep the GTP titles — is at the core of AO’s push to claim the LMP2 title for the first time.
“AO is definitely a team of ambition,” he tells RACER. “I saw an opportunity to jump into a group that has all the tools, all the potential in the world to do great things, and showed what they were capable of through GT last year. Now they have the same desire to replicate that in LMP2.
“I would love nothing more than to be the guy to help bring that along forward. It’s not just me, it’s it’s all the other work that they’ve done in the background. But you know, if I could be a small part of that then, hopefully all together, we can kind of lean forward to quite an exciting future.”
James Gilbert/Motorsport Images
Crucially for AO, Cameron doesn’t see this as a temporary landing spot before rejoining a factory team in GTP. He has fully bought in and has a longer-term vision for what he hopes to achieve with the team in this new phase of his career.
“I see an opportunity here to be with PJ for a long time, and obviously, what they’re building,” he says. “Can it win? This is another guiding principle that I’ve always tried to abide by. I do believe this team could win.
“You know, I don’t really place any more significance on winning the GTP championship as I would an LMP2 championship. This whole thing with categories and class wins and overalls is honestly a bit overdone. It just doesn’t really matter that much to me. They’re all really competitive. They’re all really difficult. I’m just as proud as having one GTD title as I am of having one in GTP. The satisfaction comes from doing the best job on the day.”
2025 is set to be the biggest year yet for AO Racing, which has been on a steep upward trajectory since it was founded in 2022. Hyett and fellow co-owner Gunnar Jeanette have accomplished a huge amount in a short space of time.
AO Racing’s fun approach is great for fan engagement, but that doesn’t mean the team is just happy to be there. Michael Levitt/Motorsport Images
Will the team’s stock continue to rise? It’s certainly going to be a challenge to reach the highs from its barnstorming 2024 GTD Pro campaign with the “Rexy” Porsche, which according to Hyett, “got a lot of factories here wondering how the hell a green T-Rex beat them to the championship podium and winner’s circle.”
But with a move like this, signing a newly crowned GTP champion, it’s clear that it’s still full steam ahead for the fan-favorite team.
“We’re so passionate about this and we want to get more people passionate about it and kids rooting for us,” Hyett says. “People may be a little confused because we came to win, but we also like to have fun. You can do both things at the same time. You can attract an entirely new fan base, you can put a smile on people’s faces, and you can also make the race car go really, really fast around the racetrack with the right crew and the right driver line-up.
“I don’t want to say that we had this grandiose plan from day one — I was just trying to put a smile on my kids’ faces with “Rexy,” because their dad’s gone a lot. But the fact of the matter is, like, I do feel like we sort of trapped lightning in a bottle here.
“If we can take advantage of all of that goodwill, it’s a dream-come-true scenario. There’s still a lot more to come.”
AO Racing’s “Spike the Dragon” will spread its wings for its sophomore IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season with a revised driver line-up. The team’s seven-race campaign will be led by returning driver PJ Hyett in the distinctive …
AO Racing’s “Spike the Dragon” will spread its wings for its sophomore IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season with a revised driver line-up. The team’s seven-race campaign will be led by returning driver PJ Hyett in the distinctive purple-and-orange LMP2 machine. Four-time IMSA champion Dane Cameron will join Hyett for the full-season effort.
Hyett secured four pole positions in seven races this season, more than any other driver in the series, although Spike is still chasing its first win. The addition of Cameron’s experience figures to bolster those prospects.
“I am excited to join AO Racing and Spike in 2025,” said Cameron, who spent the past two seasons with Porsche Penske Motorsport. “I think that PJ and Gunnar are creating something really special with Spike and Rexy [in GTD], making new sports car fans every race. LMP2 looks to be extremely competitive but we have a great line-up and everything we need to succeed this season. The goal is to bring PJ and Spike their first IMSA wins and championship.”
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Jonny Edgar and Christian Rasmussen round out Spike’s roster for endurance events, including the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona. Edgar, fresh off a title-winning season with AO by TF in the European Le Mans Series, will bolster the team’s efforts in the Michelin Endurance Cup, which comprises five extended events. Meanwhile, reigning Rolex 24 winner Rasmussen will join the team for Daytona.
“We’ve been putting a lot of effort into elevating the level of competitiveness of our LMP2 program these last few months,” said team principal Gunnar Jeannette. “To have the reigning IMSA and ELMS champions joining us along with another Daytona winner from last year is very special. I can’t wait to see what PJ, Dane, Jonny, and Christian can accomplish in Spike at Daytona and for the 2025 season.”
The 2025 LMP2 championship calendar mirrors that of 2024, kicking off with the Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 25-26.
Laurin Heinrich will return to defend his IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD PRO title, with Porsche ace Klaus Bachler returning to the series full-time to partner him in the No. 77 Porsche 911 GT3 R. Porsche factory driver Alessio …
Laurin Heinrich will return to defend his IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD PRO title, with Porsche ace Klaus Bachler returning to the series full-time to partner him in the No. 77 Porsche 911 GT3 R. Porsche factory driver Alessio Picariello will join in for the endurance rounds as the team attempts to capture one of the big races with “Rexy.”
“We are thrilled to continue our partnership with Porsche in the GTD PRO category for 2025,” said team principal Gunnar Jeannette. “Winning the championship in our first year in such a highly competitive class still feels surreal, and we’re eager to carry that momentum into the new season. Laurin showcased his speed and competitiveness in Rexy throughout 2024, and with Klaus and Alessio joining him, we’re confident we have a strong line-up. The introduction of torque sensors is a new development for IMSA teams in GTD, but we’re optimistic that Porsche’s experience in 2024 will give us a strong foundation to stay competitive from the outset.”
Heinrich started the 2024 season with Seb Priaulx before contesting the latter half of the season with a variety of Porsche factory drivers. Heinrich and Priaulx scored a pair of victories, and the team added a third with Michael Christensen at Indianapolis. Those victories (that earned Rexy three gold teeth) and the strength of the rest of the season gave the team the title in its first season in GTD PRO, along with the prestigious Michelin All Hands Award, recognizing the crew with the least time spent in pit lane.
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“After clinching the 2024 title, I’m very happy to be back with AO Racing and Rexy,” said Heinrich. “I enjoyed working with Klaus for one race last season, so I’m pleased to have him back, and with Alessio, we have another quick driver from the Porsche family. Personally, I’d love to accomplish my goal of winning one of the ‘big ones’ such as Daytona, Sebring and Petit. Thanks to AO Racing and Porsche for giving us such a strong package to come back and try to defend our title.”
Bachler’s last full season in IMSA competition was 2023 with Pfaff Motorsports. The 2023-24 Asian Le Mans Series GT champ with Pure Rxcing had three starts in the WeatherTech Championship last season.
“I’m really excited to be back in IMSA, competing in the GTD PRO class. Partnering with AO is something I’m truly looking forward to,” Bachler said. “With Laurin and Alessio, I have two incredibly fast and smart teammates whom I respect and enjoy working with. A big thank you to Porsche Motorsport and AO for this amazing opportunity. I can’t wait for the new season to start!”
Added Picariello: “I am very happy to join AO Racing, Laurin, and Klaus as the third driver for the long races in IMSA. I respect them both a lot and I’m sure we will form a strong trio together with the whole crew in order to fight for those big trophies. I am also looking forward to jumping into the now-iconic Rexy.”
The 2025 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship begins with the Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 23-26, preceded by the Roar Before the 24 test weekend on Jan. 17-19.
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 …
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.
Rexy’s teeth came out to play, but not in the way AO Racing wanted… Even so, overcoming an electrical issue didn’t stop them from taking a fan-favorite title. Jake Galstad/Lumen
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.
Expect the unexpected at Petit, as always. Conquest Racing came out of nowhere. Jake Galstad/Lumen
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.
Winward’s championship performance was all but a foregone conclusion. Jake Galstad/Lumen
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.”
In a storybook ending for Chip Ganassi Racing, the No. 01 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R of Sebastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande and Scott Dixon came back from a miserable early race to win Petit Le Mans. With a dramatic dive to the inside of Nick …
In a storybook ending for Chip Ganassi Racing, the No. 01 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R of Sebastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande and Scott Dixon came back from a miserable early race to win Petit Le Mans. With a dramatic dive to the inside of Nick Tandy in the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 in Turn 1 with 15m left in the 10-hour race, Renger van der Zande turned around what had looked like a hopeless day to win the last race before CGR exits the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for the time being.
To add a bit of last-second drama, the Cadillac, which had run much of the evening with only one headlight, lost it’s headlights completely with under 5m to go. That would have surely earned a mechanical black flag, but the lights came back on shortly thereafter. They continued to go off intermittently, but were on enough to finish the race.
Porsche Penske Motorsports finished second and third, the No. 6 963 finishing ahead of the No. 7. The third-place finish earned the No. 7 squad of Dane Cameron and Felipe Nasr, aided by Matt Campbell in the endurance races, the GTP championship and the Michelin Endurance Cup. Cadillac Racing closed the gap to the No. 6 team, but in the end fell short of breaking up the PPM one-two in the championship.
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The No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA and drivers Steven Thomas, Mikkel Jensen and Hunter McElrea dominated LMP2 after the polesitting No. 2 United Autosports ORECA exited the fight in an early-race crash. TDS denying the Riley Motorsports squad their first victory, as the No. 74 of Gar Robinson, Felipe Fraga and Josh Burdon finished second, also preserved the championship lead for Nick Boulle, Tom Dillmann and Inter Europol by PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports.
Jordan Pepper in the No. 19 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2 held off a charge by Daniel Serra in the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 to take the GTD PRO victory for himself, Frank Perera and Mirko Bortolotti. The No. 23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo of Ross Gunn, Alex Riberas and Roman De Angelis finished third, which wasn’t enough to wrest the title from Laurin Heinrich and AO Racing.
The No. 77 AO Racing Porche 911 GT3R had a rough race, encountering an electrical issue that affected shifting. Fixing the problem put the car down six laps and Heinrich, with Michael Christensen and Julien Andlauer, finished 11th. Had Gunn been able to take second in the race, the championship would have been his. In the end, the points from Saturday’s qualifying where Heinrich scored pole made the difference.
Conquest Racing was a surprise winner in GTD, Albert Costa Balboa taking 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. Winward Racing took the championship with Russell Ward and Philip Ellis and, along with Indy Dontje, the Michelin Endurance Cup, with a ninth-place finish.
“Spike” and “Rexy” will continue to prowl IMSA circuits in 2025. AO Racing has secured its entries for the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in LMP2 and GTD PRO. This season, its second in the WeatherTech Championship, the team has …
“Spike” and “Rexy” will continue to prowl IMSA circuits in 2025.
AO Racing has secured its entries for the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in LMP2 and GTD PRO. This season, its second in the WeatherTech Championship, the team has competed in both classes to good effect. PJ Hyett and Paul-Loup Chatin have scored four poles and one podium finish in LMP2 with the No. 99 ORECA, aka “Spike the dragon,” and “Rexy,” the No. 77 Porsche 911 GT3 R, has three victories and Laurin Heinrich leads the GTD PRO standings heading into the finale.
“It’s a little bit surreal to think that the 2024 season is almost over and that we head into Petit Le Mans leading the GTD PRO Championship,” said team principal Gunnar Jeannette. “The team has had a lot of growth this year, and it’s been a massive effort from everyone involved to get to where we are. We are looking forward to building on all of that work and rolling out at Daytona in 2025 with two cars that are capable of winning their class.”
AO Racing’s amiable monsters meet the fans at an autograph session during the Watkins Glen weekend. Richard Dole/Motorsport Images
In addition to the on-track success, the team has built a strong fan following of all ages, bringing a new style of fun and fan engagement to the paddock. It starts with the Spike and Rexy the T-Rex (and sometimes Roxy the pink dinosaur) liveries on the cars, but the team carries the theme into the paddock and gridwalks.
“The fans have really embraced Spike, Rexy and Roxy this year, for which we are extremely grateful,” Jeannette noted. “It’s so much fun to see families and young children get so enthusiastic about both the cars and characters. We can’t wait to build more on that support nationwide across the IMSA calendar.”
The team will confirm driver lineups at a later date.
Porsche may not have had its best day in GTP, but it doesn’t get much better than a double victory at Indianapolis in the GT categories. Not only did AO Racing overcome a qualifying penalty to take its third GTD PRO victory of the season, but Wright …
Porsche may not have had its best day in GTP, but it doesn’t get much better than a double victory at Indianapolis in the GT categories. Not only did AO Racing overcome a qualifying penalty to take its third GTD PRO victory of the season, but Wright Motorsports took the GTD win, the first for Adam Adelson and Elliott Skeer, joined by Jan Heylen for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s six-hour Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Laurin Heinrich had the fastest time in Saturday’s qualifying session, but post-session tech found that the No. 77 Porsche 911 GT3 R didn’t meet the minimum ride height rules. Nevertheless, Heinrich and Michael Christensen recovered nicely, moving steadily through the field and drove to a 12.527s margin of victory over the No. 64 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Mustang GT3 of Mike Rockenfeller and Harry Tincknell.
“I think starting from the very back and knowing that many cars in front of me were Bronze drivers or slower drivers, it’s easy to get overambitious,” Heinrich said of advancing through the field. “I really told myself that I want to hold a bit back and don’t rush too much because I knew it’s a long race, six hours, and we knew rain was coming. That was my approach. I wanted to get them one by one, and I think that worked out pretty well.
“Soon I realized I had good pace and fuel saved when I needed, and when I needed to attack, I took them one by one. … It’s also good for me to prove it to myself that I can do something like this.”
Rockenfeller qualified the No. 64 Mustang third, but found himself at the front after a bit of yo-yoing through the field. It was the final pit stop that proved decisive, though, as the AO crew got Christensen out of the pits in first and he used the clear track in front of him to good effect. Rockenfeller and Tincknell matched their second-place finish at VIR in the last outing.
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“Rocky had a really good start and it looked like we were capable of running up front,” said Tincknell. “The rain gradually picked up, and we made a good strategy call to go to wets. We were behind the safety car for a long time, so the team decided to box and put on new tires. I hopped into the car and the stop sent us to the back. I had a lot of fun moving through the field. This was the second time I’ve ever driven this car in the wet, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. The car performed really well and sliced through the field.
“I made it up to podium position, and we decisively changed back to slicks. That phase of the race brought us to the lead. Some lapped traffic kept me on my toes, and I was challenged by a competitor behind me. I was giving it every single ounce I could. Unfortunately, we came out of the final pit second. The car is really showing its strengths across all conditions.”
Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims in the No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Z06 GT3.R took third ahead of Jack Hawksworth and Ben Barnicoat in the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3.
Heart of Racing doubled up on its GTD PRO effort by moving the second Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo from GTD, but still the best that Ross Gunn and Alex Riberas could do was fifth in the No. 23 Aston. It allowed Heinrich and AO to stretch their championship lead over Gunn and Heart of Racing to 99 points. A tough day for the No. 01 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 meant an eighth-place finish for Bryan Sellers, Madison Snow and Neil Verhagen, all but eliminating Sellers and Snow from the championship as they now have a 219-point deficit going into Petit Le Mans.
It’s always good when the only sight your competition sees is the tail of your car. Once again Wright Motorsports bounced back from a hard recent go and slip-slided to a win at the Brickyard. Jake Galstad/Lumen
The No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R had an impressive debut at Daytona, but the mid-season has been fraught with struggles. The No. 120 led the class for most of the Indy race, with Heylen driving the final stint and taking a 2.465s victory over a charging Robby Foley in the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 he shared with Patrick Gallagher and Jake Walker.
Adelson started 15th in the 22-car GTD field, but advanced steadily to hand the car to Heylen in fifth. Heylen took it to the front before turning it over to Skeer for a double stint before taking the car to the finish. Overall, the No. 120 Porsche led 140 laps of the 207 they completed.
“Usually, it’s just survive and stay on the lead lap and try to stay as high up in the pack as you can,” Adelson said. “Today I really felt like I made a difference. The driver order, after that, just with the yellows and the rain, it just made sense to keep me in for the first 1h30m, 1h40m, and hand off to Jan and have Elliott double and have Jan finish because we wanted him to finish.”
“Adam was definitely in the most changing conditions out there, and ultimately he did an unbelievable job driving through the field in the middle of the rain and chaos to put us in a strong position. Then it became the job of both Jan and myself just to minimize any losses,” added Skeer.
The drivers hadn’t really been comfortable with the car after missing most of the first practice session due to contact. Even in qualifying, they felt they still hadn’t made the right calls. For the race, the car was great in all conditions.
“I think we really didn’t have the right setup on the car, and we didn’t get it right for qualy either, so we kind of threw the kitchen sink at it … but in a very calculated way with a lot of intent in every single change,” Adelson said. “I have to give a really strong shout out to the guys at Wright Motorsports because they really pulled a rabbit out of the hat with that one and gave us an incredible, incredible car that worked great in the dry, worked great in the wet. It was comfortable to drive. It was just amazing.”
Kenton Koch, Mikael Grenier and Mike Skeen finished third in the No. 32 Korthoff Preston Motorsports Mercedes AMG that saw its first victory in the most recent race at VIR, ahead of the No. 78 Forte Racing Lamborghini Huracan driven by Loris Spinelli, Misha Goikhberg and Devlin DeFrancesco. Championship leaders Winward Racing with Russell Ward, Philip Ellis and Indy Dontje were fifth.
That fifth-place finish means Ward and Ellis don’t go into the finale with the championship in hand, but they only need to start the race to secure the title.
Despite the fact that AO Racing is leading the GTD PRO points in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, AO Racing and Sebastian Priaulx will part ways for the remainder of the 2024 season. The change comes to allow Priaulx, who has partnered …
Despite the fact that AO Racing is leading the GTD PRO points in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, AO Racing and Sebastian Priaulx will part ways for the remainder of the 2024 season. The change comes to allow Priaulx, who has partnered with Laurin Heinrich so far this season, to focus on his growing commitments with Multimatic Motorsports.
Priaulx and Heinrich are leading the GTD PRO standings after the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park round. Priaulx, who was a part of the team’s two wins this season at Laguna Seca and Detroit, will step away from the No. 77 Porsche 911 GT3 R to focus on his long-term future with Multimatic. Increasing obligations and schedule conflicts have necessitated the transition sooner than expected, but the team remains focused on the GTD PRO championship as they lead the points headed into the final four rounds of the season.
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“All of us at AO Racing wish Seb the best and are thankful for the time Multimatic let him spend with us,” said team principal Gunnar Jeannette. “He has been a huge part of our team as we brought Rexy [the team’s Porsche 911 GT3 R] to life, and we are proud to have our early successes with him on the effort. We are working with Porsche to find a suitable driver to partner with Laurin for the remainder of the season.”
AO Racing said it will announce the new driver lineup for its GTD PRO entry shortly. The next round of the season is Road America, Aug. 2-4.
Deprived of a proper qualifying session for last year’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen due to inclement weather, the GTP runners made up for it with an exciting session where every driver was under the existing track record, set during the race last …
Deprived of a proper qualifying session for last year’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen due to inclement weather, the GTP runners made up for it with an exciting session where every driver was under the existing track record, set during the race last year. Louis Deletraz came out on a top of a rapid-fire fast lap rotation to take the GTP pole with a 1m32.309s lap, good for a 132.6mph average around the 3.4-mile, 11-turn Watkins Glen International circuit.
“It’s great to be on pole,” said Deletraz. “The car was fast today — very fast — and I felt good, so I could really push straight away, get the grip and put it on pole, so that’s nice. But we know what’s important is Sunday and the race; the points are tomorrow, so to be sure winning in Sebring was nice, but it’s quite far away. We had some harder weekends in Laguna and Detroit, so we’re looking forward to bouncing back here.”
Renger van der Zande, making his first qualifying appearance for Cadillac Racing since Daytona in 2022, held the top spot briefly in the No. 01 V-Series.R before Deletraz pipped him by 0.038s. The No. 01 will start on the outside of the first row.
Jack Aitken posted a 1m32.519s lap to start the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac Racing V-Series.R on the inside of the second row. The No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 found itself the best of the four 963s in the field courtesy of Phil Hanson’s 1m32.525s to put the car outside the second row. It will be the two Porsche Penske Motorsport 963s on the third row, Mathieu Jaminet in the No. 6 besting teammate Felipe Nasr in the No. 7 by 0.069s.
Philipp Eng, in the only BMW M Team RLL M Hybrid V8 to qualify, will start seventh, and the Lamborghini SC63 will start ninth after Andrea Caldarelli qualified the car with a time identical to Gianmaria Bruni in the No. 5 Proton Competition Porsche. Caldarelli posted his time first, so he gets the better grid position. Those identical times were 0.714s off Deletraz’s pole time, and that was the margin for the whole GTP field.
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PJ Hyett put the No. 99 AO Racing ORECA known as “Spike” on top, then kept lowering his best time to take the LMP2 pole — his second of the season — by an impressive 0.682s over Daniel Goldburg in the No. 22 United Autosports ORECA. Hyett’s 1m35.925 was good for a 127.6mph average around Watkins Glen. It’s Hyett’s second consecutive pole in three LMP2 races, the first coming at Sebring.
“I got my first racing license when I was 38 years old…I’m 41 now so haven’t been doing this for very long,” explained Hyett. “It’s one of those…unbelievably magical things about motorsports. I wouldn’t call that a perfect lap. There are still 12 things I think I could have done better about that lap, but when you see the time after you go over the start finish…yeah, it’s a magical feeling.”
Steven Thomas qualified the No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA at 1m36.609s. Nick Boulle was fourth in the No. 52 Inter Europol by PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports entry, followed by Ben Keating in the No. 2 United Autosports ORECA.
Jake Galstad/Lumen
IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup team Risi Competizione will start the Six Hour on the GT pole after Daniel Serra set a new GTD PRO record in qualifying. Serra’s 1m44.203s (117.46mph) in the No. 62 Ferrari 296 GT3 beat a two-year-old record set by Connor De Phillippi in a BMW M4 GT3, as well as the GTD record set by Loris Spinelli last year in the Forte Racing Lamborghini Huracan.
“The track was quite different from this morning and everything that we changed worked very well,” said Serra as Risi looks to back up its Daytona win and second at Sebring. “I think the starting position doesn’t decide your end position in the race; it’s six hours of racing. We have a lot to do tomorrow, but of course it’s better to start in the front; track position is quite important especially at this track where it’s very difficult to overtake. I’m very happy and I have to say thank you to the team that gave me a really nice car.”
Parker Thompson was the sole GTD interloper in the GTD PRO top 10, scoring his third pole of the season in the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3. His 1m44.642s time was good for sixth overall in the GT field. He’ll start on the outside of the third row of the GT cars with a nice buffer of GTD PRO cars between him and the closest GTD competitor, putting the No. 12 in good position to defend its victory from last year.
“We know our Lexus RC F agrees with Watkins Glen. It agreed today in qualifying,” Thompson said. “This place is unbelievable for a qualifying lap. It’s fun to drive in the race, but for one lap, squeezing everything you can out of it, it’s probably the best one lap you could ever get as a race car driver — tons of commitment. Glad I got it done today for the No. 12 team, but nobody remembers who wins the pole; they only remember the guys in victory lane, so we’ve got a job to finish tomorrow.”
Despite having a puncture on the left rear of the No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Z06 GT3.R and losing the carcass on the track as the checker fell on the session, Alexander Sims qualified on the outside of the front GT row with a time 0.114s off Serra’s. Ross Gunn put the No. 23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo on the inside of the second row with a 1m44.387s. Jack Hawksworth will start alongside Gunn in the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F. The second Corvette, the No. 4 Z06 GT3.R qualified by Nicky Catsburg, will be inside Thompson’s Lexus on the third row.
Onofrio Triarsi put in his best qualifying performance to qualify the No. 023 Triarsi Competizone Ferrari 296 second in GTD with a 1m45.242s (identical to the time Franck Perera turned in the No. 19 GTD PRO Iron Lynx Lamborghini). The time was the twelfth-fastest in the GT field as a whole, and the Ferrari will start outside the sixth row. It’s two GTD Mercedes AMGs in the row behind; the seventh row will be the No. 32 Korthoff Preston Motorsports entry (Mikael Grenier) and the No. 57 Winward Racing car (Russell Ward).
The Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen is scheduled for a green flag at 11:10 a.m. ET on Sunday.
On a tight street course where passing was considered to be at an absolute premium, Ricky Taylor proved it was possible in scooting past Mathieu Jaminet to deliver not only the first victory for the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura …
On a tight street course where passing was considered to be at an absolute premium, Ricky Taylor proved it was possible in scooting past Mathieu Jaminet to deliver not only the first victory for the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06 of the season, but the first GTP victory for Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque. For the team that had gone without a win in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship since 2022, claiming the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic in the first IMSA race on the downtown Detroit street circuit was an emotional occasion.
Meanwhile AO Racing’s Sebastian Priaulx and Laurin Heinrich scored their second-consecutive victory thanks in large part to every car that made it to the front of GTD PRO having an issue, starting with alternator trouble for the polesitting No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Z06 GT3.R, Antonio Garcia pulling the car into the pits for a lengthy stop right after the race start.
No surprise for a tight, 1.654-mile, nine-turn street circuit, the 100-minute race was marked by a surfeit of contact and full-course cautions, five in total, including one with a full track blockage after Jack Aitken in the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac Racing V-Series.R hit and spun Richard Westbrook in the No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 int he tight Turn 1. Many of the incidents affected frontrunners in both GTP and GTD, either as victims or perpetrators.
Starting fourth, Albuquerque made the first move toward the front at the green flag, getting a “buy one, get one free” as he described it by passing both Dane Cameron in the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963, who was slowed getting passed by Sebastien Bourdais in the No. 01 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R, and then getting by Bourdais as well. But in the early stages of the race, he had nothing for Nick Tandy in the No. 6 PPM 963.
“We were happy about this weekend,” said Albuquerque. “We had more pace than in the past, in other races, so we knew we could do well. But to be honest, after what’s been happening to us, we need to be humble and we’ve got to start somewhere, so a podium would be good for us. But in the end of the day, we are racers, we go where it takes us and whatever the opportunity takes. The start was a good example of that.”
Albuquerque was gifted the lead a short time later, but Taylor would have to get it back with his pass. Although the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 had started on the pole courtesy of Tandy, the fact that Jaminet had the lead to lose was nothing short of remarkable and the result of a stroke of luck. Tandy had made contact with Daniel Serra in the No. 35 Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 under braking for Turn 3 and spun the Ferrari. Determined to have responsibility for the incident, the No. 6 received a drive-through penalty, handing the lead to Albuquerque.
Dropped through the field, Tandy stayed out long after most of the GTP field pitted, most of which started as soon as the window to make it to the end of the race on fuel opened. Having cycled to the lead, he put in quick laps at the front. Pitting with just over an hour left, PPM was blessed with a massive gift — a full course caution for the No. 25 BMW M Team RLL M Hybrid V8 stopped on the Jefferson Ave. straight. That allowed Mathieu Jaminet to emerge from the stop in the lead, also helped by the fact that the Porsche needed less fuel to make it to the end.
It looked like Jaminet had what he needed to keep the point, but shortly after the penultimate restart, Taylor clearly had something for him. With Taylor sticking to the back of the Porsche, Jaminet seemed to let his guard down as the pair passed a GT car on the Jefferson Ave. straight. Taylor saw his opportunity and took it, diving to the inside and taking the line away from the Porsche on the entry to Turn 3.
“The Porsche was really strong on short runs on restarts,” explained Taylor. “So the longer it went, we could kind of claw our way back. The Acura guys and the whole team has made a really strong car in the braking and that was really where we’re able to do it. I think had it not been for that one GT car, if we’d had all those restarts after and the way the race went, that was probably my last shot to get him and I’m really relieved that that we took advantage of it because it was still quite a long ways to go. You would have thought there would have been more opportunities, but with how good they were on restarts, I don’t think I would have had another chance.”
Jaminet made no attempt to hide his disappointment with finishing second in a race that he believed the team should have won.
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“I caught traffic at the wrong spot, Turn 1 and Turn 2, that gave him a shot and I underestimated how close he was,” Jaminet said “We were struggling a little bit on the brakes and it seemed to be their strength, so he used the opportunity and [Taylor] did a good move and kind of made it stop. Congrats to them. From my side, yeah, not happy with myself because this is definitely not one of my my best drives today. So something that will work on for the for the future that this doesn’t happen again.”
Bourdais and Renger van der Zande, winners in Long Beach, finished fourth in the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R. The No. 7 PPM 963 was fifth with Cameron and Felipe Nasr fifth in the No. 7 PPM 963, making a recovery drive after Nasr suffered a tire puncture and had to make a second call to the pits.
Cameron and Nasr extended their points lead in the GTP standings, holding 1669 points to 1599 for Bourdais and van der Zande, now in second after a tough weekend for the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac Racing squad of Pipo Derani and Jack Aitken, who finished sixth and fell from second to fourth in the points. Jaminet and Tandy sit third with 1586 points.
The AO Racing Porsche came away with the GTD PRO win. Brett Farmer/Lumen
Like the GTP-winning Acura squad, Priaulx and Heinrich started fourth with the No. 777 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R, Rexy sporting a new gold tooth after the team’s win at Laguna Seca last month. However, starting with the problem for Garcia, cars in front of them struck trouble.
That include a two-for-one incident that almost cost AO the race and left them to survive to the end with a broken splitter. Heinrich was pursuing the leading pair of Nicky Catsburg in the No. 4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R and Ben Barnicoat in the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3 when the two came to blows in Turn 3. Barnicoat dove inside the Corvette while Catsburg tried to close the door and the two cars made contact, the Corvette ending up backwards.
Heinrich had tried to go to the outside as the two combatants had moved toward the inside, but ended nosing into the Corvette.
“The Lexus and the Corvette they were going for it into the hairpin and I saw that, so I wanted to put myself in the best position I could be – A, to stay safe and, B, to capitalize on it,” explained Heinrich of the incident. “They got caught up in an incident and me being on the outside of a really sharp turn. Unfortunately, I hit the spun Corvette. It’s the characteristics of street circuit; there’s not much space to avoid.
“You had a hit, but you don’t know how the car looks from the outside. So immediately went on the radio asking how does it look on the TV images? How did the car look when I passed? At first glance it looked quite OK. But once I came back to the to the backstraight, the splitter was going up and down and touching the floor. It was horrendous inside the car at the end of the race. I couldn’t see any more, it was vibrating that bad. I could adapt quite well – we have some tools in the car with the TC, brake bias, ABS to to help this understeer which which will happen if you have splitter damage. I adapted my driving style quite well, and I think we didn’t have to compromise so much pace,” he continued.
Heinrich got away first to take the lead, pursued by Barnicoat. The Lexus hung with the Porsche for a while, despite missing the majority of the nose of the car and occasionally shedding bits of carbon fiber, but eventually faded from the fight, leaving Heinrich to drive unimpeded to the checker.
“I couldn’t be prouder of everyone on the team and just how they’ve been working this year,” said Priaulx. “It’s just amazing that we’ve had two wins with these pro guys and factory teams. We’re just a single-car team and I’m just sort of gobsmacked that we’re winning these races. And Laurin here … my teammate is actually awesome, did a mega job to get the car home with this damage that we had. He just wanted to get it round to be honest. So super proud of the guys.”
Barnicoat and Jack Hawksworth ended up second place at the checker, followed by Alex Riberas in the No. 23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo he took over from Ross Gunn.
Riberas was involved in an incident of his own that left the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports McLaren 720 S GT3 Evo in the tires in Turn 3 in the closing minutes of the race. Until that point, it looked like Marvin Kirchofer was poised to claim the first GTD PRO podium for McLaren.
Parker Thompson and Frankie Montecalvo, making a guest appearance in GTD PRO for Vasser Sullivan Racing in the absence of GTD, finished fourth in the No. 15 Lexus RC F. Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow were fifth in the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3.
With their second victory of the season, Priaulx and Heinrich bolstered their points lead, their 1359 points 84 ahead of Barnicoat and Hawksworth. Gunn, who ran Laguna Seca without regular co-driver Riberas due to a WEC conflict, sits third at 1192. Sellers and Snow are fourth, while Catsburg and Milner are fifth ahead of teammates Garcia and Alexander Sims.
