In front of what is believed to be a record crowd at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta for an IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race, the 2024 Motul Petit Le Mans began with Jack Aitken getting a massive start in the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac Racing …
In front of what is believed to be a record crowd at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta for an IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race, the 2024 Motul Petit Le Mans began with Jack Aitken getting a massive start in the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac Racing V-Series.R, pulling out a 0.5s lead almost immediately. Connor De Phillippi, right behind Aitken in line, took advantage of clear track in front of him to put the No. 25 BMW M Team RLL M Hybrid V8 into second ahead of Matt Campbell in the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 and Sebastien Bourdais in the No. 01 Cadillac.
The moment Campbell crossed the start line, Porsche Penske Motorsport and Porsche were guaranteed the team and manufacturer championships. The No. 7 team cannot be overtaken by the No. 01 Cadillac in the points, although which PPM 963 will be champion is still in question.
The No. 01 squad was dealt another blow early, as they received a mechanical black flag for “Scritineering System Requirements,” which likely translates to putting out too much power. Sitting still in the pits with a computer plugged into the car put the No. 01 Cadillac, Bourdais still at the wheel, a lap down.
All polesitters kept their positions at the start, but 20m in, Scott Andrews beached the No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes AMG he qualified on GTD pole in the gravel at Turn 5, handing the lead to Robby Foley in the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3. The field was shuffled shortly thereafter as all teams took advantage of the yellow to pit for fuel. Unfortunately for Bourdais, the No. 40 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06 with Jordan Taylor at the wheel did not pit.
The apparently record crowd makes it 11 of 12 races this season that the WeatherTech Championship has seen new high marks for attendance.
Two drivers that have already proven their mettle in qualifying this season will be sitting on pole for Saturday’s 1h40m IMSA SportsCar Grand Prix of Long Beach. Pipo Derani scored his third consecutive pole of 2024 to head GTP, while Parker …
Two drivers that have already proven their mettle in qualifying this season will be sitting on pole for Saturday’s 1h40m IMSA SportsCar Grand Prix of Long Beach. Pipo Derani scored his third consecutive pole of 2024 to head GTP, while Parker Thompson claimed his second GTD pole following his qualifying performance for the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
Derani ended qualifying for the third round of the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season with a slightly rearranged nose on the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac Racing V-Series.R after setting his 1m11.388s (99.24mph) time early in the session before the crew slapped on a new set of tires. But while going for another flyer, he nosed it into the Turn 9 tire wall. Fortunately he was able to reverse quickly – something he and his engineers had discussed during the track walk – and avoided causing a red flag that would also cost him his fast lap.
Nick Yelloly and Sebastien Bourdais were on different qualifying strategies, both waiting until late in the session to emerge from the pits and attempt to put in a lap. Yelloly fell a mere 0.009s short of grabbing the pole for the No. 25 BMW M Team RLL M Hybrid V8, which will start on the outside of the second row.
The late-session strategy nearly bit Bourdais, who had a fast lap balked by Mike Rockenfeller in the No. 5 Proton Competition Porsche 963, which has struggled for pace all day. He started his next lap with only seconds left in the session, and posted a 1m11.411s time in the No. 01 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R, 0.023s off pole, to start on the inside of the second row.
“It’s it’s a street track and it’s a very difficult one to pass on, so I’m happy with the lap,” said Derani. “I did it early in the session, and some guys left it to try towards the end, but the lap seemed to be enough – just enough – for pole, which was good. But yeah, on a street track like this in 100 minute race it’s always important to start off on pole.”
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Nick Tandy, the defending Long Beach winner with Mathieu Jaminet in the No, 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963, will start outside the second row.
Tandy’s teammate Dane Cameron put the No. 7 PPM 963 on the inside of the third row, and Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti finally found enough pace for Jordan Taylor to qualify the No. 40 Acura ARX-06 in sixth. The GTP field, minus the No. 5 Porsche, was separated by only 0.611s.
Despite good conditions that led to a new track record in GTD, as well as a softer Michelin tire, Derani’s time was nearly 1.5s off Filipe Albuquerque’s pole time from last year, which Derani put down to track conditions.
“I don’t know … We had the same at Sebring,” Derani said. “We were slower than last year, but I believe it’s mostly down to track conditions, and at Sebring we had a short qualifying session due to the red flags. But here it could be down to just the rubber that’s been laid down by the Indy cars and the other categories as well. I quite honestly didn’t feel like the track evolved as much as it did last year.”
Perry Nelson/Lumen
Vasser Sullivan Racing and Lexus’s plan to split its drivers and run a second GTD car paid off as it was a Lexus 1-2 in qualifying. Parker Thompson got the better of his usual co-driver Frankie Montecalvo, putting the No. 89 Lexus RC F GT3 on pole with a 1m17.357s (91.59mph) lap, a new GTD record. It was Thompson’s second pole of the season, and Lexus’s first at Long Beach.
“There was a lot of pressure today,” declared Thompson. “Practice two, we did a qualifying sim and I thought that we were going to have to work really hard for that pole. We still had to work hard for it, but to be 1-2, really proud. That just shows how good our Lexus is around Long Beach. Awesome to get Frankie up there too. He’s obviously my full-time teammate, so it’s a little bittersweet because I love to take a pole but he’s been working really hard this year with me, and now with Jack Hawksworth, to make sure that he’s up at the front. Great to sweep the front row, but it’s only half the job.”
Montecalvo was 0.262s off Thompson’s best in the all-Lexus front row in the No. 12. The two drivers are teamed with last year’s long Beach winners in GTD PRO, Ben Barnicoat in the No. 12 and Jack Hawksworth in the No. 89.
Albert Costa Balboa had a 1m17.679s in the No. 34 Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 to claim the inside of the second row, and Roman De Angelis will start the No. 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo to his right. Row three as the GTDs roll to the green will be the No. 45 WTRAndretti Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2 (Danny Formal) and the No. 32 Korthoff Preston Motorsports Mercedes AMG (Mikael Grenier), freshly repaired from its shunt in the first practice. The team reports that most of the left side of the car was replaced, as well as some major parts like the splitter.
With the exception of Costa, De Angelis, and Grenier, it was the Am drivers qualifying in GTD, creating the greatest range in lap times of any session so far.
Stevan McAleer set the quickest GTD lap in the second practice, but it was all the car had – Sheena Monk didn’t get to qualify the No. 66 Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 because the Gradient Racing crew was changing the engine. With no warmup prior to the race, the first time that new engine will run is on the recon lap prior to Saturday’s green flag.
Next: The 1h40m IMSA SportsCar Grand Prix of Long Beach, with green scheduled for 1:35 p.m. local time, 4:35 p.m. ET.
Pipo Derani is entering 2024 as a champion – a position he’s not unfamiliar with, after he and Alexander Sims took the inaugural IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP title for Whelen Engineering Cadillac Racing. He also finds himself with a …
Pipo Derani is entering 2024 as a champion — a position he’s not unfamiliar with, after he and Alexander Sims took the inaugural IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP title for Whelen Engineering Cadillac Racing. He also finds himself with a new full-time co-driver, another situation that he’s becoming used to, having come into the last three seasons with someone new. But with Jack Aitken sliding into the full-time driver role from his endurance addition position, the transition isn’t as big.
With the 28-year-old Aitken joining him, though, it means a transition of another sort. The 30-year-old Brazilian is now the senior member on the team to a less experienced co-driver. With previous teammates Mike Conway, Felipe Nasr and Alexander Sims, all of whom had a wide range of experience in sports car racing and other disciplines of the sport, Derani had little to teach and some things to learn. Now his role becomes less student and more mentor, even if his former Formula 1 reserve and test driver teammate is widely experienced.
“Jack came to the top of all the categories when we started late last year researching the various drivers who would be available for our endurance role,” says team manager Gary Nelson. “Being young, to me, for an endurance driver says you can build experience at the endurance races the first year. The opportunity came and he’ll be our full-time driver next year. They get along very well.
“What’s interesting is that Pipo will be in a different role with Jack coming on board. Before, we had Mike Conway kind of working with Pipo when he was younger and we got wins and championships with Mike as our endurance driver. I think it’s a great transformation to see him mature and grow into the top driver on our team and a young guy coming along getting the advantage of Pipo’s experience.
“I like the idea of having that small age difference because I saw how Conway and Pipo advanced through their years working together. Same with Felipe Nasr,” Nelson adds, referencing the partner with whom Derani won the 2021 DPi title.
Aitken already has enduro experience with the Whelen team, but Derani is hopeful their strengths can be meshed even more strongly in 2024. Michael Levitt/Motorsport Images
Derani acknowledges that while he is the more experienced endurance sports car racer, he doesn’t really feel like there’s much to teach his teammate. Not only has Aitken raced with the team in the Michelin Endurance Cup races in 2023, including the victory at Sebring and at Le Mans, but Aitken was the reserve and test driver for Renault and Williams in F1. Derani, though, has been with the team for a long time, and has many more years racing in the WeatherTech Championship; that experience may prove valuable in helping Aitken integrate and perform at a high level more quickly.
“I think it’s going to be the first time that I am actually older in the team,” Derani says. “I think more than the age factor is the fact that I’ve been with a team for so long now that I can try and help here and there. But Jack was racing with us this year and doing a fantastic job. So I don’t see myself as, let’s say, a tutor or a teacher or anything, but trying to complement each other because he brings youth, talent and speed. And I would like to say I bring a little bit of experience in the series in general, because he’s also very experienced in in Europe and in other forms of racing. So it’s going to be an interesting combination, I think, with different different experiences that we’ve had. He got up to Formula 1, so he understands a lot of the high-tech cars that we are racing here, and he did a great job since the beginning of the year.”
Embarking on a season with a younger driver still a relatively fresh to sports car racing give Derani occasion to reflect on those that aided him when he was moving from single-seaters to endurance racing.
“When I first joined this sport, moving from Formula 3 and then doing European Le Mans Series races, but then I immediately went into WEC in a two-car team, and in the other car was a very experienced driver — Sam Bird, who’s currently in Formula E. I think having his reference that year was a massive help. At that time, he had already been a Formula 1 test driver, Formula 2 for several years, had already had sports car experience. And so at that time, having him as a reference made me grow a lot. Not in terms of speed, because I think speed was there from the beginning; but understanding how to approach a long race and how to approach a long stint, which was completely new to me. So I would say that 2015 was a season where I learned massively. I grew so much, but along the way, there are always situations you find yourself in that make you grow. So, for example, when I joined Whelen Engineering, Felipe, obviously being a year older than me, having just won the championship, put him in a different mindset than I was when I was joining. And so you end up learning as well from those situations.”
Having been the new guy himself with the AF Corse Ferrari team at Le Mans in 2018, Derani (middle) would like to provide the same benefits his veteran teammates gave him. Ashleigh Hartwell/Motorsport Images
Now a two-time IMSA champion himself, Derani has the opportunity to fill the role of helper and, like his younger self, realizes there may not be much to impart to Aitken regarding pace, but much to bring him up to speed on in terms of the different style of racing.
“Throughout my career, I’ve had moments where I where I’ve encountered people that were in different phases of their career that helped shape my career into what it is today. And so I think perhaps, where we’re going with Jack, it’s more or less the same thing. He’s relatively new to IMSA, to the sport here in the U.S. I would like to think that having won the championship myself and experienced that and what it takes to win the championship, that I would be able to pass along some of that experience to him. In terms of of speed and talent, there is absolutely nothing that I can do for him because he’s massively talented himself, but I think those kinds of experiences that you go through in your career might help someone else as they join a new series or a new form of the sport.”
While Aitken already has had the opportunity to gain much of that knowledge in his stint as endurance driver with the team, the British driver says Derani has been a great help to him in acclimating to WeatherTech Championship competition.
“Pipo is very established with the team, so it would have been easy for him to throw his weight around and make sure I knew I was number two,” Aitken says. “But there has been none of that. He’s shown me the ropes, given me advice on track and on the American culture. He’s one of the best teammates I’ve ever had. I love the circuits. I love the paddock and the team. I can’t ask for more, so I want to be there for a while and make my mark there.”
Jack Aitken is stepping into the driver vacancy left by Alexander Sims moving to Corvette, and taking on the full-time position from his previous third-driver role for Cadillac Racing. He will join Pipo Derani as the full-season driver in the No. 31 …
Jack Aitken is stepping into the driver vacancy left by Alexander Sims moving to Corvette, and taking on the full-time position from his previous third-driver role for Cadillac Racing. He will join Pipo Derani as the full-season driver in the No. 31 Action Express Racing V-Series.R GTP car for the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. Aitken was a part of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring-winning lineup for the team in March, as well as joining Derani and Sims for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“Ever since I started this program with Cadillac Racing and Whelen Engineering, everybody has been incredibly kind and passionate in helping push me and the team forward,” said Aitken. “This is one of the reasons I’m incredibly excited to become a full-time member of the team next year. The competitiveness of IMSA and the quality of the calendar are another couple of reasons, and I thoroughly enjoy the style of racing I’ve experienced already this year in my endurance outings. I have to say a big thank you to Cadillac and Whelen Engineering for their continued faith in me as well as both of my teammates, Pipo and Alex.”
Aitken, a 27-year old driver of Scottish and Korean heritage from London, is part of a series of driver shuffles taking place as the 2023 season gets closer to its conclusion. Jordan Taylor is leaving Corvette to drive for Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport and Acura. Sims is taking Taylor’s place with Antonio Garcia, Tommy Milner and Nicky Catsburg at Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller, which will campaign two Z06 GT3.Rs in GTD PRO.
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“Jack came to the top of all the categories late last year when we were researching the various drivers who would be available for our endurance role,” team manager Gary Nelson said of the former Williams F1 reserve driver. “He has proven to be fast on the track, a fast learner of the GTP car and an asset to the team. We see Jack being a great pairing with Pipo in his expanded role next season.”
Aitken, teaming with Derani and Sims, brought the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R to Victory Circle following a pressure-packed final stint in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in March. The trio also finished second at Watkins Glen in June, where Aitken recorded the fastest lap among GTP entries.
Derani, Sims and Aitken currently lead the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup standings after three of the four races. Derani and Sims are a close second in the IMSA GTP teams’ and drivers’ championship standings with two races remaining.
“Alex came in with Formula E experience and that was huge for us,” Nelson said. “He is a tremendous asset for the whole team understanding the hybrid unit. For us to learn those things early on was very beneficial. Alex and Pipo make a great pair, and Alex is a big part of our championship run.”
An additional team driver for the 2024 IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup — which grows to five races next year with the addition of a six-hour race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway — will be announced at a later date.
Former F1 Grand Prix starter Jack Aitken has been added to Cadillac Racing’s driver roster for next weekend’s FIA WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. The British-South Korean racer, who won the 12 Hours of Sebring with Cadillac team Action Express …
Former F1 Grand Prix starter Jack Aitken has been added to Cadillac Racing’s driver roster for next weekend’s FIA WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.
The British-South Korean racer, who won the 12 Hours of Sebring with Cadillac team Action Express back in March, will join Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande in the No. 3 Ganassi-run V-Series.R. The No. 3 crew, which competes in the IMSA GTP class full-time, joins the Hypercar field in Belgium as a non-point scoring race-by-race entry ahead of its Le Mans appearance alongside the full-season FIA WEC No. 2 Cadillac.
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“Chip Ganassi Racing is excited to have Jack join Sebastien and Renger in sharing driver duties for the No. 3 Cadillac V-Series.R at the Spa WEC race next week,” said Mike O’Gara, director of operations for Chip Ganassi Racing that runs the Cadillac Racing entry.
“This is just another example of the ‘One Team’ concept that Cadillac Racing is all about. We value Jack’s feedback in the car, and hope this strengthens the preparation for Cadillac Racing’s assault on the 24 Hours of Le Mans this June.”
In addition to this outing at Spa, Aitken is confirmed for Le Mans, where he will race alongside Pipo Derani and Alexander Sims in the No. 311 Action Express Cadillac V-Series.R for the team’s debut in the race.
At Le Mans Cadillac will be represented by three Hypercar-class cars, with Action Express making the trip to La Sarthe to join Cadillac Racing’s two-car effort. AXR had applied for an entry to the WEC round at Spa, but its request was denied by the championship organizers due to a lack of available garage spaces at the circuit for the meeting.
“Driving at such an incredible circuit with the Cadillac V.Series R will be an invaluable addition to our prep for Le Mans,” Aiken added. “It will be a pleasure to integrate with Chip Ganassi and work together to push the Cadillac program forward, as we have a great deal of respect between us. Partnering up with Seb and Renger will be great for me personally, as I’ll be learning from two great guys.”
A big crash while the leaders were trying to navigate traffic in the final stage of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring took out the top three GTP cars as well as several GT cars, and produced a surprise winner that should have been no surprise. …
A big crash while the leaders were trying to navigate traffic in the final stage of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring took out the top three GTP cars as well as several GT cars, and produced a surprise winner that should have been no surprise.
When it all shook out, the polesitting No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R of Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims and Jack Aitken — Aitken at the wheel for the finish — won the Twelve Hours of Sebring, with the No. 25 BMW M Team RLL M Hybrid V8 of Nick Yelloly, Connor De Phillippi and Sheldon van der Linde finishing second. The LMP2 winner, the No. 8 Tower Motorsports ORECA of John Farano, Kyffin Simpson and Scott McLaughlin, finished third overall.
The No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsports squad of Mathieu Jaminet, Nick Tandy and Dane Cameron finished third in GTP while their wrecked heap of a 963 was carried on a flatbed back to the Penske transporter.
With several late race yellows, a fight to the finish was set up with the top five GTP cars on the lead lap all full of fuel and with fresh tires. Jaminet led Filipe Albuquerque in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport Acura ARX-06 with Jaminet’s teammate Felipe Nasr’s No. 7 PPM 963 in third. As Jaminet hit traffic in Turn 1, Albuquerque attacked and went inside. But as Jaminet was trying to navigate a pack of GT cars, he moved left, Albuquerque went off track, lost control and slid through the inside of Turn 3 and hit Jaminet’s Porsche on the other side of the apex. Nasr was next on the scene, hit the Acura, and then the No. 6. All three cars were done, and Aitken sailed through for the victory.
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All the late yellows also allowed several GTD and GTD PRO cars to go far farther on fuel than they would have been able to otherwise, the top cars in both classes running around an hour and 50 minutes from their last pit stop to the finish. It was the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R of Patrick Pilet, Klaus Bachler and Laurens Vanthoor winning GTD PRO, and the No. 1 BMW squad of Madison Snow, Bryan Sellers and Corey Lewis claiming GTD for Paul Miller Racing.
One of the late-race incidents ended the LMP3 battle between the No. 74 Riley Motorsports Ligier and the No. 30 Jr III Racing Ligier. Shortly after a restart for the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura losing a wheel, Pietro Fittipaldi went off course and hit the tires. A wheel from Fittipaldi’s No. 51 Rick Ware Racing ORECA LMP2 bounced across track – whether that was the cause or the result of the crash is unknown. Fraga in the No. 74 avoided it, Grist in the No. 30 hit it square on as it fell from the sky. That left Fraga a lap in the lead in the car he shared with Gar Robinson and Josh Burdon, able to cruise to victory.
