As They Fight for the GTP Championship, Some Want to Know Where They Stand, Others Don’t
By Jeff Olson
BRASELTON, Ga. – Some drivers pay close attention to every bit of math that creates a team’s – and a driver’s – point total in a season-long championship. Others barely bother with addition and subtraction.
It’s a philosophical approach, essentially. Some drivers are detail-oriented, wanting to know exactly where they are in the standings on any given lap, long after rewinding the season to consider the what-ifs and coulda-beens.
Pipo Derani is among the detail people. He and Alexander Sims, co-drivers of the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R, enter today’s season-ending Motul Petit Le Mans nine points out of the lead in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class.
According to his careful calculations, they could have been leading, but they’re not complaining.
“We clearly see things that we could have done better and accept that we gave up too many points, but yet we’re lucky we’re here,” Derani said. “We are trying to capitalize and see if we can win the championship.”
Then there’s the other approach. Mathieu Jaminet, who’s third in GTP points and just 11 points off the lead with co-driver Nick Tandy in the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963, doesn’t want to know the origin of the numbers.
“If I start doing that, I’ll start crying when I see the points we have lost in a way we should not have lost them,” Jaminet said. “In the end, it’s better not looking at it.”
Derani and Jaminet aren’t alone in counting – or ignoring – points. Of the five classes in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, three driver and team championships have been clinched or will be once the green flag waves. The other two will in all likelihood come down to the wire Saturday night at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
Leading the up-in-the-air list is GTP, where six teams and 12 drivers remain in contention heading into the race. After their endurance driver Louis Deletraz won the GTP Motul Pole Award on Friday, Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor are the leaders in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06. Following them are Derani, Sims and the No. 31 Cadillac and then Jaminet, Tandy and the No. 6 Porsche.
Three other cars are within striking distance. Connor De Phillippi and Nick Yelloly are 45 points behind in the No. 25 BMW M Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8. Felipe Nasr and Matt Campbell are 81 points back in the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963. Tom Blomqvist and Colin Braun have the most remote chance to stake claim to the title in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura ARX-06, at 131 points behind the leaders.
The other close championship battle involves the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class. Two cars – the No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA LMP2 07 co-driven by Mikkel Jensen and Steven Thomas, and the No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA LMP2 07 co-driven by Ben Keating and Paul-Loup Chatin – are within 17 points. The No. 04 Crowdstrike Racing by APR ORECA LMP2 07 shared by George Kurtz and Ben Hanley remains in contention, 104 points behind the No. 11.
Gar Robinson will clinch the Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) championship in the No. 74 Riley Ligier JS P320 by starting the race, as will Jack Hawksworth, Ben Barnicoat and the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 in GT Daytona Pro (GTD PRO). Bryan Sellers, Madison Snow and No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 have already locked up GT Daytona (GTD) honors.
Back in GTP, Derani often looks back at opportunities gained and lost. He and Sims teamed with Jack Aitken to win the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in March, but encountered disappointment at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in May, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in July and Road America in August.
Bottom line? The No. 31 Cadillac has been fast. It’s also been inconsistent.
“We have had the pace, and that’s why it hurts even more,” Derani said. “We know that on many occasions we gave up race wins that weren’t a guarantee but almost a guarantee. We ended up not only not finishing first but finishing way back.”
Meanwhile, Jaminet wasn’t kidding about ignoring the standings. Before the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks last month at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he admitted, “I don’t even know how many points we’re behind or what position we’re in.
“Honestly, I never look at points,” he continued. “When I came to IMSA, I didn’t even know what the points were for P1, P2 or P3. My job is not to count. My job is to race and do the best job possible.
“We’ve got a strong team behind us. They come up with a strategy and a target. As drivers, we try to follow that. They tell you when you have to take risks and when you need to race for the win or when you need to collect points.”
Racing for the win and collecting points will be the goal today.
“It’s not easy to win an IMSA championship, let alone being in a situation where you are that comfortable going into the final race,” said Derani, the 2021 Daytona Prototype international (DPi) class champion. “On the other hand, the inconsistency and competitiveness of the championship has everyone bunched together all the way to the end.”
Coverage of the 26th Motul Petit Le Mans begins at 11:35 a.m. ET today on Peacock in the U.S. and IMSA.com internationally. USA Network joins in progress at 6:30 p.m. through the conclusion at approximately 9:40 p.m.