A Fitting Finish for a Grand 2023 Season
By David Phillips
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – In its first quarter century, the Motul Petit Le Mans developed a reputation for drama, unpredictability and excitement. Suffice to say the 26th edition of America’s newest sports car classic more than lived up to its predecessors.
Whether it was the four-way battle for the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) manufacturer (and six-way for team and driver) title that went down to the final minutes, the tri-cornered contest for Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) or the fierce battles waged throughout the Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) and GTD PRO ranks, there was seldom a chance for spectators – or for that matter competitors – to catch their breath. And while few would have wanted the race to finish under a full-course yellow, given the frenzied action throughout the preceding 10 hours, few could have been surprised that the white and yellow flags flew together Saturday night on the penultimate lap at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
Here’s some closing thoughts on the closing race of the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.
Clinch Early
As if anyone needed additional evidence that manufacturers, teams and drivers are well advised to take care of their championship business before the Motul Petit Le Mans, Saturday’s action-packed race provided it. Consider that three class championships – GTD, GTD PRO and Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) – were locked up by the time the green flag waved to start the race. Further consider that all three of those champions – the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 (GTD), the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3 (GTD PRO) and even the No. 74 Riley Ligier JS P320 (LMP3) – suffered pretty tough luck on Saturday.
Having finished on the podium in all but one event prior to Motul Petit Le Mans, the PMR BMW recorded its first DNF of the season after a clash with a prototype resulted in a damaged steering arm and an abrupt end to its race in the Turn 11 tire wall. On a similar note, the Vasser Sullivan Lexus’ race ended in a muddy slide through the Georgia clay that surgically removed most of its front “clip,” ultimately bringing its day to a close after 153 laps. And while the Riley Ligier made it to the checkered flag, it did so only after having lost any chance of a win in a coming together with the No. 30 Jr III Racing Ligier that necessitated a late pit stop for a flat tire and dropped it to a third-place finish in LMP3 – marking the No. 74’s lowest finish in the six points-paying races this season.
None of this should or did come as a shock to seasoned observers, given the unforgiving nature of 2.54-mile Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta and the volatile mix of 52 cars in five classes featuring decidedly different performance characteristics. Of course, it’s not like any manufacturer, team or driver deliberately delays clinching a championship until Motul Petit Le Mans. But if the previous 25 iterations have proven anything, it’s that anything can and usually does happen during the course of 10 hours of racing at Michelin Raceway.
A Good Old American-Style Road Course
It was refreshing, although hardly unexpected, to hear heaps of praise for the character of Michelin Raceway from a broad spectrum of “guest drivers.” From Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button and six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon to 18-year-old star of tomorrow Doriane Pin, drivers were effusive in their praise of the “American style” road course – to wit, a “classic” natural terrain circuit that is at once challenging and unforgiving; one where there is no gray area when it comes to “track limits” and whose layout, apart from the Turn 10A/Turn 10B chicane, is little changed from when it first began staging races some 53 years ago.
Although it’s an oft-heard refrain, it bears repeating: the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship features THE most iconic natural terrain road courses in North America, if not the world. WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Watkins Glen International, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Road America, VIRginia International Raceway and, of course, Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. All venues where some of the best spectating spots are available to anyone with a general admission ticket and the moxie to expend a little energy and shoe leather to walk around the track. Coupled with the Long Beach and Detroit street circuits, the Daytona International Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway “rovals” and, last but not least, the unique adventure that is Sebring International Raceway, the IMSA schedule is second to none in its appeal to competitors and fans alike.
GTP Kudos
It’s hardly breaking news to note that the new GTP class enjoyed a hugely successful debut season. Sure, the other three marques (Acura, BMW and Porsche) finished within 100 points of Cadillac’s championship total in the final manufacturer standings. Likewise, six cars and driver pairings finished within 60 points of the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac’s championship standard.
No less significant than the tight manufacturer, teams and driver points races was the fact that preseason worries about the fiendishly complex hybrid prototypes’ mechanical reliability proved largely unwarranted. Moreover, and by year’s end, all four marques (Acura, BMW, Cadillac and Porsche) had won a race and every full-time team except Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport notched a win.
Similarly, but for BMW M Team RLL, every full-time team started from pole and, what’s more, every marque recorded at least one fastest race lap. Not only is that testimony to the unqualified success of the brave new world of GTP racing in 2023, it bodes well for a 2024 season when Acura will return with a pair of entries from WTRAndretti, BMW M Team RLL will be back with its two cars as will Porsche Penske Motorsports, and Cadillac will again be represented by the No. 01 from Chip Ganassi Racing and No. 31 of Action Express Racing. Privateers JDC-Miller MotorSports and Proton Competition will campaign their Porsche 963s for the full season after joining midway through 2023, and the new Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63 will contest selected Michelin Endurance Cup events, bringing the total number of GTP entries to at times 11 cars.
Let the countdown to the 2024 Rolex 24 At Daytona begin.