CrowdStrike by APR Captures Win and Titles in LMP2
By John Oreovicz
IMSA Wire Service
Provisional Race Results
Provisional Points Standings
BRASELTON, Ga. – When Porsche claims its first top-class victory in one of sports car racing’s crown jewel events, it’s a historic day.
That’s what unfolded Saturday at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta as Laurens Vanthoor, Kevin Estre, and Matt Campbell guided the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 to the top spot in the 29th annual Motul Petit Le Mans. The victory represented overall and Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class triumphs in the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season finale.
Porsche famously took the overall Motul Petit Le Mans win in 2015 with a GT Le Mans class Porsche 911 RSR entry on a day when torrential rain and bespoke tires were key determining factors in nullifying the speed advantage typically enjoyed by faster prototype classes.
Wet weather impacted the proceedings again this year, contributing to a record 16 full course cautions and a 27-minute stoppage due to nearby lightning. But there was no anomaly in terms of the result.
The Penske-prepared factory Porsches took control of the second half of the race, but Felipe Nasr suffered a heavy crash in the No. 7 car he shared with Julien Andlauer and Laurin Heinrich with 90 minutes remaining in the 10-hour endurance contest.
Vanthoor in the No. 6 passed Earl Bamber (No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R) for the lead with 49 minutes on the clock, then bested Sheldon van der Linde in the No. 24 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 in a tense duel over the final half hour.
Vanthoor crossed the line 1.205 seconds ahead of van der Linde, whose co-drivers were Dries Vanthoor and Robin Frijns. The No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V-Series.R driven by Jordan Taylor, Louis Deletraz, and Colton Herta moved up to the final podium position on the final lap. Tom Blomqvist had to pit the Motul Pole Award-winning No. 60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06 for energy replenishment at the white flag, dropping the entry that also featured Colin Braun and Scott Dixon to fourth.
Porsche owns 21 overall wins at the Rolex 24 At Daytona, 20 at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, and 19 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans – the event that inspired the late Don Panoz to create the Motul Petit Le Mans. It’s unfathomable to think that one of sports car racing’s most successful manufacturers hadn’t cracked the overall code with a prototype at Michelin Raceway.
That all changed Saturday for the No. 6 car, though Heinrich’s bid in the No. 7 to steal the GTP driver’s championship fell short. Jack Aitken, supported by Bamber and Frederik Vesti, earned that title in the No. 31 Cadillac by simply rolling off the grid for the season finale. Additionally, the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen won the team championship, and Cadillac clinched the manufacturer championship.
Aitken is the first driver to be crowned solo champion in IMSA’s top class since Jorg Bergmeister won the Daytona Prototype crown under GRAND-AM sanction.
“It’s a bit of a weird feeling winning a championship rolling to the green, but obviously it’s been a fantastic year – the incredible consistency we’ve had as a brand and as a team,” Aitken said. “I couldn’t have done it without my teammates, and it does feel a little bit bittersweet that they all couldn’t be sharing it with me.”
Porsche scored its fourth GTP class victory of the season, and the first for Penske’s outfit since Nasr, Andlauer and Heinrich opened the season with wins at Daytona and Sebring. Of note, that trio did claim the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTP title with Porsche.
The win was the first in IMSA competition for Estre, while Campbell and Vanthoor both claim 14 victories. Campbell is a three-time winner at Motul Petit Le Mans, though this was his first overall.
“There are multiple reasons why we wanted to win this race,” reflected Vanthoor. “Our sights were set on that, and it was all or nothing. It was absolutely fun, and it feels good because we had a tough year in the No. 6 car, not what we hoped for. Results didn’t always reflect the good work we were doing behind the scenes, which nobody really saw besides the people in the team.
“This is a very nice way to end the season,” he smiled. “We ticked a lot of boxes for Porsche, for Penske, and for the three of us. For me, it was a dream to win in America. I dreamed of winning Daytona, Sebring, and Petit Le Mans, and that dream is achieved. It’s an incredible day.”
Van der Linde put heavy pressure on Vanthoor in the closing stages, and at one stage, Vanthoor struggled to maintain control of his sliding Porsche through the iconic Esses. But he held on and was able to eke out a small margin in the run to the flag.
“I came really close in Turn 1 once with about 20 minutes to go when (Vanthoor) got stuck in GT traffic,” van der Linde related. “I thought I got lucky there, but he saw me coming and closed the door at the very last minute. That was probably the best shot we had.
“Laurens made no mistakes, and took a lot of risk in traffic, which was needed for both of us to try and get this win today,” he added. “Hats off to him. It’s not every day that you see drivers taking so much risk while still keeping the cars on track, keeping it fair and safe.”
The variable conditions and end-of season championship pressure contributed to high attrition, with just six of 11 GTP competitors running at the finish.
LMP2: CrowdStrike Wins Race, Titles; Kurtz Claims Jim Trueman Award
The path to the WeatherTech Championship’s Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class championship wasn’t always easy for George Kurtz, Alex Quinn, Toby Sowery, and the No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR team.
Nor was their class victory in the 29th annual Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
The trio overcame an early drive-through penalty for incident responsibility that put the entry a lap down, then recovered from contact by its closest championship competitor – Tom Dillmann in the No. 43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA LMP2 07 he shared with Jeremy Clarke and Bijoy Garg – that required changing the car’s rear clip.
Sowery, the team’s Michelin Endurance Cup driver, drove a masterful stint on slicks during a rainy portion of the race to make up the deficit from the early penalty. Quinn sealed the deal, holding off a hard-charging Dillmann by 0.666 seconds at the checkered flag after 10 hours of racing.
It was the fourth IMSA LMP2 class win for Kurtz (fifth total) and the second for Quinn and Sowery, as well as the first championship for all three. Kurtz becomes the first repeat winner of the IMSA Jim Trueman Award, which includes an entry in the following year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans for the top-ranked Bronze-rated LMP2 driver. He also won the Jim Trueman Award in 2023. Kurtz, Quinn and Heinrich shared the LMP2 Pro/Am class-winning CrowdStrike by APR entry in this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Additionally, the trio also won the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup LMP2 title over rivals AO Racing, who were only one point behind entering the day.
“This is incredibly special because it was really a team effort,” Kurtz said. “My co-drivers were just phenomenal, the team gave us a great car, and there was so much adversity we had to overcome – for the entire season, but obviously, for this race. It was up and down, up and down. It really was a shootout with the No. 43.
“From my perspective, this is probably one of the best seasons I’ve ever had.”
As the team’s lead driver, Quinn felt the championship pressure.
“We were so happy and so relieved in some ways to win the championship,” he said. “I honestly totally forgot we won the race! When you realize you’ve done it, it does make it extra special because this is such a unique race and such an intense race – especially this one, the way it panned out.
“Such an amazing day and it rounds off an amazing year.”
Sowery was the day’s unsung hero, somehow managing to not only keeping the car on a soaking track while passing competitors running rain tires.
“The first few laps were pretty sketchy,” he admitted. “It wasn’t easy but that’s part of racing. I had a good time and didn’t make any mistakes, thankfully. I think we made the brave choice, and it paid off for us today.”