This is indeed the season finale of the IMSA WeatherTech Championship 2023 as we have sunset coming with no rain to worry about after a messy week of weather. This has been an amazing new era of the reborn Grand Touring Prototypes with their hybrid power. 52 cars is a record field for Petit Le Mans that we saw in 2014 in the first year of what would become the WeatherTech Championship. Prepare to go bonkers. This race is the toughest enduro to win in the world. This is a fire pit of chaos and desire. There is nothing small about this race. It is colossal. Acura #10 just pitted. Three cars can win the title. Acura #10, Cadillac #31, or BMW #25. We still have more than a regular IMSA WeatherTech Championship sprint race to run yet.
The grip level is beginning to come up as temperatures cool and this plays into the wheelhouse of the #31 Whelen Cadillac. All the preparation that the #31 team has done seems to be paying off. They have to slow down to the pit entry down that hill. Jenson Button has been extremely happy with his Petit Le Mans debut and he had a lot of fun even though it has been stressful and the Porsche's steering has become extremely heavy. Button is having a lot of fun driving a high performance prototype sports car. Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button is extremely happy with lively descriptions of his stint.
Sebastien Bourdais leads Jack Aitken by four seconds. The #01 isn't in the championship fight. A spin there, for the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage of Marco Sorensen who gets dumped by Loris Spinelli in the #78 Lamborghini. Ian James, team boss, and Marco Sorensen, the Dane. Jenson Button and Mike Rockenfeller, remember back to the 24 Hours of Le Mans when they raced the Garage 56 NASCAR Cup Series Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 project car in France with seven-time NASCAR champion, sports car and IndyCar driver, now back in NASCAR, Jimmie Johnson. We talked immensely about that project during the 24 Hours of Le Mans when it happened, back in June.
Great aerial coverage from WeatherTech of Road Atlanta. Now, Louis Deletraz has passed Jck Aitken chasing after Sebastien Bourdais. The sun is beginning to set and the heat is being turned on. There's still the duration of a sprint race for the WeatherTech Championship to go. Scott Dixon says that his final stint in the car was a lot of fun and a lot of fun during the race with the old school American tracks like Road Atlanta. It looks like Sebastien Bourdais will be in the car next, and he is, he is the leader, before Renger van der Zande will finish.
The traffic is bonkers and it will get more intense. We are getting into the evening. Nolan Siegel leads the LMP2 class by two and a half seconds over Paul-Loup Chatin which might still be champion. Anything can happen and probably will. Off goes the #10 Acura on cold tires with Filipe Albuqueque now driving and we are under Full Course Yellow with Andy Lally stranded on the beach in turn ten in the gravel trap. Full Course Yellow number nine for the #44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3. He got tagged by the #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 and actually it was Miguel Molina in the #61 AF Corse car.
Corvette Racing says they have retired with a yet to be determined engine issue but the Z-06 GT3.R is coming next year. So many people were here from Corvette Racing both past and present, to see the final race for the factory team. An unfortunate end but many wonderful memories to cherish forever. We remain under yellow for now. A large chunk of the field is still on track. Half the field is half a track behind everyone else so look out for chaos. The #11 TDS Racing LMP2 car is out of the race. Game over. They have retired.
Filipe Albuquerque will finish the race for the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura. The #31 Cadillac leapfrogs the #10 on pit stops. Save fuel for when Pipo Derani gets in for the last stint. Green flag. Sebastien Bourdais leading and Filipe Albuquerque trying to pass Tom Blomqvist. Cadillac 1-2. Bourdais and company want the win. They want the race win and are not in the overall title fight. Cadillac 1-2. Albuquerque has a run on Blomqvist and Blomqvist is going for it. Albuquerque takes the spot away. Big tire lockup. It is go time now. The #10 realizes they have to get ahead of the #31 and the #31 realizes they have to defend.
Filipe Albuquerque is right on top of Jack Aitken. Sheldon van der Linde is still in this fight as well in the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8. In four laps, the GTP cars will catch traffic at night. This is when things go bonkers. The GTD drivers are overwhelmed with cockpit illumination. Jordan Pepper leads GTD Pro over Alex Riberas and Patrick Pilet. In GTD it is Mike Skeen, Thomas Merrill, and Gunnar Jeanette. In LMP3 it is Garrett Grist, Felipe Fraga, and Lars Kern the top three and in LMP2 it is Alex Quinn, Nolan Siegel, and Josh Pierson.
Tijnen van der Helm has a run on Matty Campbell. Who will win the inaugural GTP title? We'll know in a couple of hours. When the sun goes down, the big dogs go for it. This race is set to go bonkers. It is a thrill. Pipo Derani says that this is what sports car drivers live for. How much commitment do you have? Do you have the guts to go for the championship? Everything is at stake. All the chips on the table. It is time to push. It is now or never. From 52 starters we are down to 43 cars still running. Nine cars out of the race. Jack Aitken leading has had some rear brake lockup, so they are trying to sort that situation out. Albuquerque is in chase mode and now the #83 Iron Dames Lamborghini is slow. Doriane Pin at the controls. She was spectacular earlier in the day. Valuable experience for her.
That is in turn one, running wide up the hill. It is pitch dark out there everywhere. The French teenager has fastest lap in the GT Daytona field. Renger van der Zande will finish the race in the final stint for the #01 Ganassi Racing Cadillac. The #31 Whelen Cadillac is still dealing with brake locking and some fuel save. Jack Aitken has been using his tools in the car. Certainly, uncomfortable but he is doing his job. Filipe Albuquerque having dashboard troubles. They are still focused. Moments ago, the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 tries slicing the #7 Porsche 963 and goes off the road. Matt Campbell vs. Sheldon van der Linde, the Australian and the South African.
Sheldon van der Linde flashing the lights in Tom Blomqvist's eyes before the braking zone. Drivers hate that. Three cars on the lead lap in LMP3. Felipe Fraga second behind Garrett Grist. Gar Robinson is the LMP3 champion as the class bows out of the WeatherTech Championship and will see continued growth in the VP Sports Car Challenge series headed into the future.
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