Shoot Out at Petit Le Mans
Words by Eddie LePine. Images by Jack Webster
WIll Cadillac and Porsche provide more fireworks at Petit?
“I’m your Huckleberry” – Doc Holliday, Tombstone.
The 29th Annual running of the IMSA Motul Petit Le Mans will be like the shoot-out at the O.K. Corral. Teams, manufacturers and drivers will be coming out armed to the teeth and ready for battle, and at the end of the week we will know who comes out on top.
Aston Martin is still in the GTD championship picture.
The 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship has written an outstanding script for the season, full of drama and excitement. Record crowds, record ratings, and record on track battles have all gone into the story. Now when the green flag drops, its drivers, crews and teams will decide who will win and who will lose before the curtain comes down and the credits roll.
Everything is on the line at the season ending 29th Motul Petit Le Mans, which will be held this Saturday at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
And judging from the extended weather forecast for the week, it looks pretty likely that some, if not all, of the 10-hour endurance contest will be run in damp, and likely very wet, conditions.
Things couldn’t be any tighter going into the final round of the 2026 season. Who will win? Who will lose? Who will make a mistake that will cost a championship? Who will weather the storm?
There will be intense pressure on a lot of people at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. It is going to be one hell of a show. And we are here in the front row of the theatre to give you the inside information and after it is over; the reviews.
Turner BMW – shooting for the championship in GTD.
Championships will be decided in all four classes of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship by the end of the race. Along with the full season championship, the Michelin Endurance Cup will be decided as well (from points earned in the five endurance races: Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen, Road America and Road Atlanta).
In the season long WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Jack Aiken is looking pretty solid in GTP for Whelen Racing and Cadillac, with a healthy lead of 147 points going into the final race of the year. However, Porsche Penske and their drivers are right on their heels and within striking distance, and anything can happen before the checkered flag falls. Especially if mother nature intervenes.
Inter Europol currently leads LMP2.
In LMP2, only 4 points separate Inter EuroPol Competition and drivers Jeremy Clarke and Tom Dillman from 2nd place Crowdstrike Racing and drivers George Kurtz and Alex Quinn. Looks like Motul Petit Le Mans will be a “winner takes all” proposition for LMP2.
GTD-PRO has Nicky Catsburg and Tommy Milner of Pratt Miller and Corvette on top of Connor De Phillippi and Neil Verhagen of BMW in second – but the lead is only 47 points.
GTD has perennial favorite Winward Racing on top of the standings with Philip Ellis and Russell Ward for AMG Mercedes leading Turner Racing’s BMW duo of Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher – but the lead is only 6 points. This is another contest that is going to come down to the final lap of Saturday’s race. The manufacturers championship in GTD could be won by any one of these four manufacturers: Mercedes AMG, Aston Martin, Ferrari or BMW. That’s the way they stand going into the final race.
Pfaff may be leaving the series, but they could still win the 2026 GTD-PRO championship
In addition to the close battles for the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, titles will also be decided for Team, Manufacturer, the Jim Trueman Award, the Bob Akin Award and the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup.
It’s going to be one busy and eventful week. Attend in person, if you can. We guarantee you the live experience will outshine the movie, no matter how the final script plays out.
If you can’t make it in person, grab your popcorn and sit down in front of your big screen TV for 10 hours.
IMSA – Now that’s entertainment! And as usual, the sequel planned for 2027 will likely be even better.
We’ll see you at the races!
