Story and photos by Tim Adams
The 28th running of the Motul Petit Le Mans was an enormous success. So much so that the parking passes for the infield were oversold for Saturday. Many fans were forced to park miles away and get bused in, even though they had paid for infield parking, and had their parking passes. Many of the drivers in the race were also delayed getting into the track. Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta has recognized this, and begun to work on a solution for next year. I wish them luck, because this cannot be allowed to happen again. My advice, get there by around 6:30am each day, and you will have no problems parking.
We were treated to four days of great racing action. Joining the WeatherTech Sportscar Championship were the Michelin Pilot Challenge, VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, Porsche Carrera Cup, and Mazda MX-5 Cup. Wednesday was hot, but the following three days were much cooler. Beautiful weather for everyone involved.
There was a lot of news coming into the race, and during race week. The big bombshell dropped on Tuesday of race week; the Porsche 963 factory team would be leaving the Hypercar class in the WEC. Porsche, owned by Volkswagen Group, is suffering from large financial losses, some in part due to the ridiculous tariffs the US has imposed, and falling demand in China. The announcement stated they would focus on their Formula E efforts, as well as supporting the customers running the 911 GT3 R. Things are getting a little complicated here for Porsche now. Will there be any Porsches on the grid in Hypercar in the WEC, or more importantly, will there be a Porsche 963 on the grid at Le Mans? Since Penske won the season long points battle in IMSA, they get an automatic invite to Le Mans. Will they take it? Nobody seems to know currently. Now Porsche has said they will continue to support customers who want to run the 963 in the WEC. Currently, Proton Competition runs a single 963 in the WEC. That is a problem, because the WEC has a silly rule that requires manufacturers to race two cars to compete in Hypercar in the WEC. Proton Competition cannot afford to run two cars. Will any Porsche 963’s be on the grid next year in the WEC? It is a waiting game, and no one is tipping their hand.
There was also a veiled reference to the BoP (Balance of Performance) being a factor in Porsche leaving the WEC. Manufacturers are not allowed to publicly discuss the BoP in the WEC. As I have explained before, there must be BoP in sportscar racing. Every manufacturer must have a chance to win in the class in which they are competing. Each manufacturer’s car is quite different from each other, as well as engine choice and hybrid system used. The problem seems to be that the WEC has clearly not figured out a way to make the cars as equal as they can be. IMSA has figured out a much better way to manage the BoP and give all the manufacturers a chance to compete for wins. The fastest lap difference between all twelve GTP cars was less than a second over the course of 436 laps. IMSA has the BoP pretty well figured out. Thankfully, this will not affect the Penske Porsche 963 cars that race in IMSA. Penske is committed to running the 2026 season with two cars, just as they did this year. The question is, will they remain in IMSA after the 2026 season.
The 2026 full season entry list was released Thursday during race week. As mentioned above, the two Penske 963’s will be back, along with nine others in the top GTP class. Sadly, the Lamborghini SC63 will not be back. Earlier this year Lamborghini announced that the SC63 program would be placed on pause for 2026. What that really means is that we will probably never see the car again. Rumors were also circulating this summer about BMW pulling out of GTP, thankfully they will be back, but the team will be run by Team WRT based in Belgium. Rahal Letterman Lanigan (RLL) is out. BMW was not getting the results desired under the RLL banner in GTP.
In LMP2, a total of twelve cars will compete for the entire season. The class continues its resurgence. One large benefit is the season long points battle winner gets an automatic invite to Le Mans. This year AO Racing took the season long crown in 2025 with Spike.
In GTD Pro, there will be eight full season entries, along with four Endurance Cup entries for a total of twelve at those races. Two big surprises, although just contesting the five Endurance Cup races, are the return of Risi Competizione in the Ferrari, and Manthey Racing in the Porsche. Manthey Racing is very well known for their racing all over the world in GT3, but not so much in the United States. It will be great to see them race.
In GTD, there will be fourteen full season entries, and five additional racers for a total of nineteen at the Endurance Cup races.
Adding it all up, there are forty-five full-season entries, and nine additional entries for the five Endurance Cup races. The five races are Daytona 24hr, Sebring 12hr, Watkins Glen 6hr, Road America 6hr, and Petit Le Mans 10hr. If you want to see the full field, you are going to have to make it to one of the five enduros. Sadly, notably absent is Iron Dames. No word from the team about their 2026 plans has been announced. There are still additional openings for teams to compete however. It is the normal silly season waiting game to see if any other teams will step forward.
After the disaster at Road America with driving standards thrown out the window, IMSA started to clamp down, and hopes were slightly higher for a decent race. It did not start well, however. The entire field did not even make it through turn 5 on the opening lap. The Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GTD got a little loose and spun after turn 4 taking itself, and three other cars completely out of the race. Two additional cars would soldier on, but with significant damage, and retire early. The first 45 minutes of the race were almost all under yellow. Thankfully, things sorted themselves out and there were just a few other caution periods. The best part was a just over three-hour caution free run to the checkered flag. A caution free run of just a few minutes to the checkered flag seems to be a rarity these days, yet we were treated to over three hours!
A highlight of the race was the Aston Martin Valkyrie getting its first podium, finishing in second place in GTP. This is a car that you must hear in person. The V-12 wail is just incredible. The Lamborghini SC63 also finished in 4th, the best finish for the team, and they were close to fighting for a win, but had to stop right near the end of the race to top off their energy. I am not real optimistic, but hopefully we will see the car again. The Whelen Cadillac was able to take the race win in GTP. The season long points battle went to the Penske Porsche #6 entry, with Porsche also winning the season long points manufactures battle. With this comes the Le Mans invite.
In LPM2 the TDS Racing team won the race, and the season long points title went to AO Racing, and along with the automatic Le Mans invite. Spike is headed to France.
In GTD Pro, the race win went to #1 Paul Miller Racing in the BMW M4 GT3. The season long points title went to the #3 of Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports. Another in a lengthy list of titles for Corvette Racing.
In GTD the race win went to AF Course Ferrari 296. The season long points battle went to Winward Racing in their Mercedes AMG GT3. Winward Racing also won the points battle in 2024.
The race was a great ending to the 2025 season. Record breaking crowds at many races, full fields, and great racing. Let us hope it continues in 2026. More on that in future stories. Stay tuned, and I will see you at the racetrack in 2026.
