IMSA Championship
Sports car fans throughout the U.S. enjoy watching their favorite cars, drivers, teams and marques careen around the best racetracks throughout the country during the long racing season. And the premier sports car racing series in North America is the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, which begins each January with the Rolex 24 at Daytona 24-hour endurance race and closes the season in October at the 10-hour Petit Le Mans endurance race, held every year at Georgia’s most famous twisting road course, Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
Three Car Classes
The WeatherTech SportsCar Championship features three different car classes competing for individual championships — all racing on track at the same time. The top Prototype class is for purpose-built race cars that will never appear on the street, but the GT Le Mans and GT Daytona classes both include production-based cars that look very similar to the models seen on the street nearly every day. The cars in both GTLM and GTD are prepared and modified for racing, but the GTLM rules allow more extensive modifications, more power and a higher level of performance.
Final Race Excitement
The final IMSA sports car race of the 2019 season ran October 12 at the 10-hour Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. After 10 hours of grueling door-to-door racing and a record total distance that added 22 laps—more than 55 miles—to the previous record, Pipo Derani brought home the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac DPi to victory. Derani took the lead with just under 20 minutes remaining in the timed race, holding off defending race winner No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R to take the checkered flag by a mere .996 seconds.
GTLM and GTD Winners
In what was the last race for two fan favorites, the Chevrolet Corvette C7.R and the factory-backed Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT, the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE took the win in the GTLM Category. In dramatic fashion with a last-lap pass of the No. 33 Riley Motorsports-Team AMG Mercedes-AMG GT3, Bill Auberlen earned his 60th IMSA victory in the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3. With the win, Auberlen tied Scott Pruett for the most IMSA victories for a driver.
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans Gallery
Take a look at more photos from this exciting season finale and check out how many production-based race cars are recognizable at high speed on this amazing track in Georgia.
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 33 Riley Motorsports – Team AMG Mercedes-AMG GT3
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 4 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R.
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 911 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 86 Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb-Agajanian Acura NSX GT3
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 29 Montaplast by Land Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT3
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 25 BMW Team RLL BMW M8 GTE
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 44 Magnus Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 14 AIM Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 6 Acura Team Penske Acura DPi
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 55 Mazda Team Joest Mazda DPi
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 25 BMW Team RLL BMW M8 GTE
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 54 CORE autosport Nissan DPi
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 33 Riley Motorsports – Team AMG Mercedes-AMG GT3
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R.
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 3 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing Cadillac DPi
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 55 Mazda Team Joest Mazda DPi
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 77 Mazda Team Joest Mazda DPi
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 3 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R.
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 33 Riley Motorsports – Team AMG Mercedes-AMG GT3
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 57 Heinricher Racing w/Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac DPi
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 29 Montaplast by Land Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT3
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 44 Magnus Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 911 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 50 Juncos Racing Cadillac DPi
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 29 Montaplast by Land Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT3
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 7 Acura Team Penske Acura DPi
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing Cadillac DPi
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 33 Riley Motorsports – Team AMG Mercedes-AMG GT3
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 912 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 4 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 17 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 33 Riley Motorsports – Team AMG Mercedes-AMG GT3
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans
No. 4 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R and No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing Cadillac DPi
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