Porsche team wins shortened Petit Le Mans
BRASELTON, Ga. -- A sudden, unexpected end to the 18th annual Petit Le Mans led to an unexpected result.
A Porsche factory team from the GT Le Mans class -- usually the third-fastest of the four classes that run simultaneously -- won the race and claimed the GTLM driver’s championship for Frenchman Patrick Pilet.
The race, scheduled for 10 hours, was called off shortly after 7 p.m. ET, more than two hours before its intended conclusion. It was ended after a day of persistent rain, including one downpour that led to a red flag that lasted more than an hour.
Pilet, who teamed with Nick Tandy and Richard Lietz, was thrilled when the news came over the radio while Tandy was driving the team’s No. 911 Porsche 911 RSR during a weather-related caution period. “It’s just amazing,” said Pilet, a 33-year-old from Auch, France.
Tandy, who qualified the Porsche fifth overall during a wet session Friday, said he knew it would race well in the wet.
“What a fantastic race it was for us,” Tandy said. “The car was so good. Honestly, before the weekend we thought a little bit of rain might help us. Clearly, a lot of rain helps us a lot more.”
Another GTLM car, the No. 24 Team BMW RLL BMW Z4 GTE shared by Jens Klingmann, Lucas Luhr and John Edwards, finished second overall.
The top finisher in the Prototype class, the No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP shared by Sebastien Bourdais, Christian Fittipaldi and Joao Barbosa, was third overall. The No. 5 car and the other Action Express Corvette, the No. 31 shared by Eric Curran, Dane Cameron and Max Papis, had been racing for the lead shortly before the race was called off.
“Under normal conditions, it was either going to go to the 5 or the 31,” said Fittipaldi, who celebrated the Prototype drivers' championship with Barbosa. “But that’s racing. The same way that we lost a couple of races right at the very end this year, I guess we were a little bit lucky today. It worked in our favor.”
Tom Kimber-Smith was behind the wheel of the fastest car in the Prototype Challenge class at the end of the race -- the PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Oreca FLM09 that was 14th overall. Spencer Pumpelly was driving the fastest GT Daytona car, which was 17th overall.
Christina Nielsen, who was attempting to become the first woman to win a championship in international sports car racing, came up short when the No. 007 TRG-AMR Aston Martin V12 Vantage she shared with Kumo Wittmer and Brandon Davis finished ninth in the GTD class and 25th overall.
The conditions and race director Beaux Barfield’s decisions during the race came under fire from drivers and team owners throughout the day. At one point shortly after the halfway point, Barfield chose to red-flag the race to allow an approaching storm system to pass.
“We’re prepared to give it as long as possible,” Barfield said at the time.
At 5:48 p.m., the race restarted. At 7:02 p.m., it was stopped for good.
Drivers said the conditions were brutal during the all-day rain, which at times let up before resuming again.
“The goal was not to go off track,” said Ricky Taylor, who teamed with Jordan Taylor and Max Angelelli to finish seventh overall in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette DP. “You eventually get into a groove driving in the rain, but no matter how much of a groove, it’s incredibly mentally draining. You can never rest or lose concentration at all.”
During a break in the race, Papis scolded drivers who were lobbying for the race to be stopped.
“In this situation, it separates those who really love the sport and who loves it less,” Papis said. “If you don’t like this, find another sport. Like golf or bookkeeping.”