IMSA Petit Le Mans: GT Preview

Sixty-two hours of racing across ten rounds over the span of eight months spanning two countries. Now just one race remains. One hundred sixty-two drivers across fifty-four cars in four classes ready to battle for ten hours. And there is so much at stake. From bragging rights of scoring the last win before the offseason to champions being crowned, there is no shortage of headlines. Let’s dive into what to watch for at the 29th Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

Note: This preview is for GT classes only. Click the link below for our prototype classes preview.

GTD PRO: The Three Horsemen

Probably the most intriguing championship to follow over the Petit finale will be GTD PRO. Yes, they had the tightest battle going into last year as well only for us to be treated to an anticlimactic ending. However, this year will be even more fun considering it’s three teams in contention for the title, separated by just 53 points.

Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports: The Established Hand

Tommy Milner and Nicky Catsburg led the points throughout the first half of the season. Then a distastrous June put the No. 4 crew behind the eight ball. The team even switched the driver order having Milner finish races after Catsburg’s errors at Detroit and Watkins Glen. Catsburg got to finish at Indy and, while aggressive at points, managed to keep the car in one piece with no penalties. The championship leaders are the only ones in this group without a win despite four podiums. But experience speaks volumes in these situations and Corvette Racing is a been there, done that outfit in championship battles. “It’s as we’ve approached all the other races this year,” says Milner. “Obviously, we need to score good points, no matter what. For us, it’s going to be a little business as usual in many ways, and focusing on ourselves, making sure that we have the best Corvette that we can.”

If there is one point of concern for Corvette Racing, it would be the race itself. Corvette Racing is yet to win a Petit Le Mans in the WeatherTech Sportscar Championship era. Furthermore, you have to go back all the way to 2010 for the last Corvette win at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta…WOW! Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller cannot be counted out…maybe even seen as a favorite. But with raceday, you never know what can happen.

Paul Miller Racing: Endurance Masters

If you have been following IMSA, you know Paul Miller Racing have been the masters of the Michelin Endurance Cup. They have won the competition three times, once in GTD and the last two seasons in GTD PRO. Before coming up to GTD PRO, Paul Miller won the GTD title in 2023 – the last team NOT named Winward to do so.

Staying true to their endurance reputation, the team won the season opener at Daytona. While the team has not repeated victory since then, the team has stayed consistent this season. Road America and Laguna Seca were downsides in an otherwise very impressive season. The team has been leading the points since Detroit. But a rough day at Road America and a big mistake in Indianapolis saw them lose the lead. Now the team looks to finish the goal for the season…the GTD PRO championship.

Paul Miller are the defending champions at Petit Le Mans. Could repeating success help net them their long awaited GTD PRO championship? Connor De Philippi certainly hopes so, “Road Atlanta is generally a strong track for us as a team and also the
car.” De Philippi and teammate Neil Verhagen enter Petit 47 points back of Milner and Catsburg. According to De Philippi, being behind is less pressure. “We don’t necessarily have the target on our back anymore, so hopefully that will change a bit of the dynamic,” De Philippi states. “We’re going in as the hunter this weekend instead of the hunted.”

Pfaff Motorsports: The Hollywood Underdog

Finally, there is Pfaff Motorsport. If you told me in March this team would be a championship contender, I probably would have called you a liar. This was a team debuting a brand-new car that had not won a race in three years. Furthermore, their performance at their home race in Canada was the worst of the season. Only one podium up to that point – a podium leadership has even called “lucky” – and you could not say this was something others saw coming.

Once the team arrived at Road America, the script changed. Three straight podiums including back-to-back wins, their first since 2023, has brought Sandy Mitchell and Andrea Calderelli from 292 points back after Canada to just 53. Pfaff GM Steve Bortolotti has said previously Pfaff is seen as an underdog and they are approaching this race as such. But let us not underestimate this team.

Additionally, they may be the neutral favorite this weekend. Pfaff announced after their Road America win their IMSA program will be halted after this weekend. Wouldn’t it be something if they were to ride into the sunset with their third IMSA title. Arguably, it would be their best title yet. In a season where they were not supposed to contend, they have defied the odds and have given themselves a chance. Let’s see what hand they are dealt.

Detroit Rivalry: Manufacturers Crown on the Line

Both driver pairings for Multimatic Motorsports are mathematically alive for the driver’s and team’s championships. However, a lot needs to go their way in order to cash in for both. But there is one championship Ford is very much alive in. Thanks to Dennis Olsen and Ben Barker scoring class honors at Indianapolis two weeks ago, Ford is nipping at Chevy’s heels in the manufacturer’s championship. Chevy has a 68-point advantage over the blue oval entering Atlanta. Ironically, this is despite two wins for Ford to Chevy’s one.

Neither manufacturer has had much success at Petit as of late, so to say who has the upper hand is anyone’s guess. Thursday’s free practices will be the best barometer we have. One thing we do know is that Ford is channeling their racing heritage with vintage paint schemes in hopes bringing the title home. It also helps that Ford’s future Hypercar pilots Seb Priaulx and Mike Rockenfeller are back to help bring the title.

Chevrolet has Nico Varrone and Marvin Kirchoffer returning to help them maintain their advantage. But that is not the only assistance. Chevy has a third car in GTD PRO as DragonSpeed moves up from GTD to enter their Corvette. Former overall winner Sebastien Bourdais joins Casper Stevenson and Giacomo Altoe in the No. 74 for this weekend. Could strength in numbers help put Corvette over the line? Saturday will tell all.

GTD: First to the Line Wins

I could have used this line for the LMP2 class in the prototype preview. But I feel it would be more appropriate here. This is a tale of two seasons that could not be more polar opposite from one another. Before one of their seasons will be etched in sportscar history, let’s take a look briefly at both.

Winward Racing: A Furious Comeback

Two-time defending champs Winward Racing began the quest for three straight with their third Rolex 24 win in five years. Then, surprisingly, the bottom fell out. Only one top five in the next four races with results including a fifteenth and an eighteenth. While the team was fifth and 300 points out the lead, the recent run of results did not give anyone confidence they would turn the season around.

So what do Winward do? Activate scorch Earth policy, win the next three races and second in the fourth. Ah Winward, shall we never doubt you all. Russell Ward and Philip Ellis have shown their class again. With their backs against the wall, they have rose to the occasion and showed why they are the team to beat in GTD.

However, this will be as tight as a championship fight as they have ever had. While winning the last two titles fairly comfortably, not so for 2026. They will have to be on pace from the word go on Thursday. And if there was any year the team wants to claim Petit Le Mans, this would be the year.

Ward has made it no secret this is a race he wants to win as he has won every other big race on the IMSA calendar. “(Road Atlanta) should suit the Mercedes-AMG GT3 really well,” Ward comments. “We certainly love driving the racetrack, but every time we come into the race weekend, we seem to be missing a little bit compared to the competition. There’s been two races now that have kind of eluded us on the calendar. One is Petit Le Mans. We haven’t had a victory there, or even a podium there.” Last year’s fifth place finish was the team’s best effort in five previous tries.

Turner Motorsport: Consistent and Steady

Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher have been exactly what you expect in a championship contender in IMSA this season. The team has finished in the top-10 in every race this season up to now. No other team can say that. Five top-5 finishes, which include three podiums, have kept this team in the hunt all season long. And that was before Indianapolis. The team finally broke their two-year winless drought with a flawless drive from both Gallagher and Foley, the latter holding off a hard-charging Ellis in the dying laps.

While the win did not put the team in the points lead, the momentum has to be on Turner’s side. The objective, goal and plan are simple as the team only have to look ahead. “It’s gonna come down to just having a good, clean race,” says Foley. Qualifying will be key as they hope to keep the points gap single digits. “We’re definitely going to be focused on what the 57 car is doing in qualifying. In the end, it could come down to one position.” From fifth place on down, each position is worth ten points. Qualifying points payout is 10% of the race payout. Staying close to Winward on Friday will ensure all they need to do is finish ahead of them on Saturday.

Heart of Racing: From Benchmark to Outsider

We weren’t penciling them in for the title in June, but Heart of Racing were miles above everyone else. Three months later, this is all a memory. The team has not fell off a cliff, but the consistency that was displayed in the first half of the season is not quite the same. Heart of Racing is searching for their first podium since Laguna Seca, which is weird because they have been constantly hovering around the podium places. The fourths and fifth are respective of that. However, that is where the numbers are misleading. There are two races where the script flipped in a negative direction for HoR.

The first was Road America. Tom Gamble was set for another top-5 when the team was given post-race time penalty for safety infractions during a yellow. A fifth turned to fifteenth. But VIR will probably sting the most. While fighting for the win, Tom Gamble pressed the envelope a little too hard with Winward’s Philip Ellis – in the eyes of the stewards. The Brit was handed a drive-thru penalty and relegated to fourth.

Dudu Barichello is still alive but chances are slim with a 116-point deficit to overcome. As of right now, he would need a win and both Turner and Winward to finish eighth or worse. And that’s before you factor in qualifying points. If there’s a silver lining for Dudu, Heart of Racing have been great at Road Atlanta. They have finished top-5 in their last four Petits (they missed 2024), even winning in 2021. The team is also second to AF Corse USA in the Michelin Endurance Cup standings. With eighteen cars set to do battle in GTD on Saturday, as the old cliche goes, anything can happen. The odds may be long, but this is a championship squad. Don’t count Heart of Racing out just yet.

Balance of Performance

Weight

McLaren (-12kg), Aston Martin (-10kg) and Ferrari (-9kg) lead those shedding weight for Road Atlanta. Conversely, the Lamborghini Huracan (+13kg) and Ford (+4kg) will have added weight for this weekend.

Power

Porsche will be given max power in Stage 1 for Road Atlanta while Ford will be at max power for Stage 2. Corvette will get a 1.2% increase in Stage 1 but a 3.4% decrease in Stage 2 to give them identical numbers. Lamborghini Temerario will get increases in both Stage 1 (+1.7%) and Stage 2 (+2.5%). BMW sees a boost in Stage 1 (+1.8%) while dropping in Stage 2 (-0.9%). Mercedes, like BMW, will also see a Stage 1 increase (+3.7%) and a Stage 2 decrease (-0.4%).

Rear Wing

After most of the field received minimum angle increases for Indianapolis, the rear wing minimum angles will decrease again for Road Atlanta. Porsche’s rear wing was the only one to be stagnant at Indy and will again see no change this week.

Energy

With Road Atlanta being an endurance race, it is custom to see all GT cars get an increase in max stint energy and replenishment. That will be the case this weekend. The biggest swings in max energy are for Lexus (+66MJ), Lamborghini Temerario (+65MJ) and Ford (+54MJ).

On-Track Schedule

All times are ET US

Thursday

• 10:40am-12:10pm: Free Practice 1
• 3:20-5:05pm: Free Practice 2 (3:20-3:35pm – Bronze Drivers ONLY)
• 7:30-9:00pm: Free Practice 3

Friday

• Qualifying
  • 2:20pm: GTD
  • 2:40pm: GTD PRO
  • 3:00pm: LMP2
  • 3:20pm: GTP

Saturday

• 12:10pm: Race (10 Hours)

Media Schedule

Radio: IMSA Radio

Thursday

• 10:35am ET/7:35am PT – Free Practice 1
• 3:15pm ET/12:15pm PT – Free Practice 2
• 7:25pm ET/4:25pm PT – Free Practice 3

Friday

• 2:15pm ET/11:15am PT – Qualifying

Saturday

• 11:20am ET/8:20am PT – Pre-Race
• 12:00pm ET/9:00am PT – Race
• 10:20pm ET/7:20pm PT – Post-Race

SiriusXM will simulcast the IMSA Radio race broadcast. Flag-to-flag coverage begins at 12pm ET/9am PT on Channels 252 (Vehicles) and 996 (SXM App).

TV/Streaming

United States: NBC Sports on Peacock

International: IMSA YouTube Channel & IMSA.tv

Friday

• 2:15pm ET/11:15am PT – Qualifying

Saturday

• 12:oopm ET/9:00am PT – Race

In the United States, NBC will have race coverage from 12:00-3:00pm ET. NBCSN will have coverage from 3:00-10:30pm ET.

LIVE and On-Site

Finally, GT REPORT will bring you up close to Petit Le Mans. Our IMSA writers, David Lawrence and Dylan Spaulding, will be on site at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta all weekend long. Stay tuned to the site for the latest news, race coverage and more from IMSA championship weekend.

 

Time Converter for International Fans: Click HERE

Peacock: Click HERE

IMSA YouTube Channel: Click HERE

IMSA Radio: Click HERE

 

PETIT LE MANS 2026 COVERAGE || PROTOTYPE PREVIEW | PRACTICE 1 | PRACTICE 2 | PRACTICE 3 | THURSDAY NOTEBOOK | QUALIFYING | FRIDAY NOTEBOOK | HOURS 1-2 | HOURS 3-5 | HOURS 6-8 | POST-RACE | SATURDAY NOTEBOOK | CONNOR DE PHILIPPI | WINWARD RACING | PETIT LIVERIES

 

Headline Photo: Pre-Race Ambiance at the 2025 Petit Le Mans – Photo Courtesy: Porsche Newsroom