Tandy, Pilet Score Historic Overall Win in Rain-Shortened Petit Le Mans

Nick Tandy and Patrick Pilet have won overall in this year’s Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda for Porsche North America in GT Le Mans, following a late decision by IMSA to throw the checkered flag just before the eight-hour mark of the 10-hour race.

This also means Pilet has captured the GTLM class championship.

The race was under its 10th and latest full-course caution occurred when Prototype Challenge had two separate incidents.

Bruno Junqueira crashed the No. 11 RSR Racing Oreca FLM09, which was already over 100 laps down, on a straight.

Meanwhile Alex Popow spun from the class lead in the No. 8 Starworks Motorsport Oreca FLM09 at Turns 10A and B, and Tom Kimber-Smith had to take the No. 52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Oreca FLM09 into the grass to avoid hitting the stranded Starworks machine. Popow did resume.

But the star, meanwhile, of the eighth hour as well as the race itself was Tandy.

The Englishman stormed past Eric Curran’s No. 31 Action Express Racing Corvette DP at the seven-hour, 24-minute mark for the overall lead on Lap 188, and promptly pulled away anywhere from three to six seconds per lap in the GT Le Mans class No. 911 Porsche 911 RSR.

Tandy led the field home to the finish under the checkered flag over the No. 24 BMW Z4 GTE of John Edwards, Lucas Luhr and Jens Klingmann and the No. 4 Corvette C7.R of Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner. The No. 24 BMW finished second overall and the No. 4 Corvette finished seventh.

Tandy’s win capped off a race where the No. 911 Porsche led overall five different times.

In GT Daytona, Scuderia Corsa has captured the championship with Townsend Bell and Bill Sweedler. The two combined with Jeff Segal to finish fourth unofficially, driving the No. 63 Ferrari 458 Italia.

Bell and Segal drove nearly the entire race, while Sweedler completed one lap in a strong strategic play by the team.

The No. 007 TRG-AMR Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 and No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Audi R8 LMS finished ninth and 10th in class, which cost Christina Nielsen (TRG-AMR) and Dion von Moltke and Christopher Haase (Miller) a shot at the titles.

Park Place Motorsports took the race win with Spencer Pumpelly, Patrick Lindsey and Madison Snow in their No. 73 Porsche 911 GT America. It’s the team’s second this season, and first since Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in May.

Pumpelly passed Andy Lally for the lead on Lap 182 of the race.

The No. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT America of Lally, John Potter and Robert Renauer and the No. 93 Riley Motorsports Dodge Viper GT3-R of Marc Goossens, Cameron Lawrence and Al Carter completed the podium.

RESULTS: Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda