Aitken: “Weird Feeling” to Win GTP Title By “Rolling to Green”

Photo: Jake Galstad/IMSA

Jack Aitken admitted that it was a “weird feeling” to have won the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP title by “rolling to the green” in Saturday’s Motul Petit Le Mans.

Aitken, Action Express Racing and Cadillac all clinched their respective titles by just rolling off the grid after Aitken made a four-point gain on Laurin Heinrich in qualifying on Friday for the ten-hour enduro at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

“The start of the day was a little bit more stressful than usual,” Aitken said. “The recon lap was very steady.

“I usually have unwavering faith in the EV launch on the Cadillac V-Series.R. I was really praying that it didn’t let me down this one time, and it didn’t. I got off the grid.

“Yeah, a bit of a weird feeling winning a championship rolling to the green.”

The No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R of Aitken, Earl Bamber and Fred Vesti remained in the hunt for the win until the closing 20 minutes of the race when the No. 23 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Valkyrie of Roman De Angelis had contact with Bamber in Turn 1, sending the Whelen-sponsored Cadillac into the barriers and out of the race.

Despite the early end to the race, Aitken, who became the first solo top-class IMSA champion since Joerg Bergmeister in the 2026 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series season, collected seven podium finishes in nine races, including two wins.

“It’s been a fantastic year, which we’ve all mentioned, the incredible consistency we’ve had as a brand, as a team,” he said.

“Ten podiums in a row for Cadillac. We’ve been up there for quite a few of them.

“I could not have done it without my teammates. It does feel a little bit bittersweet that Earl couldn’t be with me because, honestly, he should be.

“Missing that one race, sort of it doesn’t really mean anything to me. He should be right up here. That’s a shame.

“It’s been a fun year because we’ve been flawless, the crew has been flawless. The one-team approach has really helped us.

“The car has come on leaps and bounds in the last four years since we won in 2023. It’s a special moment for me.”

When asked at what point did he think they could make a championship run, Aitken pointed back to last year’s Petit Le Mans where he, Bamber and Vesti won the race, which vaulted him to a second place finish in the drivers’ championship.

“In a way, this time last year when we surprised ourselves by finishing second with such a strong end to the year with our back-to-back wins in Indy and here,” he said.

“I think it showed us we were ready as a team to go on a streak like we have done.

“The pieces have been in place for a long time, but we needed a little bit of luck and things to fall in place to really get going with results on paper. That’s how it is in racing always.

“I don’t think we expected it to go quite as long as it did. Yeah, as we went through the first races of the year and had a few near misses in terms of winning, but we were always there, always on the podium, fighting with the top guys, whoever they were.

“It became clear pretty quick that we were on to something pretty special this year.”

Aitken said the team’s first win of the season, on the streets of Detroit, was a bit of a “watershed moment” for the Gary Nelson and Chris Mitchum-led organization.

“We had a few near misses early on in the season,” he said. “We were happy with what we were doing… but we’re racers.

“Not being on the top step started to be a bit grating, and being in here and giving reasons why we were still happy but would be a bit happier if we would have been on the top step was also getting a bit old.

“To finally get the win at home with friends and family all around at the home of GM was a pretty awesome weekend, I think it’s fair to say.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John