Michelin Road Atlanta Notebook

Celebrating the 25th

A quarter century of Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta has produced racing and events filled with character and personality. Fan access to teams and drivers with an autograph session, open paddock, and the open pre-grid are all a part of the annual experience.  It has become a celebration of sports cars and endurance racing. 

Winning Experience  

Ten different manufacturers have powered to the overall victories in the first 24 years of Petit Le Mans: Ferrari, Panoz-Ford, Porsche, Audi, Peugeot, Toyota, Cadillac, Honda, Nissan and Mazda.

Going the Distance 

Petit Le Mans was initially presented as a 10 Hour or 1,000-mile race, with subsequent winners covering the full 394 lap distance in as little as nine hours.  

Beginning in 2014, IMSA set the race duration as 10 hours to align with the duration based 24 Hours of Daytona and Le Mans, 12 Hours of Sebring, and 6 Hours of Watkins Glen.

As a result, the Petit Le Mans race record now stands at 1181 miles (465 laps) set by Action Express Racing in 2019. 

Michelin Scorecard 

Michelin created a scorecard showcasing manufacturer success in IMSA. Fourteen manufacturers have won so far this season. Heading into Petit Le Mans — Porsche leads the way with eight victories. Aston Martin, Acura and Mercedes are tied in second with five wins.

IMSA Champions Crowned 

The season-long battles on track will end in the crowning of champions this weekend. There are multiple close races including in the top class of DPi. The No. 10 Acura of Wayne Taylor Racing leads the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura by just 19 points. The No. 60 has one victory on the season—the Rolex 24, while the No. 10 has won at Laguna Seca, Mid-Ohio, Watkins Glen and Road America.   

Final Leg of Endurance Cup 

Along with season championships trophies, teams will be awarded for the Michelin Endurance Cup. Here are the current leaders after three races (Daytona, Sebring and Watkins Glen) heading into Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. 

DPi: No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing
LMP2: No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports
LMP3: No. 74 Riley Motorsports
GTD Pro: No. 3 Corvette Racing
GTD: No. 70 Inception Racing 

The Next Chapter

Once the checkered flag falls Saturday night, the attention quickly turns to the new top class of IMSA. The highly anticipated IMSA GTP (LMDh) entries from Acura, BMW, Cadillac and Porsche will race in 2023.

Before the racing begins, there will be testing on track at both Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta and Daytona International Speedway. Michelin is working closely with teams to deliver outstanding performance for these exciting new cars. 

Lap Records

Qualifying
DPi: Dane Cameron/1:08.412/2020
LMP2: Kyle Masson/1:10.722/2019
LMP3: Niklas Kruetten/1:15.664/2021
GTD: Shinya Michimi/1:19.291/2020
GS: Akhil Rabindra/1:25.715/2019
TCR: Britt Casey Jr/1:27.826/2019

Race
DPi: Felipe Nasr/1:08.869/2019
LMP2: Colin Braun/1:10.634/2020
LMP3: Garrett Grist/ 1:15.92/2021
GTD: Bryan Sellers/1:19.310/2021
GS: Philip Ellis/ 1:26.215/2020
TCR: Tyler Gonzalez/1:28.624/2021

Tire Allocations 

WeatherTech Championship
DPi: 23 sets – IMSA Medium
LMP2: 23 sets – IMSA Medium
LMP3: 19 sets – Michelin Pilot Sport GT S8M/S9M
GTD PRO: 19 sets – Michelin Pilot Sport GT S9M
GTD: 19 sets – Michelin Pilot Sport GT S9M 

Michelin Pilot Challenge
GS: 5 sets – Michelin Pilot Sport GT S9M
TCR: 4 sets – Michelin Pilot Sport GT S9M+

IMSA Prototype Challenge
LMP3: 5 sets – Michelin Pilot Sport GT S8M/S9M