48 Entries for Petit Le Mans

Photo: Mike Levitt/IMSA

A total of 48 entries are slated to take part in next weekend’s Motul Petit Le Mans, the season-ending round for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and fourth leg of the Michelin Endurance Cup.

The ten-hour enduro at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta will feature seven DPis in the category’s final race, seven LMP2 entries, 11 LMP3 cars, seven GTD Pro machines and 16 GTD class contenders.

There are no surprises in the DPi class, with the second Action Express Racing Cadillac DPi.V-R of Jimmie Johnson, Kamui Kobayashi and Mike Rockenfeller returning alongside the six full-season entries.

While not listed on the entry, Chip Ganassi Racing tweeted on Wednesday that Scott Dixon and Ryan Hunter-Reay will complete the lineups in the Nos. 01 and 02 Cadillacs, respectively.

They join the previously confirmed Brenton Hartley (Wayne Taylor Racing) and Helio Castroneves (Meyer Shank Racing) in the two DPi title-contending Acura ARX-05s.

Additional thirds include Mike Conway (No. 31 Action Express) and Loic Duval (No. 5 JDC-Miller Motorsports).

In LMP2, Tristan Nunez is confirmed for his second consecutive race in the No. 11 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Oreca 07 Gibson, replacing Jonathan Bomarito, while Sebastian Montoya is back in the No. 81 DragonSpeed entry.

Indy Lights competitor Christian Rasmussen is the third driver in the No. 18 Era Motorsport Oreca, replacing Kyle Tilley.

Racing Team Nederland, meanwhile, is currently listed to compete with its three regular drivers, despite team owner/driver Frits van Eerd currently being under investigation in a money laundering case.

Van Eerd has since been released from jail but it’s unclear if the Bronze-rated driver will be able to travel internationally with investigation still ongoing.

The LMP3 class sees several driver changes, including Nico Pino in the No. 33 Sean Creech Motorsport Ligier JS P320 Nissan and the previously announced shakeup at FastMD Racing.

A second AWA Duqueine has been added for Anthony Mantella, Wayne Boyd and Josh Sarchet, with Mantella, Boyd and Matt Bell all listed in multiple entries across the three-car AWA and Forty7 Motorsports stable.

Tom Gamble has switched from The Heart of Racing’s GTD class entry to the team’s GTD Pro Aston Martin effort, with Maxime Martin remaining in the No. 27 entry in support of Roman De Angelis’ GTD title bid.

Ian James will complete the lineup in the No. 27 Aston Martin Vantage GT3, while Gamble joins full-season drivers Ross Gunn and Alex Riberas in GTD Pro.

As announced on Wednesday, WeatherTech Racing has switched back to the GTD Pro class with its Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo featuring an all-factory driver lineup. Cooper MacNeil, meanwhile, has stood down from competing next weekend.

While the lineup for Crucial Motorsports’ McLaren 720S GT3 has yet to be confirmed, fellow GTD entrant Inception Racing will have Sebastian Priaulx at the wheel alongside Jordan Pepper and Brendan Iribe.

Iribe will be attempting to pull double duty between Petit Le Mans and the season-ending Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup round at Barcelona on the same weekend.

Other GTD teams making its series return include Hardpoint, Cetilar Racing, AF Corse and Gradient Racing, all of which had been confirmed for the Michelin Endurance Cup races.

IMSA also confirmed on Wednesday the Balance of Performance tables for the Oct. 1 enduro, with no changes having been made since the last rounds at Road America for DPi and Virginia International Raceway for GT competitors.

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