Iron Lynx Takes First GTD Pro Win; AO Hangs on to Title

Iron Lynx took its first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship victory by taking GTD Pro class honors at Motul Petit Le Mans, while AO Racing hung on to the class title despite a troubled run to finish 11th in class.

The No. 19 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 of Jordan Pepper, Mirko Bortolotti and Franck Perera faced off a challenge from Risi Competizione to come out on top in the ten-hour season finale at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

The Italian squad moved to the front of the pack in the opening hours and remained there throughout, with a pass from Pepper on Daniel Serra with just over two hours remaining proving crucial.

Pepper subsequently held off Serra at the race’s final restart to win, claiming Iron Lynx’s first win in the WeatherTech Championship GTD Pro class.

It also marks the team’s most significant victory in a major endurance race since it won the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa with Ferrari in 2021.

Serra, Davide Rigon and Alessandro Pier Guidi finished second with their No. 62 Ferrari 296 GT3, a result that crucially denied Heart of Racing Team’s Ross Gunn the drivers’ title by just four points.

Gunn, sharing the No. 23 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo with Alex Riberas and Roman De Angelis, needed to finish second in class in order to surpass AO’s Laurin Heinrich in the standings.

Heinrich, together with Michael Christensen and Julien Andlauer, finished 11th in class after early-race steering connectivity issues cost the No. 77 Porsche 911 GT3 R valuable time.

However, with Gunn unable to make the crucial pass on Serra’s Ferrari for second place in class, it allowed Heinrich to narrowly become champion.

The No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims and. Daniel Juncadella finished fourth, having bounced back from a one-lap deficit due to brake issues.

The top five in class was rounded out by the No. 65 Ford Mustang GT3, ahead of the No. 027 Heart of Racing Aston Martin and No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 in Bryan Sellers’ final appearance for the team.

Conquest Denies Forte Back-to-Back Petit Win; Winward Crowned GTD Champions

In GTD, a late-race pass from Conquest Racing’s Albert Costa prevented Forte Racing from taking back-to-back class victories at the event, while Winward Racing were crowned champions in class by finishing ninth.

Costa, sharing the No. 34 Ferrari 296 GT3 with Manny Franco and Cedric Sbirrazzuoli, wrestled his way past Loris Spinelli’s No. 78 Lamborghini at Turn 11 with 31 minutes to go.

After the final restart, the Spaniard then withstood significant pressure from the Lamborghini factory driver to win by a margin of 0.718 seconds.

The win at Road Atlanta marks Conquest’s second win of the season but its first in GTD, as it took a GTD Pro class win with Serra and Giacomo Altoe at Road America in August.

Forte, meanwhile, narrowly missed out on second consecutive Petit class win, having achieved a breakthrough result at the event twelve months ago.

The No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 of Frankie Montecalvo, Parker Thompson and Aaron Telitz completed the class podium, ahead of the No. 32 Korthoff Preston Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo piloted by Mike Skeen, Kenton Koch and Mikael Grenier.

Triarsi Competizione rounded out the top five with its No. 023 Ferrari, leading home the No. 45 WTRAndretti Lamborghini and a pair of Ferraris from AF Corse and Inception Racing.

Russell Ward and Philip Ellis, meanwhile, were crowned GTD drivers’ champion by finishing ninth, crossing the line one place ahead of nearest title rivals Turner Motorsport.

Ward and Ellis, sharing the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG with Indy Dontje, entered the season finale with a comfortable margin after a strong start to the season that saw them win four out of the first five races.

Although the team added no further victories after June’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen, four additional top-five finishes including two podiums gave them a sizable points lead rolling off the grid at Road Atlanta.

With Patrick Gallagher and Robby Foley finishing tenth in the No. 96 BMW, they were unable to prevent Ward and Ellis from succeeding Madison Snow and Bryan Sellers as champions in GTD.

RESULTS: Motul Petit Le Mans