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Michelin IMSA Insider: Time Flies

A look back at the 25 years of sports car racing since the inaugural Petit Le Mans…

Photo: John Brooks/Road Atlanta

Twenty-five years can fly by. The first Petit Le Mans was held at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in 1998.

That same year, Google was founded, France won the World Cup, President Bill Clinton was facing impeachment and Michael Jordan and Sammy Sosa claimed MVP honors in their respective sports.

A pair of Porsche GT1-98s finished 1-2 at Le Mans that June, as a pair of Viper Team Orecas did the same in GTS. Bill Auberlen, finished fourth overall, making him the top American at Le Mans.

Stateside

On the U.S. side of the pond, Titanic and Saving Private Ryan were top films, while Alex Zanardi and Jeff Gordon both successfully defended their respective CART and NASCAR crowns.

Internationally, Juan Pablo Montoya was the International Formula 3000 champion and a young Kiwi named Scott Dixon won the Australian Driver’s Championship.

The Backstreet Boys, Shania Twain, Celine Dion, Garth Brooks, and the Spice Girls all had Top 10 albums.

Meanwhile, the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, and Honda Civic were the U.S. car sales champs, and the Ford F-Series, Chevrolet C/K pickup and Ford Explorer took the podium spots on the truck sales side.

The First Petit

There were 31 cars entered and 29 starters in the seven IMSA or ACO classes for the inaugural ten-hour/1,000-mile race. Just seven cars were fitted with Michelin tires, as Dunlop, Goodyear, Pirelli, and Yokohama each had multiple entries. Only Michelin has entered all 24 races to date.

Star Power

Headlining the entries was the 1998 Le Mans-winning Porsche GT1-98.

Porsche’s driver Allan McNish claimed the inaugural pole with a lap time of 1:13.754. When asked about the minimal lighting around the track, McNish noted that his headlights pointed into the trees on the uphill backstretch.

Walking through the field on the pre-grid, a sports car newcomer noted that some of the rival prototypes looked like a box that the sleek Porsche GT1-98 had come in.

While McNish set the fastest race lap with a 1:15.2 clocking, it was his co-driver, Yannick Dalmas, who grabbed international headlines with a spectacular blow over crash on Lap 235 (video above).

A Ferrari 333 SP from Doyle-Risi Racing led the way home with drivers Wayne Taylor, Eric van de Poele and Emmanuel Collard. Over ten hours, they completed 391 laps while covering 993 miles.

The Catalyst

Deep in NASCAR country, in the middle of football season, a new event called Petit Le Mans successfully debuted at a venue still making major renovations with a fresh vision under a new owner.

The founder, Dr. Don Panoz, brought a new idea of competition designed, “For the Fans” with an open paddock, open grid, driver autograph sessions. He even brought in British announcer John Hindhaugh, the English language voice of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, to lead the commentary.

The success of the first Petit Le Mans proved to Panoz and the ACO that sports car racing in North America was ready to grow once again. Panoz created the American Le Mans Series and began competition at Sebring the following March.

Photo: Mike Levitt/IMSA

Momentum Builds

Much has changed in the years since, as IMSA and the American Le Mans Series merged with the NASCAR owned Grand-Am series in 2014 to create a unified series, schedule, and rules.

WeatherTech became the title sponsor of the top series in 2016, bringing its passion, marketing savvy, and media support.

The next year at Road Atlanta, Michelin was announced as the official tire of IMSA, beginning in 2019. The tire maker has delivered the technology and resources to support the dramatic rise of manufacturers entered in IMSA WeatherTech and Michelin Pilot Challenge competition.

Since then, Road Atlanta has become Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, and the signature Michelin Tower was built to reflect the company’s commitment. Motul also became the title sponsor of Petit Le Mans in 2017.

In January of 2020, IMSA and the ACO announced new rules aligned for the exciting top prototypes beginning in 2023.

Today

The 25th Motul Petit Le Mans weekend will once again draw more than 100,000 fans. A field of 48 cars are expected. The race distance record now stands at 1181 miles or 465 laps in 10 Hours.

Now globally recognized as one of the world’s premier races, the traditions and history of Petit Le Mans continue to grow.

Ferrari, Panoz-Ford, Porsche, Audi, Peugeot, Toyota, Cadillac, Honda, Nissan, and Mazda have all claimed overall race wins. Panoz, Corvette, Porsche, BMW, Ferrari, Dodge Viper, Audi, and Aston Martin have all taken GT honors.

Photo: Michelin

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