Van der Linde Leads Opening Hour Amid GTD Title Drama

Photo: Mike Levitt/IMSA

Sheldon van der Linde led near the end of the opening hour of Motul Petit Le Mans, following a damp-turned dry opening stanza to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season finale.

The South African in the No. 24 Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 held the lead over the No. 93 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06, with pole-sitter Tom Blomqvist shuffled to third.

The one-hour mark came under full course caution after Jon Farano nosed his No. 8 Tower Motorsports Oreca 07 Gibson into the Turn 1 barriers.

Blomqvist, on wet-weather Michelin tires, led from the green although was one of the final GTP cars to pit for slicks on Lap 10.

While Yelloly jumped Blomqvist, van der Linde took the lead after running second in the early stages.

Jack Aitken was officially crowned GTP champion by rolling off the grid, which also clinched the teams’ title to Action Express Racing and manufacturers’ championship to Cadillac.

Aitken ran in sixth at the end of the opening hour.

There was drama from the start in LMP2 when the class pole-sitting No. 99 AO Racing Oreca of PJ Hyett pitted at the green due to a shifting issue that required a steering wheel swap.

The No. 52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Oreca of Misha Goikhberg led in class, while the No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R was out front in GTD Pro.

Winward Racing paced GTD from pole, and now with a significant points advantage following an overheating issue for the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Francis Selldorf that put the car behind the wall, which then quickly led to the race’s first retirement.

The No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo, with the only other driver with a mathematical chance of the title in Eduardo Barrichello, didn’t even start the race after encountering an electrical loom issue.

It came after an overnight engine change for the car.

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