Airbnb Endurance Challenge Concludes at Road America

The four event, two-hour endurance race component of the LMP3 season comes to an end at Road America this weekend to cap off the IMSA Airbnb Endurance Challenge campaign.

It also will see the first top scorers of the championship confirmed as part of the overall LMP3 season that spans the four endurance races and the ten sprint rounds that make up the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge.

The three previous Airbnb Endurance Challenge races have had three different winners. Oscar Tunjo and Valentino Catalano took the Sebring opener aboard their No. 1 Gebhardt Motorsport Duqueine D08 Nissan.

Titus Sherlock and Wyatt Brichacek tackled Circuit of The Americas in their No. 95 Toney Driver Development Ligier JS P325 Toyota. Ari Balogh and Garett Grist triumphed at VIR in their No. 30 Toney Ligier.

With a win and two third-place finishes, Tunjo and Catalano, now in the No. 1 Gebhardt Duqueine D09 Toyota, lead Brian Thienes and Patrick Kujala by 30 points (950-920). Thienes and Kujala, sharing the No. 77 Forte Racing Ligier JS P325, have finished second twice and fourth once. Balogh and Grist sit third, 40 back.

As there are nine cars entered, the maximum points gain is 130 points (350 maximum for a win, 220 minimum for ninth).

Although Brichacek in fourth (set to drive with Lincoln Day) and Danny Soufi and Jake Williamson in their No. 11 PINAXIS-ZONE 4 Racing Duqueine D09 remain mathematically alive at 110 and 120 points back, all of the top three would have to hit trouble for these two entries to leapfrog up the standings.

Tunjo leads the overall P3 championship by 460 points over Soufi, so he can’t lose that lead leaving Road America. Tunjo may be well positioned to secure the overall P3 title at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta depending on the Road America outcome.

The Bronze Cup standings are even tighter, as these cover both sprint and endurance races.

Thienes holds just a ten-point lead over Travis Hill (3,500 to 3,490). Hill has a new co-driver this race with Daniel Oliver set to share the No. 2 Shopify Racing Ligier JS P325 at Road America.

Thienes has maximized his Bronze Cup results in endurance races; he has scored 1,000 points in these three races compared to Hill’s 820.

The remaining Bronzes entered include Balogh, Williamson, Matt Forbush returning in the No. 18 Forbush Performance Duqueine D09 with Jules Caranta, Jon Hirshberg with Patrick Liddy in the No. 86 Forte Racing Ligier JS P325, and Slade Stewart alongside Andy Lee in Riley’s No. 29 Ligier JS P320.

Airbnb Endurance Challenge competitors practice Friday afternoon and Saturday morning with qualifying Saturday afternoon. The two-hour race goes green at 10:05 a.m. CT and local time (11:05 a.m. EST) and streams live via the IMSA Official YouTube channel.