McIntosh Would Choose LMGT3 Title Over Le Mans Win

Photo: Javier Jimenez/Drew Gibson Photography

Anthony McIntosh admitted that he would choose the season-long LMGT3 title in the FIA World Endurance Championship over a class win in this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, although said ‘Le Mans will come to us’ if they manage a trouble-free race.

The FIA Bronze-rated driver has assembled one of three all-rookie lineups in the production-based ranks for this year’s race, joined by longtime co-driver Parker Thompson and BMW factory rising star Dan Harper in the No. 69 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 EVO.

The trio, who won on their WEC debuts at Imola, enter this weekend’s double-points paying round third in the standings, only five points behind leaders Richard Lietz, Riccardo Pera and Yasser Shahin, whose Manthey outfit is seeking a third consecutive class win in the French endurance classic.

When asked by Sportscar365 if he had to choose a Le Mans win or the season-long title, the Wisconsin native, heading into arguably the biggest race of his career said: “I think it’s tough but I’m a championship guy.

“But I know Le Mans is one of the very, very few races where someone can say they won Le Mans and that is the pinnacle for them.

“My default is to always try to win the championship. I’m more of a very conservative, steady driver. I’m not like a get aggressive and get out there and make something happen-type of person.

“I think for me, it would be win the championship.”

McIntosh, who’s had a meteoric rise through the sports car racing ranks after only starting racing in 2021 after a near-death health scare, believes drivers have to approach Le Mans differently than other races.

“I think this is one of the few tracks where you race yourself, which is kind of unique,” he said. “Here, it’s all about what you don’t do.

“Did you damage the car? Were you rough on the brakes? Were you saving fuel? Were you getting track limits?

“It’s not so much where you are position-wise on the track in your stint, it’s ‘Are you doing the right things or are you doing the wrong things?’

“For me, I think it’s all about managing myself and then I think everything will come to us.”

Former open-wheel prospect and Porsche Carrera Cup North America champion Thompson, who made the bold move in departing the factory Lexus Vasser Sullivan Racing squad in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship to pursue racing in the WEC with McIntosh, would personally prefer the Le Mans win.

“I think Tony’s head is in the right place on that,” he told Sportscar365.

“Obviously, in my opinion, you have a lot more control over a championship with many races than you do over one of these big, bucket list wins.

“But I think it’s harder to get a 24 Hours of Le Mans to come together than it is to get a championship to come together, even though there’s more races and you have to perform better for a longer period of time to win a championship, Le Mans takes some lady luck.

“Drivers spend their entire careers trying to win it and they can’t close the deal on it.

“On the eve of my first one, that’s definitely in the back of my mind, knowing that there’s drivers that have put in a lot more time than I have at this track in order to try and win their first one.

“But I don’t think it deters us from going for it.”

McIntosh Glad ‘Emotionally Difficult’ Spa Race is Behind Them

After winning the 6 Hours of Imola, the trio’s BMW finished outside the points in 11th at following round at Spa-Francorchamps after having been weighed down with 36 kgs of Success Handicap, which McIntosh revealed came as a “culture shock.”

“Spa was so difficult emotionally because I know how close myself vs. Dan is. That delta is very small, maybe one of the smallest in the entire lineups,” he said.

“But the success ballast was so brutal. It was such a culture shock to see someone with three drive-through penalties win the race.

“Honestly, I don’t know what to say to that.

“I went from 17th to ninth and when we did the driver change, I told Parker when I was buckling him into the car, I said, ‘I’m sorry this is going to be one of the most brutal stints your’e ever going to have. Just try not to get frustrated.'”

Thompson added: “I went in there naive thinking, ‘It won’t be that bad.’ It was a tough race for us.”

LMGT3 entires are free of Success Handicaps at Le Mans, which has been highly praised by the American-Canadian duo.

“Definitely setting everybody back to zero for the one race that means the most in the championship, I think is a great thing, especially for us being high up in the championship with a recent race win,” said Thompson.

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