Title hopes dashed in IMSA season finale at Road Atlanta
Title hopes were dashed for Tommy Milner, Nicky Catsburg and Nico Varrone in the Pratt & Miller # 4 Z06 GT3.R Corvette just 80 minutes before the end of the 10-hour Petite Le Mans race at Road Atlanta.
The # 4 Corvette held a slight lead in season points over four other contenders coming into the race but finishing 12th out of 14 cars in the GTD PRO class saw that lead evaporate.
Starting from third, the team was doing great and led for 29 laps. All went for naught when Dennis Olsen in the Ford Racing # 64 Mustang GT3 got tangled up with Catsburg. Despite orders to control over aggressive driving, there was a record 17 full course yellow flags to clean up the wreckage.
Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims and Marvin Kirchhöfer in the Pratt & Miller # 3 Z06 GT3.R Corvette finished eighth. They led the race twice for 61 laps and had a shot before a flat left-rear tire in the late going that ended their chances.
Dampness from rain early Saturday required all cars to start on rain tires but teams shortly switched to slicks as the track dried out. The skies opened again about 2 hours later when the race was red-flagged for 27 minutes by lightning and a downpour.
DragonSpeed sporting director Anthony Megevand, acting on behalf of team owner Elton Julian, enlisted retired Indy Car 4-time champ Sebastian Bourdais to share the ride with Casper Stevenson and Giacomo Altoè in the # 74 Z06 GT3.R Corvette; which re-classified the car to GTD PRO where it finished 6th in class for the team’s swan song from IMSA.
Finishing third in GTD PRO was enough for Connor De Phillippi, Neil Verhagen, and Dan Harper, completing 349 laps in Paul Miller Racing # 1 BMW M4 GT3 EVO to clinch the points championship, also in what appears to be the team’s final IMSA race.
Mason Filippi, Salih Yoluc and Charlie Eastwood in the DXDT # 36 Z06 GT3.R Corvette made on less pit stop in a fuel-saving mode to finish 3rd in GTD for their season’s best result.
Orey Fidani, Matt Bell and Lars Kern in the 13 Autosport team # 13 Z06 GT3.R Corvette finished 10th in GTD, edging out the Inception Racing Team # 70 Ferrari 296 to capture the coveted Bob Akin Award and a third straight invite to Le Mans next year.
If it’s any consolation, Chevrolet again won IMSA’s Manufacturer Championship Points for the sixteenth time since 1999.
IMSA is on a roll, evidenced by record crowds at the season finale and for more expected at the 24 hours of Daytona that kicks off the 2027 season on Saturday, January 30, 2027
Photo credits: Mark Matson, Jake Galstead
