DSC’s RJ O’Connell arrived at just past 6 AM, well before dawn in Braselton, Georgia, but later settled into the brand new Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta Media Tower overlooking the descent through the final corner and onto the front straight.
Conditions were cloudy and chilly on the first trek through the paddock, it is the first true burst of autumn weather in the deep Southeastern United States. It’ll be partly cloudy all weekend from here, with temperatures expected to peak at 79°F/26°C, bottoming out around 55-59°F/13-15°C.
Drivers can expect a bit more grip through Turn 7 and Turn 10b, two key acceleration zones which have had new patches of tarmac laid down.
The belles of the ball in the one-off livery game by far, the Coca-Cola Porsche GT Team 911 RSRs, in their red-and-white splendour.
Even the Porsche boys themselves came with matching suits!
From left, Laurens Vanthoor, Earl Bamber, Patrick Pilet, and Nick Tandy.
But of course, they aren’t the only ones with new looks for Petit Le Mans!
It’s a bittersweet outing for the CORE Autosport team, their last race in the Prototype category, potentially the last race for the Nissan Onroak DPi barring a last-minute purchase – and the last race for team owner and gentleman racer Jon Bennett.
To commemorate the last ride for the last of the gentleman drivers in IMSA’s premier category, CORE Autosport have unveiled a new silver and orange livery for the number 54 CORE Nissan of Bennett, Colin Braun, and Romain Dumas. It harkens back to Bennett’s 2009 IMSA Prototype Lites car, from the days when the team was known as Inspire Motorsports.
Pfaff Motorsports’ Porsche 911 GT3-R gets a new look for the weekend as Buffalo, New York-based self-storage company Life Storage joins the team, and brings with them a new blue, black, and golden yellow take on the traditional plaid pattern Pfaff Porsche.
Nothing too special for the last rides of the Chevrolet Corvette C7.R, though, bringing back their “Made In America” livery from the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona.
Oh how good it is to see Risi Competizione rolling back into an IMSA paddock with a Texas-sized swagger with their Ferrari 488 GTE, piloted by Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, and Daniel Serra – the reigning GTE Pro champions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Juncos Racing’s Cadillac DPI-V.R is back too, for the first time since Victor Franzoni’s horror crash at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (Mosport). Regulars Will Owen and René Binder are joined by IndyCar star Spencer Pigot, who ascended the Road To Indy ladder with Juncos before his step-up in 2016.
And Land Motorsport are back with their Audi R8 LMS GT3, making their bid for the Michelin Endurance Cup in GT Daytona.
With the number 6 Acura Team Penske ARX-05 of Juan Pablo Montoya and Dane Cameron on the verge of the premier class title, the sister number 7 Acura will be tasked to help Acura secure the Prototype class Manufacturers’ Championship.
Graham Rahal rejoins Hélio Castroneves and Ricky Taylor in the number 7, which now has a modified steering column installed to better accommodate the 6 foot 2 inch (188cm) tall Ohioan, who cited his height as the reason for stepping down as the #7 team’s “plus-one” earlier this year. Rahal replaces Alexander Rossi, who is at Mount Panorama Circuit taking part in the Bathurst 1000.
And a brand new face on the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship trail is Shinya Sean Michimi, the Japanese-American driver who’s been plying his craft on both sides of the Pacific this year: Dual campaigns in the Autobacs Super GT Series and Pirelli Super Taikyu Series in Japan, and the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America in the States.
Michimi will be driving alongside Super Trofeo running mate Brandon Gdovic and Don Yount in the #47 Precision Performance Motorsports Lamborghini Huracán GT3.
By the time we were on the ground floor at the media launch of the Chevrolet Corvette C8.R, the sun had broken through the clouds and the temperatures had warmed up a bit, but not too much to be uncomfortable.
Braun & Bennett had fun in a very brief availability this evening with their sponsors ADT Security, the last of the true gentleman racers in top-flight IMSA competition, and the unlikely rising star who went from promising NASCAR prospect to maybe one of the finest Prototype drivers in any field.
As the sun sets over Michelin Raceway, here’s a wrap of the supporting series’ action:
India’s Akhil Rabindra has placed Automatic Racing’s #09 Aston Martin Vantage GT4 on pole position for tomorrow’s Michelin Pilot Challenge, the Fox Factory 120, alongside co-driver Tom Long.
Rabindra edged out second-generation drivers Seb Priaulx and Austin Cindric by just 0.115 seconds in their #15 Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4, on the front row in the GS category.
In TCR, Britt Casey Jr. And Mikey Taylor start on pole in their #17 JDC-Miller Motorsports Audi RS3 LMS, taking pole by just 0.089 seconds over the #98 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Veloster N of Michael Lewis and Mark Wilkins.
The Fox Factory 120 starts from 1:25 PM EDT.
Porsche GT3 Cup USA’s first of two races were dominated by 17-year-old Riley Dickinson and 18-year-old series champion Roman de Angelis. Dickinson led from pole as De Angelis pursued and the two drivers broke away from the field. Despite all the pressure from the young champion behind him, Dickinson held on for the victory by just a second. Alan Metni finished third, and Sebastian Carazo won in GT3 Cup Gold Class.
A second race will take place at 10:10 AM EDT tomorrow.
Stevan McAleer will start from pole position in tomorrow’s IMSA Prototype Challenge season finale, a 1 hour 45 minute race starting bright and early at 8 AM EDT.
