Jack Aitken gave Cadillac its sixth GTP pole position in nine races, and with no championship aspirations at stake, he went into qualifying simply to go all-out no matter the consequences.
“Pipo (Derani) told me beforehand to enjoy it and put it in the gravel, or put in on pole. We got the right side of that and I’m over the moon,” Aitken said. “This is one of my most favourite tracks and a privilege to get my first pole here.”
The Anglo-Korean driver’s first IMSA pole position comes at the end of his first full season with the Action Express (Whelen Cadillac) Racing team, and while incidents like his first-lap crash at Le Mans last year, or starting a track-blocker at Detroit this year have stuck in the minds of some fans as severe demerits, Aitken is grateful to have Action Express’ full support along the way.
“I look back on stuff like Le Mans and Detroit, and that’s like, all part of my learning experience,” he told DSC after qualifying. “You know, I’m not a complete package, it’s just working my way towards that – and I’m going to make mistakes along the way.
“I’m very lucky that I’ve got a team behind me that’s willing to back me through that learning process. And hopefully, I can keep rewarding them for that.”
Heinrich pulls from Carrera Cup experience to break GTD course record
You wouldn’t be able to tell it was Laurin Heinrich’s first Petit Le Mans by the way he mastered qualifying and broke the existing GT3 course record by nearly a second – but this was not his first time around Road Atlanta.
“I did the Porsche Carrera Cup North America two years ago, which was actually my very first race in the United States – which also ended with a pole position,” Heinrich said to DSC.
Heinrich got the pole for both races that weekend and won Race 2 after retiring from Race 1, and is going for another win around Road Atlanta.
“I love the track. I’ve learned from the simulator quite well, and did plenty of races around here. I think I can really use that experience also now in real life.
“And I have to give also, some credit to my team – I mean, they gave me a super quick car!”
AO Racing doesn’t have an official tally on the number of fans that signed Rexy but both half-hour sessions – and the subsequent driver autograph session – were well attended.
Where do the championships stand now?
Following up today’s piece, How The 2024 IMSA Championships Will Be Won, the picture is much clearer in the main series championships now that Qualifying has finished.
In GTP, the #01 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R is eliminated from contention, leaving just the two Porsche Penske Motorsport 963s that will be focused on clinching every available championship – including the Manufacturers’ title which they’ll secure at the start of the race.
Dane Cameron and Felipe Nasr can clinch the GTP Drivers’ Championship with an eighth-place finish or better in the #7, while Mathieu Jaminet and Nick Tandy (-133) need a win in the #6, but would also need the #7 to finish ninth or lower.
In LMP2, Nick Boulle and Tom Dillmann can clinch the championship by finishing sixth or better. Gar Robinson and Felipe Fraga (-101) need to finish at least first or second to have any chance, a win requires Boulle and Dillmann to finish seventh or lower.
In GTD Pro, Laurin Heinrich also needs a sixth-place finish or better to clinch the title for AO Racing. Ross Gunn and Heart of Racing Team (-102) will have to finish on the podium to be in any sort of contention.
And in GTD, all Russell Ward and Philip Ellis need to do is finish anywhere but last in class and they’ll win the title over Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher (-220), who needed to win to have any chance to begin with.
Keating beaming after first pole since Daytona
Ben Keating only won the LMP2 pole for Petit Le Mans last year by two-hundredths of a second – in fact, because of the weather, he was the fastest qualifier of all last year! However this year he was able to put three-tenths on his fellow Bronzes to win his first LMP2 pole since the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona.
“Today was really special. Really, really good,” Keating said. “To beat that time by three-tenths of a second, I didn’t think it was possible.
“Literally, I have never driven a car that was as hooked up as the P2 we had today! I give all the credit to the team. It was an incredible setup. I was able to carry way more speed through the corners, and I was able to get to the throttle a lot earlier than I could any other time. It was a lot of fun to do the lap just because the car was so hooked up.
“It’s a lot of fun to drive a good car,” he said, smiling all the way.
What’s next for the charismatic Texan? “I haven’t signed any documents yet for what I’ll do next year,” Keating told IMSA Radio’s Shea Adam, “but I can guarantee you I won’t miss the opportunity to be in a P2 at Daytona.”
Corvette Racing puts both cars in GTD Pro top five after overnight repairs to #3
Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports put its two Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs in the top five in qualifying despite last night’s accident involving the #3 Corvette.
Daniel Juncadella crashed into the #78 Forte Racing Lamborghini during Practice 3, damaging the chassis and the right-rear suspension.
Pratt Miller Motorsports had the programme test car driven from Detroit to Atlanta overnight just in case the #3 car could not be repaired, but incredibly, the team was able to weld the damaged portion of the car back together and has seemingly suffered no loss of pace as a consequence!
“I’m really happy with the crew and the whole organization,” said Antonio Garcia, senior driver of the #3 Corvette. “I didn’t expect to be out there for qualifying, to be honest.
“Once you are out there, you forget that you aren’t doing an install lap or anything like that. You have to trust your guys. I never once worried or thought about the car not being perfect because I know this team and crew. It was really, really good and I’m very thankful for them.”
Jagger Jones wins VP Racing Challenge finale
Third-generation driver Jagger Jones finished his season with a win in the final VP Racing Challenge Series race of 2024, his eighth win of the season in the #87 FastMD Racing by Remstar Duquiene D08.
It was a wire-to-wire win for Jones that helped FastMD/Remstar clinch the 2024 LMP3 Teams’ Championship over MLT Motorsports.
2024 Drivers’ Champion Steven Aghakhani (#6 MLT Motorsports Ligier JS P320) finished the year with a second-place finish, followed by the two Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsports Duquienes, the #30 of Valentino Catalano, and the #31 of Markus Pommer.
In GSX, Tyler Hoffman in the #9 Kingpin Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 Evo got past polesitter Patrick Wilmot on the opening lap and never looked back, taking his first win in his debut IMSA weekend.
Wilmot was third in his #88 Split Decision Motorsports BMW M4 GT4, behind the #59 KOHR Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4 – not driven by champion Luca Mars, but by his Michelin Pilot Challenge co-driver Bob Michaelian in a race-day decision.
Gresham Wagner wins second MX-5 Cup title as Fletcher wins race
Gresham Wagner was crowned America’s king of the one-makes today as he clinched his second Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup Championship with a third-place finish in Race 2 at Road America
McCumbee McAleer Racing cars finished 1-2-3 led by Jeremy Fletcher (#22) who took his third win of the year, with Nate Cicero (#82) second and Wagner (#5) third.
Wagner won a $250,000 prize from Mazda as the series champion; he is the first driver to win both the Mazda MX-5 Cup and Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Cup North America titles in the same year.
The finish to the last championship race of the year was marred by a big crash for Jonathan Neudorf (#55 BSi Racing) who ended up crashing hard into the concrete barriers past the start/finish line after contact with team-mate Westin Workman. Neudorf thankfully walked away from the incident.
Outgoing champion Jared Thomas (#96) finished fifth behind top rookie runner Noah Harmon (#77).
This is not the end of the MX-5 Cup season however as the series heads to the paperclip oval at Martinsville Speedway for a special non-championship event on 26 October!
Hartog crowned Porsche Carrera Cup North America champion; Vanier, Yardley split victories
PCCNA – Vanier, Yardley split weekend, Hartog crowned champion (Metni, Halcome)
Loek Hartog was officially crowned the 2024 Porsche Carrera Cup North America champion this weekend, after a pair of second-place finishes in Road Atlanta.
Hartog finished second yesterday behind Race 1 winner Zachary Vanier, the 2022 SCCC GT4 Champion, who earned his first win since the Miami Grand Prix weekend. Race 2 winner Ryan Yardley got his second win of the season today.
Vanier overtook Hartog and Alex Sedgwick in the opening stages of Race 1, then held off the field on a late restart to secure his victory over Hartog and Yardley.
In Race 2, Yardley led wire-to-wire but had to withstand pressure from Hartog for most of the race. The champion-elect ran off into the grass briefly at one stage but secured the podium with Vanier in third.
Efrin Castro won the Pro-Am class in both races to close the gap to points leader Alan Metni down to ten points ahead of the season finale, during the United States Grand Prix weekend at COTA.
Meanwhile, Chris Bellomo and Richard Edge split victories in the Masters’ Class, but Matt Halcome, who finished second in class in Race 1, still has a big 34-point lead to play with and two races left.
RESULTS: RACE 1 >> | RACE 2 >>
Images © Richard Dole, Jake Galstad / IMSA, Jack Webster / Dailysportscar.com, Ignite Media
