Hour 1
The opening hour of the 2021 Petit Le Mans saw Harry Tincknell and Mazda leapfrog early race leader Felipe Nasr in the #31 Whelen/ Action Express Cadillac with some masterful timing lading to a clever piece of strategy.
Tincknell’s #55 Mazda pitted just moments before Dwight Merriman crashed out heavily in the #18 Era Motorsport LMP2 car, bringing out a Full Course yellow, the team’s post-incident release stating there had been contact with the #10 Acura of Felipe Albuquerque, though the TV replay did not seem to support that position, the Oreca appearing to steer sharply away from the Acura which was in close proximity through the final turn, Merriman losing control and making heavy contact with the end of the tyre barrier and tearing off the front left corner of the Oreca.
When the pits opened, the remainder of the DPI field pitted with Tincknell following them down pit road, able to take just a splash of fuel and leapfrog them into the lead.
When the race went back to green Tincknell was able to pull away with Nasr shuffled back on the restart by Renger van der Zande in the #1 Ganassi Cadillac.
Before even that chain of events though two Championship had been claimed. Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor secured the GTLM title for Corvette Racing and Ben Keating and Mikkel Jensen finalised the LMP2 championship for PR1 Mathiasen by dint of starting the race and putting themselves out of reach of their closest contenders.
The first FCY also shook up the order in GTLM with the early leaders from BMW losing out to the pair of Corvettes, the Pratt & Miller crew turning the C8.Rs around quickly to go one-two, the #3 of Antonio Garcia leading the #4 of Nick Tandy.
The Championship contending #1 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini in the hands of Madison Snow led soon after the start but lost out to the #96 Turner BMW of Robby Foley through the FCY pit stops.
Another high-flying GTD car was in rather more strife as the #16 Wright Motorsports Porsche with Trent Hindman at the wheel had side to side contact with the #42 NTE Sport Audi in traffic through Turn 10, a left rear puncture the outcome for the 911, Hindman having to continue for a full lap before being able to pit, bad news indeed with Michelin Endurance Cup points up for grabs.
Hour 2
Nasr got back into the lead courtesy of another FCY in the #31 Whelen / Action Express Cadillac but stumbled through heavy traffic and lost the lead again, this time to a charging Sebastien Bourdais in the #5 Mustang Sampling/ JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac into the lead.
The previously leading Mazda meanwhile suffered a delay in the pits after the front left wheel changer had a very close call with the incoming #48 Ally Cadillac.
Further dramas in the GTD class came for another title contender, Madison Snow in the #1 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini, double tapped the spinning #7 Duqueine LMP3 car, the Huracan suffering front damage, including a puncture, the car struggling back only for the crew to find the right rear wheel could not be removed, the #1 behind the wall and dropping laps.
With incidents galore in the class the #14 Lexus of Kyle Kirkwood led from the Turner BMW of Robbie Foley.
A 90 minute period predominantly featuring yellow flag running was closed out with another FCY after the #52 PR1 Mathiasen ORECA of Ben Keating high the rear of the #83 WIN Autosport LMP3 Ligier, the JS P320 left to run arid to pit with a puncture and rear bodywork damage, the ORECA needing a replacement nose section, Keating dealt a drive-though for the contact.
Hour 3
Hour 3 Another new leader of the race through great pit work, the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura of Ricky Taylor was looking pacy but the team were on edge after Felipe Albuquerque headed for the pits to beat an anticipated FCY for yet another on-track incident, the Acura seeming to pass a red light on pit entry.
The incident on track saw a tangle between a pair of GTD runners and the #91 Ligier, the Riley-run car left beached, a Full Course yellow inevitably following.
GTLM saw BMW back to the lead with Augusto Farfus passing the #4 Corvette of Tommy Milner in his #24 BMW M8 GTE.
Paul Miller Racing rejoined the race but over 10 laps down after their earlier woes in the #1 Lamborghini.
Hour 4
The front-running Mazda hit trouble early in Hour 4 as Oliver Jarvis pitted almost immediately after taking the wheel of the #55 RT24-P with electrical woes, the resultant repair costing the team three laps.
After significant early race issues the #16 Wright Motorsports Porsche was back into the lead of the race, Pat Long at the wheel, the parade of FCYs allowing the Porsche to make up lost time and laps.
Two other efforts in contention for significant silverware were also in the hunt, Roman de Angelis in the #23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 AMR running second and the points-leading Pfaff Motorsports 911 GT3-R running third with Lars Kern.
Just two LMP2 cars remained on the lead lap as the race closed in at five hour mark with the #52 PR1 Mathiasen ORECA ahead of the #8 Tower Motorsport car.
The hour would end under yet another Full Course Yellow for the #7 Forty7 Motorsports Duqueine of Rodrigo Pflucker off the circuit car fairly high speed after a technical failure, the car deranging the tyre wall.
Hour 5
Yet another FCY, this time perhaps fortunate not to be a Red Flag, came after another significant incident on a restart.
This time the confusion came for the GT runners with Jordan Taylor in the #3 Corvette hitting the rear of the #70 Inception Racing McLaren with other impacts affecting at least six other GTD runners.
Big wreck on the restart at Road Atlanta. #IMSA #MotulPetitLeMans
At least six cars involved in this stack-up.
TV: NBCSN
Stream: https://t.co/eWidkkkFap pic.twitter.com/xLrbcC22kB— Motorsports on NBC (@MotorsportsNBC) November 13, 2021
The Corvette was left stranded in the centre of the track with front-end damage, out on the spot, together with the #19 GRT Lamborghini, with a further cluster of cars in the wall on the right, all with significant damage. The McLaren too was retired.
The #14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus suffered major damage to the front right corner, it would struggle back to the pita to retire.
The #32 Gilbert Korthoff Motorsports AMG had impact damage on both sides and a missing door, the already damaged #42 NTE Sport Audi and the #57 Winward AMG were both in the wall too whilst the #96 Turner BMW M6 GT3 slapped the wall in avoidance, bending suspension front and rear, the BMW would pit and be retired bringing the M6 GT3s IMSA career to a sad end.
Mercifully there were no significant injuries!
The resultant caution period for. significant recovery and clear up took much of the remainder of the hour!
All of that left the #23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin leading a depleted GTD field but with the {all Miller Lamborghini back out and running there’s more than one title upset that could still be in store!
Juan Pablo Montoya led the race in the #60 Meyer Shank Acura with the constant FCYs keeping the field tightly packed. The #31 Whelen Cadillac though pitted out of sequence with a puncture.
LMP3 has had more than its fair share of incident and attrition but a pair of the junior prototypes were still hustling for the lead with the #30 Jr III Racing Ligier ahead of the GTLMs and holding off Scott Andrews in the #74 Riley Motorsports Ligier who was in close contention with new GTLM leader Philipp Eng in the #25 BMW.
