This week at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, four IMSA support series will run ahead of the 28th annual Motul Petit Le Mans on Saturday.
Road Atlanta will be the final stop for three championships: The Michelin Pilot Challenge, the VP Racing SportsCar Championship, and the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by Michelin. It’ll also be a pivotal penultimate round for the Porsche Carrera Cup North America, whose season ends only one week later.
Michelin Pilot Challenge (ENTRY LIST)
43 cars (27 in Grand Sport/GS, 16 in TCR) will run in the season-ending Fox Factory 120, the last race of the Michelin Pilot Challenge season, which has the potential for two incredible title fights.
Four GS teams are still mathematically eligible for the title, led by the duo of Luca Mars and Jan Heylen in the #28 RS1 Porsche 718 GT4 RS Clubsport. With three wins, Mars and 2021 GS Champion Heylen have led the GS standings since Sebring, but their lead has been trimmed to just 100 points over the #39 CarBahn with Peregrine Racing BMW M4 GT4 EVO of Sean McAlister and 2019 GS Champion Jeff Westphal in second.
Still, a top-five finish for Mars and Heylen would be enough for them to take the title.
McCumbee McAleer Racing with Aerosport’s Jenson Altzman (-120) has driven every race this year in the #13 Ford Mustang GT4. Since co-driver Nate Cicero joined MMR, the #13 Ford got its first win and has qualified on the front row for four consecutive races.
Austin Krainz and 2015 ST Class Champion, Stevan McAleer (-200) are also within reach of the title in their #27 Auto Technic Racing BMW.
Over in the TCR class, three teams are within 70 points of the title, led by the #93 MMG Honda Civic FL5 TCR of Louis-Philippe Montour and Karl Wittmer.
Harry Gottsacker (-10) will once again be alongside co-driver Mason Filippi, who’s been in the #98 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TCR at every race except Watkins Glen (due to commitments at the Nürburgring 24 Hours). The other BHA Hyundai in contention is the #76 of Preston Brown and Denis Dupont (-70).
All three teams have two wins this season, and a third win could put any of them over the top during Friday’s race at 12:40 PM EDT (local time).
VP Racing SportsCar Challenge (ENTRY LIST)
25 cars will start the final double-header weekend for the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge. All of the titles have been virtually wrapped up at this stage, but this weekend’s races will be significant as they are the last IMSA VP Challenge races for the previous-generation V8-powered LMP3 cars. Eight of them will race this weekend, four each from Ligier and Duqueine.
Valentino Catalano in the #30 Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsports Duqueine D08 only has to start the first race on Thursday to clinch the LMP3 Drivers’ Championship, having won seven races this year. Gebhardt will have three entries, joined by the #1 of Alexzander Kristiansson and the #31 of Óscar Tunjo.
Brian Thienes (#77 Forte Racing Ligier JS P320) has already taken the LMP3 Bronze Cup and clinched second in the overall standings.
GTDX has four entries this weekend, and Adam Adelson (#24 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R) can take the inaugural GTDX Championship if and when he starts Thursday’s first race. Samantha Tan (#38 ST Racing BMW M4 GT3) has mathematically clinched the GTDX Bronze Cup with Vincent Barletta’s absence from the field.
Likewise, the RAFA Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2s of Kiko Porto (#8) and Ian “Crimsix” Porter (#68) will officially take the GSX and GSX Bronze Cup titles, respectively, when they roll off for Race 1. 15 GT4 cars are entered.
Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup (ENTRY LIST)
And then there’s the most exhilarating 45 minutes in one-make racing, MX-5 Cup. In a 34-car field, three drivers have a chance to win the $250,000 prize and their first MX-5 Cup title.
After sweeping the VIR double-header, Jeremy Fletcher in the #22 McCumbee McAleer Racing car now leads the standings by 50 points and can make up for last year’s costly Race 1 accident in the best possible way. Fletcher did win Race 2 to close out last season.
Through sheer consistency, Nathan Nicholson (#56 Advanced Autosports) has kept himself in contention, currently second in the standings.
Rounding out the trio of title-eligible drivers is Tyler Gonzalez (#57 BSI Racing, -150 points), who could finally capture his first MX-5 Cup title if he has another strong weekend at Road Atlanta.
But there’s several drivers keen to play the role of spoiler, including a pair of two-time champions: Jared Thomas (#96 JTR Motorsports Engineering) and Gresham Wagner (#81 RAFA Racing/MMR). Wagner clinched his second title at Road Atlanta last year. Don’t count out the likes of 2025 Toyota GR Cup North America Champion Westin Workman (#13 BSI Racing) or Nate Cicero (#83 MMR) either.
Three first-year drivers are also in contention for Rookie of the Year honours and an $80,000 prize, led by Ethan Goulart (#29 Saito Motorsport Group), followed by BSI Racing teammates Helio Meza (#27, -80 pts) and Noah Harmon (#7, -90 pts).
Porsche Carrera Cup North America (ENTRY LIST)
Unlike the other series, Road America isn’t the last stop for Porsche Carrera Cup North America. Their season ends at Circuit of the Americas during the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix weekend. But it could be the turning point in a three-driver Pro title race with two clear front-runners.
2024 PCCNA runner-up Ryan Yardley (#78 Topp Racing) pulled out a ten-point lead over 2023 Champion Riley Dickinson (#91 Kellymoss) during the Indianapolis weekend. The Kiwi returns to Road America, where he won last year, splitting top honours with Zachary Vanier (#9 JDX Racing).
Vanier is still within reach of the title, trailing Yardley by 35 points, but the Canadian needs to keep winning to stay in contention.
Scott Blind (#45 Ruckus Racing) wrapped up the Masters title at Indianapolis, and JP Martinez could do the same in Pro-Am this weekend. Martinez (#4 ACI Motorsports) leads Alan Metni (#99 Kellymoss) by 38 points heading into the decider, needing only a pair of clean races to take the title.
Feature Image: © Michael L. Levitt / IMSA / Lumen
