Motul Petit Le Mans: GTP Championship Scenarios Unfold
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship reached a pivotal moment with the conclusion of qualifying for the 28th annual Motul Petit Le Mans. The GTP championship landscape remains mostly unchanged, although positional requirements for the leaders have shifted slightly.
GTP Championship Overview
Championship leaders Mathieu Jaminet and Matt Campbell, driving the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963, can now secure the Drivers’ Championship with a minimum finish of eighth place. Previously, a seventh-place finish was necessary, giving them a modestly improved buffer.
Should Jaminet and Campbell falter, their closest competitors—Felipe Nasr and Nick Tandy in the No. 7 Porsche—could reclaim the title with a race win or a second-place finish accompanied by a 12th-place outcome for the leaders.
Notably, the No. 24 BMW M Team RLL Hybrid V8, piloted by Philipp Eng and Dries Vanthoor, needs to win while relying on the No. 6 Porsche finishing 11th or 12th to have a chance at the championship.
GTD Championship Scenarios
In the GTD category, Russell Ward and Philip Ellis of the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO can clinch their title by finishing 18th or higher in their 19-car class. Ellis had an opportunity to secure points early in qualifying but ultimately allowed Casper Stevenson of the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo to keep his slim title hopes alive, finishing just one position apart.
Other Classes
The LMP2 championship remains straightforward: PJ Hyett and Dane Cameron in the No. 99 AO Racing ORECA 07-Gibson can clinch the title—and the Jim Trueman Award for Hyett—with a finish of fourth place or better. Their rival, Daniel Goldburg in the No. 22 United Autosports USA ORECA, needs a similar finish to keep his chances alive.
In the GTD PRO category, the battle continues among Corvette Racing’s Antonio García and Alexander Sims in the No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, and DragonSpeed’s Albert Costa. A win is essential for either contender to capture the championship, while point differentials mean strategic placements could also play a decisive role.
Manufacturers’ Championships
In the manufacturers’ standings, the gap between Porsche and Acura has narrowed to just two points. The manufacturer with the highest-finishing car at Petit Le Mans will claim the title. For GM, a first or second finish in GTD PRO is required for Chevrolet to secure the manufacturers’ championship, while Mercedes-AMG must finish as the sixth-highest manufacturer to maintain their standings.
As the competition intensifies, the final race promises high stakes across all classifications, setting the stage for a dramatic conclusion to the season.
