Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta – Braselton, Georgia
Oct. 15 – 17, 2020
Fast Facts
Race Day/Time: Saturday, Oct. 17 – 12:40 p.m. ET
U.S. Television Coverage (All Times ET):
Saturday, Oct. 17 –
- 12:30 – 6:30 p.m. NBCSN
- 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. NBC Sports App / NBCSports.com / TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold
- 9:30 – 11 p.m. NBCSN
TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold Coverage: LIVE – Flag-to-flag beginning at 12:30 p.m.
IMSA.com/TVLive Live Qualifying Stream: Friday, Oct. 16 – 12:30 p.m.
IMSA Radio: All sessions live on IMSA.com and RadioLeMans.com; SiriusXM live race coverage begins Saturday at 12:30 p.m. (Sirius channel 217, XM 202, Internet 972)
Circuit Type: 2.54-mile, 12-turn road course
Race Length: 10 Hours
Track Social Media: Twitter/Instagram/Facebook: @RoadAtlanta
Event Hashtags: #IMSA, #MotulPetitLeMans
WeatherTech Championship Track Records
Qualifying:
DPi: Felipe Nasr, Cadillac DPi, 1:08.457 / 133.572 mph, October 2019
LMP2: Kyle Masson, ORECA LMP2, 1:10.722 / 129.294 mph, October 2019
GTLM: James Calado, Ferrari 488 GTE, 1:15.639 / 120.889 mph, October 2019
GTD: Corey Lewis, Lamborghini Hurácan GT3, 1:19.530 / 114.975 mph, October 2019
2019 Motul Petit Le Mans Winners
DPi: Felipe Nasr/Pipo Derani/Eric Curran, No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi
LMP2: Matt McMurry/Gabriel Aubry/Dalton Kellett, No. 52 PR1/Mathiasen ORECA LMP2
GTLM: James Calado/Daniel Serra/Alessandro Pier Guidi, No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE
GTD: Bill Auberlen/Robby Foley/Dillon Machavern, No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3
Storylines
- New Place on the Schedule: The Motul Petit Le Mans is typically the season finale for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, but this is anything but a typical year. Due to scheduling shifts necessitated by the global coronavirus pandemic, two events are still to come following this weekend’s race at Michelin Raceway. The Hyundai Monterey Sports Car Championship takes place Nov. 1 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, with the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts set to close the campaign on Nov. 14.
- Weren’t We Just Here? The schedule changes also mean this will be the second WeatherTech Championship race at Michelin Raceway in six weeks. The six-hour race originally planned for Watkins Glen International was moved to Michelin Raceway and became the TireRack.com Grand Prix on Sept. 6.
- Return of the Prototypes: The WeatherTech Championship is coming off its second GT-only event of the season, run last Saturday night on the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL. At Michelin Raceway, both the Daytona Prototype international (DPi) and Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) classes return to their championship battles. As a reminder, No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R. co-drivers Renger van der Zande and Ryan Briscoe hold a three-point lead, 180-177, in the DPi standings over Pipo Derani in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac. Helio Castroneves and Ricky Taylor, winners of the last three DPi races in the No. 7 Acura Team Penske Acura ARX-05, have closed within five points of the lead. In the LMP2 class, Patrick Kelly holds a six-point edge on Dwight Merriman and Kyle Tilley in the championship hunt.
- Short Turnaround for GT Entries: The GT Le Mans (GTLM) and GT Daytona (GTD) have made a quick turnaround from last weekend’s MOUTL 100% Synthetic Grand Prix on the ROVAL at Charlotte Motor Speedway. They’ll go from one extreme to the other, with the Charlotte event being the shortest in length (100 minutes) to the 10-hour marathon that is Motul Petit Le Mans.
Who’s Hot?
- No. 7 Acura Team Penske: As mentioned above, Castroneves and Taylor are sizzling hot with three straight victories. It’s allowed them to make an amazing climb from eighth to third in the DPi standings and decrease their deficit to the leaders from 22 points to five. The three-win streak started at Road America in August.
- Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor: The No. 3 Corvette Racing Corvette C8.R drivers won Saturday night on the soggy Charlotte ROVAL to push their GTLM points lead to 24 over teammates Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner in the No. 4 Corvette. Garcia and Taylor have won four of the last five GTLM races, the only blemish coming with a fifth-place finish in last month’s six-hour race at Michelin Raceway.
- Bill Auberlen and Robby Foley: The No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 co-drivers won Saturday’s GTD portion of the Charlotte race, extending Auberlen’s record for career IMSA victories to 62. Along with endurance driver Dillon Machavern, they are also defending class winners of the Motul Petit Le Mans.
- Wright Motorsports: Three consecutive podium finishes for the No. 16 Porsche 911 GT3R has put drivers Ryan Hardwick and Patrick Long squarely into the GTD championship conversation. They are tied with No. 14 Lexus driver Aaron Telitz at 196 points, just four behind leaders Matt McMurry and Mario Farnbacher in the No. 86 Acura. Jan Heylen, who helped the No. 16 Porsche to a third-place finish last month at Michelin Raceway, rejoins Hardwick and Long behind the wheel for Motul Petit Le Mans.
Who’s Good Here?
- Oliver Gavin: The five-time Motul Petit Le Mans winner should be one to watch again, although it’s been 10 years since his last victory at Michelin Raceway. With Tommy Milner and Marcel Fassler as his co-drivers in the No. 4 Corvette, the duo will look to extend Corvette Racing’s 2020 dominance in GTLM.
- Porsche: While Corvette Racing has eight victories at Michelin Raceway, contributing to Chevrolet’s total of 10, Porsche is in a league of its own with 20 wins at the Motul Petit Le Mans. There are four Porsche entries between the GTLM and GTD classes in search of the manufacturer’s 21st win this weekend.
- PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports: While it’s expected to see bigger-name teams at the top of the victory list, PR1/Mathiasen has crept up throughout the years with four Motul Petit Le Mans wins plus another LMP2 triumph in the six-hour race last month at Michelin Raceway. Patrick Kelly, Simon Trummer and Scott Huffaker, who won the September race in the No. 52 ORECA LMP2, will look to make it back-to-back Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta wins on Saturday.
- Bill Auberlen: While the winningest IMSA driver is tied with Patrick Long and Nick Tandy for three Motul Petit Le Mans wins apiece, Auberlen returns as the defending GTD winner alongside Robby Foley and Dillon Machavern in the No. 96 BMW.
Previous Motul Petit Le Mans Winners in 2020 Field (29)
Oliver Gavin (5) – ALMS GTS – 2002, 2004; ALMS GT1 – 2005, 2008; ALMS GT2 – 2010
Bill Auberlen (3) – ALMS GT – 2001, GTLM – 2017, GTD – 2019
Patrick Long (3) – ALMS GT2 – 2005, 2006; ALMS P2 – 2007
Nick Tandy (3) – ALMS GT – 2013, GTLM/Overall – 2015; GTLM – 2018
Ryan Briscoe (2) – ALMS P2 – 2008, 2013
Spencer Pumpelly (2) – ALMS GTC – 2013, GTD – 2015
Bryan Sellers (2) – ALMS GT – 2013; GTLM – 2014
Madison Snow (2) – ALMS GTC – 2013, GTD – 2015
Jordan Taylor (2) – P/Overall – 2014, P/Overall – 2018
Renger van der Zande (2) – PC – 2014, P/Overall – 2018
Gabriel Aubry (1) – LMP2 – 2019
Matthew Bell (1) – GTD – 2014
Sebastien Bourdais (1) – P – 2015
Helio Castroneves (1) – ALMS P2 – 2008
Connor De Phillippi (1) – GTD – 2017
Pipo Derani (1) – DPi/Overall – 2019
Mario Farnbacher (1) – ALMS GTC – 2012
Robby Foley (1) – GTD – 2019
Ryan Hunter-Reay (1) – P/Overall – 2018
Ben Keating (1) – GTD – 2016
Andy Lally (1) – ALMS GTC – 2010
Dillon Machavern (1) – GTD – 2019
Cooper MacNeil (1) – GTD – 2018
Fred Makowiecki (1) – GTLM – 2018
Matt McMurry (1) – LMP2 – 2019
Felipe Nasr (1) – DPi/Overall – 2019
Simon Pagenaud (1) – ALMS P2 – 2010
Olivier Pla (1) – P/Overall – 2016
Ricky Taylor (1) – P/Overall – 2014
Previous Motul Petit Le Mans Pole Winners in 2020 Field (14)
Dane Cameron (2) – ALMS PC – 2011, 2013
Olivier Pla (2) – ALMS P2 – 2012; P/Overall – 2016
Bill Auberlen (1) – GT3 – 1998
Earl Bamber (1) – GTLM – 2015
Ryan Briscoe (1) – ALMS P2 – 2008
Helio Castroneves (1) – P/Overall – 2017
Pipo Derani (1) – P/Overall – 2018
John Edwards (1) – GTLM – 2018
Oliver Gavin (1) – ALMS GTS – 2004
Jack Hawksworth (1) – PC – 2014
Corey Lewis (1) – GTD – 2019
Felipe Nasr (1) – DPi/Overall – 2019
Spencer Pumpelly (1) – ALMS GTC – 2013
Nick Tandy (1) – GTLM – 2014
Previous Motul Petit Le Mans-Winning Teams in 2020 Field (13)
Corvette Racing (8) – ALMS GTS – 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004; ALMS GT1 – 2005, 2007, 2008; ALMS GT2 – 2010
AFS/PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports (4) – ALMS PC – 2011; PC – 2015, 2016; LMP2 – 2019
Acura Team Penske (3) – ALMS P2 – 2006, 2007, 2008
CORE autosport/Porsche GT Team (3) – ALMS PC – 2012; GTLM/Overall – 2015; GTLM – 2018
Action Express Racing (2) – P – 2015; DPi/Overall – 2019
Wayne Taylor Racing (2) – P/Overall – 2014, 2018
BMW Team RLL (1) – GTLM – 2017
Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsports – GTD – 2016
Meyer Shank Racing (1) – P/Overall – 2016
Paul Miller Racing (1) – GTD – 2014
Scuderia Corsa (1) – GTD – 2018
Starworks (1) – PC – 2014
Turner Motorsport (1) – GTD 2019
Previous Motul Petit Le Mans Race-Winning Manufacturers in 2020 Field (8)
Porsche – 20
Audi – 11
Chevrolet – 10
Ferrari – 10
BMW – 3
Cadillac – 2
Aston Martin – 1
Mazda – 1