Consistently Inconsistent
The inaugural campaign for IMSA's Hybrid GTP prototypes followed a bumpy path, but it has led to a four-car title showdown in the Petit Le Mans season finale.
The IMSA hybrid GTP class debut at the Rolex 24 back in January came amid waves of excitement and ripples of concern. The newest WeatherTech Sports Car Championship cars were fast and technologically advanced, but could they survive the punishment of a 24-hour endurance race? And how would the new, spec energy storage systems (ESS) hold up?
The results justified the mixed outlook. Four of the nine GTP cars finished on the lead lap at Daytona--two Acuras and two Cadillacs. A third Cadillac, the Whelen Engineering No. 31, finished fifth in class, three laps off the pace.
Sweeping the bottom four GTP class positions were the big-money, factory-backed efforts making their returns to top-level prototype racing--two BMWs and two Porsches. Each ran into technical problems, including some ESS snags. None came within 15 laps of the top four.
What a difference eight months and seven races make.
Heading into the Oct. 14 season finale at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, four cars--and their full-season driver tandems--have a shot at winning the GTP title.
On top is the No. 31, the lowest-finishing Cadillac at Daytona.
Three points behind is the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura, which came home in second on track at Daytona but was the highest-finishing legal car.
Just five points back is the No. 6, one of two Penske Porsche 963s, which started the season with an eight-place finish.
The only GTP car to fare worse at Daytona is the fourth one with a shot at the season title: the No. 25 BMW M Team RLL, 38 points out of the top spot.
Given IMSA's points system, the 10-hour Motul Petit Le Mans' main storyline is straightforward: the highest-finisher among the top three probably wins the title. That is, unless all three run into bad luck--think bottom-five finishes in the 10-car GTP field--and open the door for the No. 25 BMW.
How did three of the bottom five opening-race finishers end up among four in the mix for the GTP class title? And how are the top three separated by less than one on-track position?
By following a very bumpy, season-long road.
"It's inconsistency that has led to [the top three] being within five points of each other," said Pipo Derani, co-driver of the No. 31. "I think IMSA and the fans couldn't have asked for more in this new era of GTP racing. But quite honestly, I think everyone feels like they left a lot on the table at times."
Derani and full-season co-driver Alexander Sims are on top because they've been the most consistent, at least until recently. They opened the season with five top-5 finishes--three of them podiums. But they enter Petit Le Mans with no podiums and one top-4 in the last three events.
Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque have been steady all year in the No. 10 Acura, finishing no worse than seventh. But they are the only title contender without a win.
The No. 6 Porsche of Mathieu Jaminet and Nick Tandy has two wins. A third was taken away--along with 130 very valuable points--when a first-place finish at Watkins Glen was wiped out due a technical violation.
One of the No. 6 team's victories came in the most recent IMSA race, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last month. Just as importantly, said Jaminet, the No. 7 sister car has a win and a second in its last two outings, suggesting the entire Porsche 963 program is peaking at the right time.
"I think we are [on] a pretty good roll," Jaminet said. "The No. 7 car showed some great pace the last two rounds, and we kind of came back on car No. 6. We seem to be making the right calls and definitely have improved the pace of our car from all the testing we have done in the last couple of weeks."
The BMW No. 25 team rallied from last at Daytona with a run of podiums--five in the next seven races heading into Petit Le Mans. It's the other two outings--May’s eighth-place finish at Leguna Seca and 10th at Road America in August--plus the Rolex 24 struggles that leaves them with only a slim chance to grab the title.
"After Daytona and our disappointing day I would not have guessed our season would have gone so well, but BMW M Motorsport and BMW M Team RLL have given us a car and strategy that has kept us in the mix for the remainder of the season," said Nick Yelloly, who has tested at Road Atlanta but never raced there.
"The 2023 season has been a rollercoaster of emotions and the finale at Petit Le Mans is going to be one last firework show," added Connor De Phillippi, Yelloly’s co-driver. "We recently had a great two-day test and feel we are as prepared as we can be."
Petit Le Mans is the third-longest race on the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship schedule, behind the Rolex 24 and the 12 Hours of Sebring. While a demanding way to end the season, it also offers one last chance to develop some consistency.
"You have to go through 10 hours of racing before you think about a championship," Derani said.
If the title contenders get that far, race strategies are simplified.
"There's no playing games, there's no math," Derani said. "It's going to be a dogfight at the end. Being so close, it only means you've got to be ahead.”
(Photos: S Broderick)
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