First overall Motul Petit Le Mans win for Porsche
Porsche AG factory team won the season finale of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with the Porsche 963. Factory drivers Kévin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor, and Matt Campbell took the win in the 10-hour “Petit Le Mans” race. For the first time ever, a manufacturer managed to win the endurance classics at Daytona, Sebring, and Road Atlanta in a single season. At the season finale in the U.S. state of Georgia, Porsche once again clinched the manufacturers’, teams’, and drivers’ titles in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup.
📷 © Luc Warnotte at Road Atlanta. #6 Porsche 963
First overall win for Campbell-Estre-Vanthoor this season
A total of 16 safety car deployments, a red-flag interruption, and heavy rain in the early stages repeatedly shook up the order. The race was ultimately decided in a 12-minute sprint. Laurens Vanthoor successfully fended off all attacks from the competition. The #6 Porsche 963 ultimately crossed the finish line with a lead of 1.205 seconds.
📷 © Luc Warnotte at Road Atlanta. #6 Porsche 963
Laurens Vanthoor (Porsche 963 #6): “I have no idea how we pulled this off. We all did a perfect job: Porsche, the Porsche Penske Motorsport team, and us drivers in the cockpit. A difficult season is thus coming to an end with an absolute highlight. After this nail-biter at Road Atlanta, I’m exhausted and very happy.”
Kévin Estre (Porsche 963 #6): “What a wonderful evening! We in the #6 car have had so much bad luck this season. We’ve finally secured a big win. Many thanks to the entire team. Behind a success like this at the track lies the work of 40 or even 50 people. Everything has to come together. My teammates were absolutely incredible today. A special thank you to Laurens Vanthoor, who put up a great fight during the final stint. As far as I’m concerned, he’s the man of the race!” Source: Porsche
📷 © Luc Warnotte at Road Atlanta. #6 Porsche 963
BMW M Team WRT concludes debut season with podium
The Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta marked a successful conclusion to a strong season in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for BMW M Team WRT, with the #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 securing second place in the ten-hour race, narrowly missing out on a second consecutive victory. Dries Vanthoor, Sheldon van der Linde, and Robin Frijns started the race from third position and quickly established themselves among the leading group. Even a spin by Frijns did not set the trio back. In the end, van der Linde battled directly with Laurens Vanthoor for the victory, but was unable to make the decisive move in the final laps.
📷 © Luc Warnotte at Road Atlanta. #24 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8
Dries Vanthoor (#24 BMW M Hybrid V8, BMW M Team WRT, 2nd place): “These have been a few strong weeks for the team and for me personally, with the win in Indianapolis, the podiums at the FIA WEC in Fuji, and now here. On the one hand, I’m happy, but on the other, I’m annoyed to have narrowly missed out on victory in this big race. Congratulations to my brother Laurens on the win.” Source: BMW
Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing third and fourth
Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing with #40 (Jordan Taylor, Louis Deletraz and Colton Herta) finished on the podium in third place, while the #10 (Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque and Will Stevens) finished fourth.
📷 © Luc Warnotte at Road Atlanta. Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V-Series.R #40 ahead of sister #10.
#40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R
Louis Deletraz: “Very happy with P3 and finishing the year on a high at such a historic race. It's my first podium overall at Petit Le Mans, so I'm very happy about that. Huge thank you to Cadillac, Wayne Taylor Racing, Jordan, and Colton. It's been a year of progress. It's our second podium this year, and we've had a lot of pace. I think we've never been stronger. I'm really happy about that. It wasn't easy - we were thrown to the back a few times with unlucky yellows and some cars pushing us off, but no one gave up. We had good strategy and were good on fuel at the end. Overall very good. Congratulations to the No. 31, Jack Aitken, and Cadillac for winning a world championship!.”
📷 © Luc Warnotte at Road Atlanta. #40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R
Jordan Taylor: “A very up and down day. We were at the back for most of the race and it was hard to move forward. Track position was so important, and we just kept getting unlucky with cautions. We had some damage in the middle that set us back. The guys made very good calls at the end strategy wise, energy wise, and when it mattered most we had enough energy in the car to go to the end. If that yellow hadn't come out I think we would've been in even better shape. It's nice to finish the year out on a high note with another podium for the team, and we can head into the off season pretty happy.”
Colton Herta: “Super happy to get a result. We are always striving to be up there and win the races, but unfortunately, we didn't have the pace for that today. We maximized everything. I think Jordan did a great job through his stints. Louis did a great job at the end staying vigilant and hitting the number. Happy with third and happy with some hardware.”
#10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R
📷 © Luc Warnotte at Road Atlanta. #40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R
Filipe Albuquerque: “Crazy race. Typical Petit Le Mans and typical IMSA. Crazy strategies as well. P4, it seems like an armageddon race. I think it was a great show, I was having a lot of fun. Our teammates got it. I think the pace was pretty good, but there was no way we could fight for the win today. We stayed out of trouble and didn't have any mistakes, so overall it was a great race.”
Ricky Taylor: “Strong end to the season. I think we had a really strong car, and it kind of leaves us wanting to race again next weekend. I'm really proud of the team this year. I think we've made a lot of progress with the win at Road America and today's podium for the No. 40. I feel motivated for Daytona next year, and I feel like we have a real shot to race for the win each weekend, which is exciting. It's always nice to lead, and it was great leading some restarts for the first time in so long. It's a testament to how good the car was today and the hard work the entire team has done.
Will Stevens: “Good result for the team. The No. 40 got a podium out of the race, and we ended up in P4. I think the race was very up and down, a lot of cautions, so it was hard to stay at the front for the whole race. I think it was a nice way for the team to round out the whole year.” Source: Cadillac Racing
Related Info
📷 © Luc Warnotte at Road Atlanta. Hour 8: Champion Aitken leads ahead Frijns' BMW
📷 © Luc Warnotte at Road Atlanta 2026. Hour 4: Acura #60 leads under red flag
📷 © Luc Warnotte at Road Atlanta. Aitken, Whelen Cadillac and Cadillac Racing crowns
📷 © Luc Warnotte at Road Atlanta. Acura front row for the 29th Motul Petit Le Mans
