DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — IMSA’s relatively new points system, introduced in 2021 that added qualifying points and awarded race points by the hundreds rather than tens, is a good backdrop to set up the 2024 championship scenarios for the four IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship classes.
On paper, gaps of 124, 98, 99 and 222 points sound insurmountable to make up. But with context, a single race can often swing more than 100 points between two cars depending on the number of cars entered in class, so all four titles remain fully alive.
“For the championship, coming from Europe, 99 points sounds crazy, but that’s not as much as it sounds,” said Laurin Heinrich, the Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class championship leader who best summarized the points gap explanation.
“Looking back, all these races – Petit Le Mans races – have been quite chaotic. It’s important to keep the nose clean and hopefully celebrate the championship Saturday night in Atlanta.”
Here’s how Heinrich can do so, as well as the other class leaders heading into Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, in a detailed class-by-class breakdown.
Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) Championship
The pair of Porsche Penske Motorsport entries are separated by 124 points, with Dane Cameron and Felipe Nasr in the No. 7 Porsche 963 ahead of Mathieu Jaminet and Nick Tandy in the No. 6 Porsche 963.
That gap increased from the unofficial results at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Following extended postrace technical inspection for selected GTP cars, the No. 6 was found to have modifications to its wiring harness/loom that were outside of homologation. The car was moved from third to 10th place in the final GTP race standings.
That moved the anticipated 14-point gap between the two cars up to 124. Essentially, it shifted the race from being a winner-take-all for the Penske Porsches to now providing the No. 7 car a significant cushion. Cameron and Nasr can finish fourth or better to clinch.
The No. 7 car limped home at the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks in Indianapolis, soldiering on despite a power steering issue to finish seventh.
“We’ve had consistency with the results all year. But yeah, we had the issue with the power steering,” Nasr said. “Going all the way to the end was key, collecting the points, it gave us the position to have some margin.”
Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) Championship
Inter Europol by PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports is poised to capture the title with drivers Nick Boulle and Tom Dillmann (No. 52 ORECA LMP2 07) leading this championship over Riley’s Gar Robinson and Felipe Fraga (No. 74 ORECA) by 98 points.
Third place or better will seal the title for Boulle and Dillmann, while Robinson and Fraga can only snatch the title away with a top-three finish and corresponding trouble for Boulle and Dillmann.
Ryan Dalziel (No. 18 Era Motorsport) also has a remote but outside shot at 123 points back but would need to win with teammates Dwight Merriman and Connor Zilisch and hope the two cars ahead finish near the rear of the double-digit LMP2 field.
Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) Championship
Heinrich’s Indianapolis win in the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R with the fan-favorite dinosaur livery was pivotal for his title hopes, as he expanded his lead in GTD PRO to the aforementioned 99 points over Ross Gunn in the No. 23 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo.
Similar to Boulle and Dillmann in LMP2, a top-three finish will clinch the title for Heinrich regardless of what his competitors do. Gunn needs a top-four finish to stay alive, with “Rexy” needing to run into issues.
Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) Championship
Russell Ward and Philip Ellis (No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3) enter 222 points clear of Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher (No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3). With this significant gap, a top-14 finish will clinch the title for Ward and Ellis.
Jim Trueman and Bob Akin Bronze Cups
These awards for top-performing Bronze-rated drivers have increased in importance in recent years as the winner gets a chance to race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans the following year.
Boulle and Robinson are not only vying for the LMP2 title, but also the Trueman honors in the same category. Boulle leads Robinson by 70 points, so Robinson needs to finish at least in the top three, and four spots ahead of Boulle, to overcome that deficit.
All three season-long entries in GTD remain alive for Akin honors. Orey Fidani (No. 13 AWA Corvette Z06 GT3.R) holds a comfortable 120-point lead over Brendan Iribe (No. 70 Inception Racing Ferrari 296 GT3) and 150 points over Sheena Monk (No. 66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo22). Fidani is assured the Akin award with a top-six finish among Bronze-rated GTD drivers.
IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup
Now entering the fifth of the five-round, 58-hour “championship within a championship,” the Michelin Endurance Cup standings see more points opportunities available within each race. Points at Motul Petit Le Mans are awarded at the four- eight-hour marks, as well as the race conclusion, with a maximum of 15 points available and minimum of six.
Standings by class heading into the race are:
• GTP: The No. 7 Porsche leads the No. 01 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R by four points (37-33) and five up on the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac (37-32).
• LMP2: The No. 11 TDS Racing and No. 52 Inter Europol by PR1 Mathiasen ORECAs are tied with 35 points, and the No. 18 Era Motorsport ORECA is two points back with 33.
• GTD PRO: Paul Miller Racing focused on maximizing Michelin Endurance Cup points at Indy and leads this class with its No. 1 BMW M4 GT3 by five points over the No. 77 AO Porsche and No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 (37-32).
• GTD: The No. 57 Winward Mercedes can double up as it holds a one-point lead over the No. 70 Inception Ferrari (35-34), with last year’s Michelin Endurance Cup GTD champion, No. 32 Korthoff/Preston Mercedes-AMG, within striking distance four points back (31).