BRASELTON, Ga. — If you’re looking for drama, next week’s IMSA action at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta is the place to be.
On its own, Saturday’s 10-hour Motul Petit Le Mans is one of the crown jewels in the world of sports car endurance racing. A victory in that race for any of the 54 teams competing across the four classes is a career-defining achievement.
But it means even more to a bevy of drivers, teams and manufacturers who find themselves in contention for not only Motul Petit Le Mans glory, but season-long championships in both the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup.
Within the WeatherTech Championship, the top two in Grand Touring Prototype (GTP), top four in Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), top seven in Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) and top three in Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) have a mathematical shot of winning the title, based on the available point deltas that can be overcome in one race.
Three of the four class leads are separated by only four, six and 47 points – in most cases one, two or three spots in-race – setting up straight-up drama across the board.
Here’s a look ahead to how the IMSA championships look and can be won at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta to cap off the 2026 IMSA season:
LMP2 and GTD – Single-Point Margins, Incredible Fights
Let’s start with the two closest battles. LMP2 is only a four-point gap between first and second, and GTD is just six points.
Essentially, whichever of the No. 43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA LMP2 07 of Tom Dillmann and Jeremy Clarke and No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA of Alex Quinn and George Kurtz finishes ahead should claim the LMP2 title. There’s just four points between the two cars, so the margin will change after Friday’s qualifying heading into Saturday’s race.
We say “should” here because both Daniel Goldburg in his No. 22 United Autosports USA ORECA and defending LMP2 champions PJ Hyett and Dane Cameron in their No. 99 AO Racing ORECA also remain mathematically alive at 101 and 108 points back, respectively. But either car needs to win or at worst finish second to have a chance, gain some qualifying points, and hope both the Nos. 43 and 04 cars hit trouble.
Shifting to GTD, this is also an easy-to-decipher title battle. Philip Ellis and Russell Ward in their No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 hold a six-point lead over Patrick Gallagher and Robby Foley in their No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO. Once qualifying wraps, that will determine if the gap grows or shrinks from six and sets up Saturday’s showdown.
Eduardo “Dudu” Barrichello in the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo remains somewhat alive at 116 points back. In an anticipated 18-car class, there’s a maximum of 242 points that could be gained by a perfect 385-point weekend with a minimum of 143 points for a car that qualifies 18th (13 points) and finishes the race in 18th (130 points). There are scenarios where Barrichello can snatch the title back, but he’d likely need a win or podium finish and the top two in the standings to finish outside the top seven for a realistic shot. First to eighth in the race is covered by 120 points.
Mercedes-AMG leads Aston Martin by 94 and Ferrari by 110 points in the GTD Manufacturer Championship. With nine manufacturers racing and the maximum swing of 130 points between first placed 350 and ninth place 220, any of these three could win the title.
GTD PRO – The Contenders
GTD PRO has two tiers of contenders among seven of nine full-season cars mathematically alive heading to Motul Petit Le Mans.
The top three realistic contenders include the championship leading No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Nicky Catsburg and Tommy Milner up by 47 over the second-placed No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Neil Verhagen and Connor De Phillippi and 53 ahead of third-placed Andrea Caldarelli and Sandy Mitchell in the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Temerario GT3.
Before factoring in qualifying points, the No. 1 and No. 9 cars have to finish two or more likely, at least three spots in the race ahead of the No. 4 car to overtake the points deficit.
The remaining four mathematically eligible range from 124 to 179 points back, including the Nos. 65 and 64 Ford Racing Ford Mustang GT3s, No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3, No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (992).
In an anticipated 14-car class, there’s a maximum of 208 points that could be gained by a perfect 385-point weekend compared to a 14th-place qualifying (17 points) and race finish 14th (170 points). At 211 points behind entering the weekend, the defending champion No. 3 Corvette is just out of mathematical range to be able to overcome the delta.
But Chevrolet could still be celebrating at the end of the night, even if the No. 4 car doesn’t win the Driver Championship. Chevrolet leads Ford by 68 points in the Manufacturer Championship. With nine manufacturers racing and the maximum swing of 130 points between first placed 350 and ninth place 220, there’s room for this title to go to either brand.
GTP – Aitken Well-Positioned
Jack Aitken, in his No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R, holds the largest lead among the four WeatherTech Championship classes with a 147-point gap to Laurin Heinrich, who moves back to the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 this race.
A finish of ninth or better will clinch the Driver Championship title for Aitken provided the No. 31 car qualifies and leaves the grid for Saturday’s race.
In an anticipated 11-car grid, the maximum to be gained is 165 points, with 385 points available to win (350) and score pole (35). The lowest points score in that scenario is banking 220 points for finishing 11th (200) and qualifying 11th (20).
Aitken’s minimum points possible would be 2,972, while Heinrich’s maximum available if he won the pole and the race is 2,990. Heinrich has a remote chance, but he must win and then add whatever qualifying points to that to give himself a shot. Even then, he’d still need Aitken to qualify poorly and finish 10th or worse.
The No. 31 Cadillac Whelen entry has a 271-point lead on the No. 93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06 in the Team Championship. Cadillac leads Porsche by 136 points in the Manufacturer Championship. Provided the No. 31 Cadillac leaves the grid, that will wrap the Team title and so long as the No. 31 or any Cadillac leaves the grid, that will secure the Manufacturer Championship.
