Corvette Racing clinches GTLM Driver, Team and Manufacturer’s Championships at Road Atlanta Petite Le Mans
# 3 Jan Magnussen started 2nd just behind pole-sitter # 67 Ford GT and championship points contender as the 10-hour race began.
# 4 points leading Gavin, Milner and Marcel Fassler needed 7th or better if the # 67 won the race. As it turned out, a lengthy stop to fix a turbocharger around 3 hours in cost the Ford 25 laps by the time it was repaired.
But there was a long way to go. An anxious moment arose near half way when Fassler went off wide in turn 1, collecting a grille full of grass clogging the air flow that could overcook the engine.
The Pratt & Miller crew monitored conditions via their omnipresent multi-channel instrumentation system. An unscheduled pit stop was not needed and avoided.
The # 4 and the # 3 of Magnussen & Garcia moved up under attrition to finish 3rd and 4th respectively.
Short of a win, a better outcome could not have been asked for.
Doug Fehan, Tommy Milner and Richard Prince will recap the season and entertain the crowd at the Simeone Museum in Philadelphia on Oct 21-22.
Season recap (video)
https://www.facebook.com/TeamChevy/videos/10154509672650801/
Whelen Team Fox wins the Championship as the DP cars bow out of IMSA
The battle for the championship came down to the # 5 and # 31 cars, both operated by the Action Express team under Gary Nelson.
They ran close throughout the race while Ricky Taylor in the # 10 Wayne Taylor Racing, with nothing to lose passed them both for 3rd overall behind two Honda Ligiers. Dane Cameron got a jump on Joao Barboza in the final going to win the championship.
It was a sweet victory for Eric Curran and Sonny Whelen that saw their move to Action Express in 2015 pay off in spades.
Now some potent well developed Daytona Prototypes are destined for who knows where?
