Road Atlanta is always a tricky finale for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and this year was no exception.
From day to night, the hard-nose racing style that we saw to close out the 2024 season played a factor in class finishes and even championship battles that were still being played out.
The GTP and GTD classes were both decided relatively handily in the race. Philip Ellis and Russell Ward were able to smoothly take home the GTD title for Winward Racing’s #57 Mercedes-AMG after an early retirement for the #44 Aston Martin of Magnus Racing. Dane Cameron and Felipe Nasr would grab their GTP championship a few hours later for the #7 team, finishing third overall in the race.
The GTD Pro class and LMP2 class were a little bit more contested, especially late, which resulted in some high-pressure night racing.
#52 Inter Europol by PR1 Mathieson had some pressure from the #74 Riley team all race, but their Top 5 finish allowed for their championship battle to ease a bit to help secure the LMP2 crown.
That wouldn’t be the case for GTD Pro. After a struggle where the #77 AO Racing Porsche was plagued with an early race issue, Laurin Heinrich was able to finish in a position that made Ross Gunn have to finish in the Top Two. This resulted in “Rexy” sneaking out of Road Atlanta with the GTD Pro title.
Each of the class championship leaders heading into MOTUL Petit Le Mans were able to grab their respective crowns, but there was a lot to unpack from an exciting day of racing on Saturday.
Swan Songs For GTP
It was quite a storybook ending for a few of the GTP teams, most notably Chip Ganassi Racing and Porsche Penske Motorsports.
The #01 Cadillac encountered early race problems with the powertrain, falling back on the grid due to the untimely pit stop. Fortunately, full course yellows and pace for the Cadillacs allowed for the team to surge back up on the grid, but they still weren’t completely in the clear.
Late in the race, Regner van der Zande spun out on cold tires and even had no lights inside the final minutes of the race. But van der Zande was able to make an out of nowhere move at Turn 1 on Nick Tandy and the #6 Penske Porsche to give the team the lead in what became a comeback victory.
For Chip Ganassi, it is a fitting sendoff for the team, with it being their final race in IMSA under Cadillac. It’s unclear what’s next for CGR, but it is definitely a positive ending to a bittersweet weekend. Overall, Cadillac had pace all weekend, and it was no surprise to see a GM entry towards the front, but the way it happened was rocky at times.
Porsche Penske also finished out their stellar season by grabbing the championship last night. Both entries finished the race on the podium and were quick throughout the afternoon. But in-race contact held back the #6 of Nick Tandy from retaking the lead over van der Zande, leading to a second-place finish.
It really felt like 224 was the year for Porsche, and this race showcased that. Unlike last season, Porsche Penske felt like one of the stronger teams during the race, and they were very competitive, running within the top five.
While the race finish may not have been the way the team wanted, the team put together a successful campaign and were rewarded for their dominance.
While both Chip Ganassi Racing and Porsche Penske both ended the season on a high note, it wasn’t the most ideal ending to Wayne Taylor Racing’s Acura era in IMSA.
Ricky Taylor would suffer a scary crash late in the final hour, smashing into Corey Lewis’ #55 Proton Competition Mustang who was a sitting duck at Turn 5, destroying the left front end of the car.
The Acuras were quick throughout leading up to the race on Saturday, and both the #10 and #40 had solid pace that looked to have kept them contenders. Unfortunately for Ricky Taylor, who was running 2nd when the incident occurred, it was deja vu for the team. After Filipe Albuquerque hit the wall at Turn 1 last season in the final hour, costing the team the championship, Ricky Taylor had to deal with an unavoidable situation resulting in the end of Acura’s chance at a podium finish in their final race with WTR.
Nighttime Chaos
There is never a shortage of nighttime pressure at Road Atlanta, and with the championships at stake, it showed during the last few hours.
Aforementioned, the GTP class was heavily contested late for the lead, ending with a van der Zande pass to grab the win, but even GTD Pro and GTD provided some tight racing late.
Ross Gunn gave a respectable effort in trying to catch the #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari for the second-place spot. Gunn got within two to three car lengths of the race runners-up in the GTD Pro class, but it just wasn’t enough to get within reach.
For Gunn and Heart of Racing, the door was wide open and the team had pace, but they were too far back to make a true competitive battle.
There were moments where it felt like Gunn had the upper hand, but the late race push was just a little too late.
The GTD class was tight niched, with Albert Costa Balboa fending off Loris Spinelli in the #78 Forte Racing Lamborghini. Traffic helped clear off Spinelli from Balboa, which arguably was a story throughout the race. Balboa was able to add to Ferrari’s memorable IMSA season by taking home the race win.
Overall, night racing provided a lot of drama. Between the full-course yellow that occurred with the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura and some teams dealing with lockups on cold tires, it seemed like there was a panic for teams knowing what was at stake.
Final Thoughts
It was a fitting ending to the 2024 IMSA season, and Road Atlanta provided the perfect closing chapter to an exciting year.
With many teams shifting gears to a new era for 2025, this last race felt like a curtain call for many, with the landscape of the series changing as we head into next season.
There are many things that we can take away from this year, but class-champion dominance may be most notable. It seemed like each class champion for the most part ran the table, and while there were some hiccups for teams along the way, consistency (and luck) went a long way.
The most notable year has been for Porsche, especially in the GTP class.
What Porsche Penske has done this year in IMSA has changed the outlook on the competition in the GTP class. It felt like Porsche distanced themselves from the rest of the field in regard to their level of speed this year.
Now with a chance at a WEC title incoming, the team may be embarking on the completion of a historic 2024 campaign.
In all, IMSA in 2024 was one to remember, and the Rolex 24 can’t come soon enough.