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Cadillac has gone back-to-back at the Motul Petit Le Mans to conclude the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
With an authoritative drive, the trio of Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber and Frederik Vesti scored their second straight Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) and overall victory in their No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R. The same trio won the TireRack.com Battle On The Bricks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Cadillac also won last year’s Motul Petit Le Mans in the hands of the Chip Ganassi Racing-prepared, Cadillac Racing-branded No. 01 entry.
The win came amidst a flurry of final pit stops within the half hour of the 10-hour race, as teams topped off their energy tanks to make the finish. The No. 31 Cadillac led most of the race but needed a final topper to ensure the victory, and then emerged ahead of the trailing pack to secure the win with Bamber driving to the finish.
"Any one of us could have done it, any stint of the day," Bamber said. "It shows the strength of the team. It shows what we set out to do at the beginning of the year with Whelen Cadillac -- to build something really special. And I think what we've done this season -- we could have won a couple more races, came close, were in position -- but we'll definitely take two of the biggest of the season."
In second, the Aston Martin THOR Team scored the best finish for the new No. 23 Aston Martin Valkyrie globally with the trio of Roman De Angelis, Ross Gunn and Alex Riberas.
GTP champions Matt Campbell and Mathieu Jaminet finished third in the race aboard the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963, in the car they shared with Laurens Vanthoor. The result also sealed Porsche the GTP manufacturer championship. It’s the second consecutive GTP championship for the Porsche Penske Motorsport team, and second in IMSA for both Campbell and Jaminet, who won the first Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) in 2022 aboard a Pfaff Motorsports Porsche.
“This championship is a testament to the entire Porsche Penske Motorsport team and the hard work and dedication they invest into this program every day,” said Roger Penske, Founder and Chairman Penske Corporation. “The season started with four consecutive victories, including back-to-back (Rolex) 24 Hours of Daytona wins, and has continued into 10 total podiums. That type of success isn’t accomplished without great drivers, leaders and a resilient crew. The commitment to winning together has been unwavering and defending the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship title is reflection of those efforts from all the men and women across both Mooresville and Germany.”
In its last scheduled race, the Automobili Lamborghini Squadra Corse No. 63 Lamborghini SC63 just missed the podium with the trio of Romain Grosjean, Daniil Kvyat and Edoardo Mortara in fourth place.
(IMSA)
The TDS Racing trio of Steven Thomas, Mikkel Jensen and Hunter McElrea completed a fairytale ending to Thomas’ last scheduled WeatherTech Championship start aboard its No. 11 ORECA LMP2 07 in Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2). After starting from the rear due to the car being found to have bodywork mass beyond a permitted homologated limit, the car was moved from first on the grid to last on the grid. However, Thomas took the car to the lead in his opening stint and McElrea and Jensen kept it there for the majority of the rest of the race. AO Racing confirmed its season championship in LMP2, with PJ Hyett and Dane Cameron fighting through a sometimes tough Saturday aboard its special “spooky’ livery No. 99 ORECA LMP2 07.
(IMSA)
The trio of Dan Harper, Max Hesse and Connor De Phillippi started on pole in Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) to win PMR’s third race of the season aboard the No. 48 BMW M4 GT3 EVO.
(IMSA)
In Grand Touring Daytona (GTD), the trio of Alessandro Pier Guidi, Lilou Wadoux and Simon Mann shared the winning No. 21 Af Corse Ferrari 296 GT3.
Although the GTD PRO title battle occasionally flipped, Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims held on for the title in their No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R. In GTD, as soon as a first-lap incident eliminated multiple GTD competitors, Russell Ward and Philip Ellis wrapped their second straight title in the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3.
The manufacturer’s champions for the season are Porsche in GTP, Chevrolet in GTD PRO and Mercedes-AMG GT3.
The No. 7 Porsche 963 of Nick Tandy and Felipe Nasr (GTP), No. 11 TDS ORECA of Thomas, Jensen and McElrea (LMP2), No. 48 PMR BMW of Harper and Hesse (GTD PRO) and No. 21 Af Ferrari of Mann, Wadoux and Pier Guidi (GTD) have won the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup titles. IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup manufacturer winners are Porsche (GTP), BMW (GTD PRO) and Ferrari (GTD).
IMSA will launch its 2026 season with the 64th Rolex 24 At Daytona January 24-25, 2026, with the Roar Before the Rolex 24 test the week before. Watch the Extended Race Highlights from Motorsports on NBC here. (Thank you to Tony DiZinno/IMSA Wire Service)
Editor's Note: This is our dearly departed billboard, which we had at Road America for several years. Peter gifted the phrase "America's National Park of Speed" to the track, which now uses it proudly in all of its communications. -WG
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Sunday, October 12, 2025 at 07:31AM 
