OCTOBER 16, 2019

(Michelin Motorsport)
Pipo Derani, Felipe Nasr and Eric Curran (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac DPi/Michelin) were the overall winners in Saturday’s thrilling Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. They took the checkered flag .996 seconds ahead of the defending race champion, the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R./Michelin driven by Renger van der Zende, Jordan Taylor and Matthieu Vaxiviere. Even with its win, the No. 31 couldn’t keep the No. 6 Acura Team Penske Acura DPi/Michelin from the 2019 season title. By placing fourth on Saturday, No. 6 drivers Dane Cameron and Juan Pablo Montoya held on for the DPi crown by five points. And along with third driver Simon Pagenaud, they sealed the team title in the Acura Team Penske program’s second season. The race saw a record 465 laps completed on the 2.54-mile Michelin Raceway road course (1,181.1 miles) – 22 laps more than last year’s previous standard.  

(Acura)

(Risi Competizione)
James Calado qualified the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GT3/Michelin on the pole position for the 10-hour Motul Petit Le Mans. Then on Saturday, Calado and co-drivers Alessandro Pier Guidi and Daniel Serra combined to lead over one-third of the laps, 157 of 434, to secure Risi Competizione’s first victory in exactly three years, as the team’s last WeatherTech Championship win came at Michelin Raceway in 2016. “It’s one of the hardest races in all the series,” said Calado. “The track is very much a driver’s track. You can easily go over the limit and going over the limit is a gravel barrier. Concentration levels are seriously high. We’ve won together before, and we’ve won together today. Thanks to Ferrari. It will be nice to go to (the Rolex 24 At Daytona in January) and try to win again.” “This is my first time at Petit Le Mans,” added Pier Guidi. “I was happy to be here and have the opportunity to fight for this amazing race. Every time I come to the U.S., I see a lot of fun and a lot of people loving motorsports. It’s fun to be in front of these people. It’s something special. It’s something that will stay in my heart for a long time.” Ryan Briscoe, Richard Westbrook and Scott Dixon (No. 67  Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT/Michelin) finished second, 7.8 seconds behind the winning Ferrari. Connor De Phillippi, Tom Blomqvist and Colton Herta (No. 25 BMW Team RLL BMW M8 GTE/Michelin) finished third in GTLM.  
(IMSA)

Fifty-one-year-old Bill Auberlen matched Scott Pruett's record for the most IMSA victories by a driver at 60 following a spectacular performance to win the in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT Daytona (GTD) class at the 10-hour Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. It came down to the final ten minutes of the season finale for the 2019 WeatherTech Championship season. Auberlen (No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3/Michelin) had been chasing the leader, Felipe Fraga, in the No. 33 Riley Motorsports-Team AMG Mercedes-AMG GT3/Michelin. Following a restart with 25 minutes remaining, Fraga impressively kept Auberlen at bay, but on the final lap, Fraga suddenly drove off course in "The Esses" and Auberlen was able to get by to earn the record-tying victory. Fraga, who pitted seven minutes sooner than Auberlen's final stop, ultimately ran out of fuel. The victory, to which Auberlen co-drove with Robby Foley and Dillon Machavern, had been hard to come by for the IMSA veteran. He sat at 58 wins for nearly two years before collecting 59 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in July. "I'm so glad BMW still sees I can get it done," said Auberlen. "To tie 60 wins with Scott Pruett, it just shows how great of a career BMW has allowed me to have — winning in these BMWs day in and day out. Now to be tied with the most wins in America." "When you look back, you get to see how many unique wins there have been," he added. "When I look at my trophy case and I get to add this to it, all of it is a bunch of great memories. I'll never forget all the joy it brings from the camaraderie. Every single weekend you go to battle with a group of guys who would die for you and you would die for them. You come with everything you have, and to get to do that with BMW for 23 years now, it has been a great road that I wouldn't trade for anything." Christopher Mies, Daniel Morad and Ricky Feller (No. 29 Montaplast by Land Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT3/Michelin) finished second in GTD, while Zacharie Robichon, Scott Hargrove and Lars Kern (No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R/Michelin) finished third. (Thanks to Michelin Motorsport and IMSA Media, as always.) 

In the IMSA WeatherTech Championship, here are the regular season class champions: 

• DPi: Juan Pablo Montoya, Dane Cameron/Acura Team Penske (Driver/Team), Acura (Manufacturer)
• GT Le Mans: Earl Bamber, Laurens Vanthor/Porsche GT Team (Driver/Team), Porsche (Manufacturer)
• GT Daytona: Trent Hindman, Mario Farnbacher/Meyer Shank Racing (Driver/Team), Lamborghini (Manufacturer)
• LMP2: Matt McMurry/PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports

(Getty Images/BBC Sport)
Valtteri Bottas (No. 77 Mercedes-AMG Petronas) won the Japanese Grand Prix, followed by Sebastian Vettel (No. 5 Scuderia Ferrari) and teammate Lewis Hamilton (No. 44 Mercedes-AMG Petronas). The win secures a Formula 1 record sixth straight World Championship double for Mercedes. The result sealed the constructors' title with four races to go and, while Hamilton is not quite world champion yet, only Bottas can catch him. It breaks the record set by Michael Schumacher and Ferrari from 2000 to 2004, and confirms this Mercedes team as the greatest in F1 history. Hamilton leads Bottas by 64 points and needs to be 78 clear of the Finn to win his sixth drivers' title at the next race in Mexico. Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said: "It has never been done before and that's why it feels great. It's F1, it's motor racing. Is it historic? I don't know. There are more important things out there but for us it feels great." (Thanks to BBC Sport.)

(Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Ryan Blaney (No. 12 Team Penske Ford) emerged with his first victory of the Monster Energy Series season in the rain-delayed Monday finish in the 1000Bulbs.com 500 crash-fest at Talladega Superspeedway. That means Blaney is safely into the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Playoffs. Ryan Newman was second and Denny Hamlin finished third.