The stage is set for an electrifying showdown at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta as the 28th annual Motul Petit Le Mans promises to deliver one of the most dramatic finales in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship history. With championship battles raging across every class, Friday’s qualifying sessions only intensified the anticipation for Saturday’s 10-hour endurance classic, where every lap could tilt the title scales.
All eyes were on the GTP class, where Tom Blomqvist etched his name into the record books by setting a blistering new qualifying lap record. Piloting the No. 60 Acura ARX-06 for Acura Meyer Shank Racing, Blomqvist clocked a 1:09.628 on his second flying lap, edging out the previous record by a razor-thin 0.011 seconds. The Brit will share driving duties with Colin Braun and Scott Dixon, and their pole position gives Acura a prime launchpad for Saturday’s race. "It’s always special to set a record at a place like Road Atlanta," Blomqvist said after the session, his excitement evident. "But the real work starts tomorrow."
Right behind Blomqvist, Jack Aitken in the No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R secured second on the grid with a 1:09.827, while Nick Yelloly slotted the No. 93 Acura ARX-06 into third. The GTP field remains fiercely competitive, with 2024 champion Felipe Nasr qualifying fourth in the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 and Matt Campbell—current GTP championship leader—lining up sixth in the No. 6 Penske Porsche. The stakes for Campbell and co-driver Mathieu Jaminet couldn’t be higher: an eighth-place finish or better will secure them the GTP drivers’ championship. However, should they falter, Nasr and teammate Nick Tandy in the No. 7 Porsche are poised to snatch the title with a race victory, or if they finish second and Campbell’s crew end up 12th or worse.
BMW M Team RLL’s No. 24 Hybrid V8, driven by Philipp Eng and Dries Vanthoor with Kevin Magnussen, still harbors an outside shot at the championship. They’ll need to win outright and hope for a dramatic twist that sees the No. 6 Porsche finish 11th or 12th. It’s a long shot, but in endurance racing, stranger things have happened.
The manufacturers’ championship in GTP has also reached a fever pitch, with Porsche and Acura separated by just two points. Whichever marque’s car sees the checkered flag first will claim the coveted title. The tension is palpable, and the pressure on both camps is immense.
In the LMP2 ranks, the qualifying session was just as eventful. Jeremy Clarke took his maiden IMSA pole for Inter Europol Competition’s No. 43 ORECA 07-Gibson, capitalizing after the No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA was penalized for exceeding homologated bodywork mass. PJ Hyett, who starts second in the No. 99 AO Racing ORECA, sits in a strong position to clinch the LMP2 drivers’ title and the prestigious Jim Trueman Award, needing only a fourth-place finish or better. His closest rival, Daniel Goldburg in the No. 22 United Autosports USA ORECA, will start third and faces a must-win scenario to keep his hopes alive.
Meanwhile, the GTD PRO class is shaping up for a nail-biting decider. Dan Harper delivered under pressure, snatching his second consecutive pole in the No. 48 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO with a 1:18.523. Albert Costa, driving the No. 81 DragonSpeed Ferrari 296 GT3, set the fastest lap of the session but was penalized for a Practice 2 infraction, relegating him to fourth on the grid. Nicky Catsburg’s third-place effort in the No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Z06 GT3.R extended Chevrolet’s lead in the manufacturers’ championship to 48 points over Ferrari. Antonio García, who qualified eighth in the No. 3 Corvette Z06 GT3.R, shares a slender 13-point lead in the drivers’ standings with Alexander Sims over Costa’s Ferrari. The scenario is simple: whichever car finishes ahead in the race will likely take the GTD PRO title.
García reflected on the team’s strategy after qualifying, stating, "Not great. I would say that we did another test session in qualifying. We changed the car drastically in order to have more performance but it didn’t work. It didn’t feel right but at least now we know. In a way, it’s good to know that the No. 4 is up there and we can go in that direction, which is pretty easy. We’ll go from there. There’s still 10 hours to go." Catsburg echoed the sense of urgency, adding, "Petit Le Mans is a very big and very important race every year and this year is no different. We saw a little bit at Indianapolis how crazy the traffic can be and how easy it is to have contact that can alter your race. So we need to be mindful of that as there is still a lot to race for – my first Petit Le Mans win, the first for the team in many years and the Manufacturers Championship as well as helping Antonio and Alex in the Drivers Championship. It’s going to be a busy and hectic race. I can’t wait for it."
In the GTD class, Lorenzo Patrese delivered a career milestone by grabbing his first IMSA pole in the No. 47 Ferrari 296 GT3, leading an all-Ferrari front row. Philip Ellis in the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO qualified fifth, narrowly ahead of his only remaining championship rival, Casper Stevenson in the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin. The equation for Ellis and teammate Russell Ward is straightforward: finish 18th or better in the 19-car field, and the GTD title is theirs. Ellis nearly clinched the championship in qualifying but came up just short, keeping Stevenson’s faint hopes alive.
Elsewhere in GTD, Orey Fidani starts 19th in the No. 13 AWA Corvette GT3.R, locked in a dead heat with Brendon Iribe’s No. 70 Inception Racing Ferrari for the Bob Akin Award and a coveted entry to the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans. The GTD field is stacked with talent and storylines, from Salih Yoluc’s quest for redemption in the No. 36 DXDT Racing Corvette to the AF Corse and Van der Steur Racing squads looking to disrupt the Ferrari stronghold.
Race fans around the globe won’t miss a moment of the action. The green flag drops at 12:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 11, with live coverage in the U.S. on NBC and streaming on Peacock, while international viewers can tune in via IMSA’s official YouTube channel and IMSA.TV. For those following on radio, IMSA Radio’s coverage is available at IMSA.com and on SiriusXM.
With records already falling, championships hanging in the balance, and a grid packed with world-class talent, the 2025 Motul Petit Le Mans is shaping up to be an unmissable contest. As teams make their final preparations, strategy and endurance will be just as critical as outright speed. The only certainty? By the end of 10 hours, legends will be made and titles decided on one of North America’s most challenging circuits. The drama is set to unfold—don’t blink, or you might miss history in the making.
