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Cadillac Closes the IMSA Season With a Bang at Petit Le Mans

#31: Cadillac Whelen, Cadillac V-Series.R, GTP: Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber, Frederik Vesti

RACE RESULTS

Cadillac didn’t just win the Motul Petit Le Mans again — it commanded it. For the second straight year, the V-Series.R thundered across the finish line first at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, wrapping up the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season in proper Cadillac fashion: loud, fast, and unapologetically dominant.

This time, the trio of Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber, and Frederik Vesti did the honors in the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R. It’s the same crew that took top honors at Indianapolis just a few weeks ago, making this their second straight Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) and overall victory.

Last year, Cadillac’s No. 01 Chip Ganassi entry took the Petit Le Mans win. This year, the brand went back-to-back with a completely different team — proof that Cadillac doesn’t just build race cars; it builds repeat offenders.

The race wasn’t without tension. The closing half-hour turned into a fuel-mileage chess match, with everyone topping up their energy tanks and calculating whether their computers — and courage — would get them to the flag. The No. 31 had led most of the day but still needed one last splash before Bamber brought it home.

“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.”

Second place went to the Aston Martin THOR Team, scoring the best global result for the new Valkyrie. Roman De Angelis, Ross Gunn, and Alex Riberas brought the futuristic No. 23 Aston home just behind the Cadillac — an encouraging debut for a car that looks like it escaped from a Le Mans poster.

In third, Matt Campbell, Mathieu Jaminet, and Laurens Vanthoor sealed Porsche Penske Motorsport’s manufacturer title in the No. 6 Porsche 963. It marked the second straight GTP championship for Porsche Penske and another for Campbell and Jaminet, who also captured IMSA gold back in 2022 with Pfaff Motorsports.

“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. “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.”

Just missing the podium, the No. 63 Lamborghini SC63 of Romain Grosjean, Daniil Kvyat, and Edoardo Mortara finished fourth — a solid farewell outing for a car that was equal parts fast and unpredictable all season.

#11: TDS Racing, ORECA LMP2 07, LMP2: Steven Thomas, Mikkel Jensen, Hunter McElrea, Dirty

In LMP2, TDS Racing’s Steven Thomas, Mikkel Jensen, and Hunter McElrea delivered the kind of Hollywood comeback script IMSA specializes in. Their No. 11 ORECA was tossed to the back of the grid for being a few grams too heavy — a bureaucratic nightmare that would crush lesser teams — but Thomas drove it straight to the lead in his opening stint, and his teammates kept it there to the finish.

“It was actually really emotional,” Thomas said after his second straight LMP2 win. “I was able to put it on pole in my final race, which was super exciting, and then like an hour later they said so you failed scrutineering, so you’re starting in the back.”

AO Racing, meanwhile, confirmed its season championship in LMP2 with PJ Hyett and Dane Cameron in the “spooky” No. 99 ORECA — the car that looks like Halloween threw up on it but keeps winning anyway.

#48: Paul Miller Racing, BMW M4 GT3 EVO, GTD PRO: Dan Harper, Max Hesse, Connor De Phillippi

The GT ranks had their own drama. Paul Miller Racing’s BMW M4 GT3 EVO, driven by Dan Harper, Max Hesse, and Connor De Phillippi, started from pole and never looked back in GTD PRO, taking their third win of the season. In GTD, the Af Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 of Alessandro Pier Guidi, Lilou Wadoux, and Simon Mann did the same, painting the top step in Italian red.

Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims held on for the GTD PRO title in the No. 3 Corvette Z06 GT3.R, making it Corvette Racing’s 16th IMSA championship — and Garcia’s sixth.

“Obviously, we didn’t have probably the pace to pass people on the track, but we did just a fantastic job again – saving fuel, doing everything right and gaining positions, taking every opportunity,” Garcia said. “That will never happen without Corvette Racing, and all the teammates that I’ve had over the past 16 years.”

#21: Af Corse, Ferrari 296 GT3, GTD: Simon Mann, Lilou Wadoux Ducellier, Alessandro Pier Guidi

Over in GTD, Russell Ward and Philip Ellis wrapped up their second straight title in the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3. It also gave Mercedes-AMG the manufacturer’s championship, which is quite the feat considering it only had one full-season car in the series.

“This year was a little bit more difficult,” Ward said. “We didn’t have two full-season entities in Mercedes-AMG, so to bring that home in the final race is a really nice carrot on top of the cake. Just an awesome day for us.”

When the dust settled — and the champagne dried — Porsche, Chevrolet, and Mercedes-AMG walked away with manufacturer crowns, and IMSA closed the curtain on another chaotic, glorious season.

Next up: the 64th Rolex 24 at Daytona in January, where everyone will start all over again — exhausted, over-caffeinated, and utterly incapable of doing anything else with their lives.

Greg Engle
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