Shank Racing wins Petit LeMans

The winning Pla, Negri and Pew Ligier Honda

With a driver line up that featured a Frenchman, a Brazilian-born American, and an American, Michael Shank Racing with Curb/Agajanian provided the racing demonstration of the American Dream as the Ohio-based team won the final race in the IMSA Daytona Prototype era with a tremendous victory in the 19th running of the Petit Le Mans on Saturday.

The team, which was celebrating its 250th Prototype class race start, utilized its Honda-powered Ligier to lead every practice session, score the pole position in qualifying, lead the most laps in the race and go on to set the fastest race lap in the final race of the 2016 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on its way to the victory.

Drivers Olivier Pla (France), Ozz Negri (Brazil/USA), and John Pew (USA) combined to score a dramatic victory, winning by just under four seconds after 10 hours of racing.

The race was the final event for the top Prototype class with the current IMSA regulations expiring along with the waving of the checkered flag as a new crop of Daytona Prototype international (DPi) machines are set to take the green flag at Daytona in January 2017.

Michael Shank Racing has been tabbed by Acura Motorsports to campaign the incredible new Acura NSX GT3 machine in the GTD class starting in 2017 with a two-car effort.

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]The 10-hour race saw Pla lead from the start and move to a healthy lead on the field. The first pit stop though saw an issue emerge that would slow the pit stops for the rest of the race as a wheel nut at the back of the car had a problem.

Pew rejoined the pack one lap down but was able to race his way back into contention before turning the car over as the team cycled through drivers. Pace was never in question. However, there were many tense moments including Pla being hit by an errant Porsche and sending him into a spin late in the race.

Fortunately, even a late race yellow flag would not allow the competition to make up ground on the focused drivers and its determined crew, which scored its second win of the year (Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in May with Negri and Pew). The team enjoyed the support not only of the many sponsor partners that the organization has developed, but also the many race fans that consider the squad "their" team, as evidenced by the many signatures that the car carried from fans that visited the team on Friday at the paddock.

The big effort also won the team the "Spirit of the Race" Award as voted on via Twitter by race fans listening to the IMSA Radio race broadcast.
The victory capped off an incredible year, as the team also contested its first-ever Le Mans 24 Hour in June, leading the race on the way to a top-10 finish in another chapter of incredible effort.

"I'm so proud of this entire team, these drivers, HPD and Honda," said Team Owner Mike Shank. "Just everyone who is involved with this. We had a dominant car this weekend—I would have loved to have had a hot rod like this all year! It's just a tribute to every single person involved with our team, from every direction. I want to say thank you. I'm lucky and proud to have a group like this. I can't wait to take on our next project with the Acura NSX. This really sends us off well for that. It's not ‘good bye' for prototype forever, it's just ‘see you later.'"

Mazda Motorsports lost third place in the final 15 minutes with a fiery engine failure on its surviving SpeedSource-run Lola-Mazda B12/80 shared by Joel Miller, Tom Long and Spencer Pigot.

The European LMP2 cars were too good for the antiquated American Daytona Prototypes

That promoted the Action Express Racing Coyote-Chevrolet Corvette DP of Dane Cameron, Eric Curran and Simon Pagenaud to third, but Jordan Taylor was able to nip past after the race went green for the final time to claim the final spot on the podium for the Wayne Taylor Racing Dallara-Chevrolet Corvette DP he shared with brother Ricky and Max Angelelli.

Fourth was more than enough to give Cameron and Curran the overall IMSA title.

In the Prototype Challenge class, the No. 52 PR1/Mathiasen Chevrolet-powered ORECA FLM09 of Robert Alon, Tom Kimber-Smith and Jose Gutierrez won the race, but the No. 8 Starworks Motorsports team of Renger van der Zande, Alex Popow and David Heinemeier-Hansson took the season championship, despite a disappointing sixth-place class finish.

Finishing second in the race in the PC class was the No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports entry of James French, Kyle Marcelli and Kenton Koch. Third was the No. 85 JDC-Miller car of Misha Goikhberg, Chris Miller and Stephen Simpson.

The No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE of Giancarlo Fisichella, Toni Vilander and James Calado won the GT Le Mans class in the race, but the championship was claimed by the No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R of Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner and guest driver Marcel Fassler.

The Ferrari has been fast in every race the last half of the season, but this is the team's first win of the year. "The team's luck has been wretched this year," said guest driver Calado, "so to get a win in the last race of the year is wonderful."

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]Second in GT Le Mans was the No. 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT of Joey Hand, Dirk Mueller and guest driver Sebastian Bourdais, and third was the championship-winning No. 4 Corvette. The No. 3 team Corvette was fourth.

The No. 4 Corvette came into Petit Le Mans with the points lead, but the No. 67 Ford GT, the team car to the No. 66, had a shot at the title, but they were plagued with problems all day, including a balky door and a broken turbo waste gate pipe.

Ryan Briscoe, who shared the No. 67 car all season with Richard Westbrook, said that the race was "A bit of a bummer. We had some problems but showed really good pace, which was great. We got the pole, which was awesome, but we have a lot to take away from the season." This was the debut year for the Ford GT, with the highlight being the class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the No. 66 team.

Milner and Gavin, the No. 4 Corvette drivers, helped Chevrolet win the drivers' championship, the team championship and the manufacturer's championship. "It's never easy," said Milner. "Every year, this class gets more competitive."

The finish in the GT Daytona class was controversial, with the No. 44 Magnus Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 of John Potter, Andy Lally and Marco Seefried crossing the finish line first, after Lally passed Jeroen Bleekemolen, co-driver of the No. 33 ViperExchange.com Dodge Viper GT3-R he shared with Ben Keating and Marc Miller on the next to last lap in the most exciting finish of the race.

But the victory went to the Viper, because the full-season Pro-Am driver of the No. 44 Audi, John Potter, did not achieve the minimum drive time of three hours. Officially, second place went to the No. 73 Park Place Porsche 911 GT3 R of Joerg Bergmeister, Patrick Lindsey and Matt McMurray, and the No. 44 was scored 12th, or last in the class.

The No. 63 Ferrari won the GTD category championship

The season title in GT Daytona went to Christina Nielsen and Alessandro Balzan in the No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3. Nielsen became the WeatherTech Championship's first female champion. They finished third in the race, along with guest driver Jeff Segal.

Nielsen drove the first three hours, a "mentally draining" stint, she said. In 2015, she came to Petit Le Mans with a one-point lead, and lost the championship. This year, she and Balzan had a 32-point lead, and once she completed her three hours, the title was theirs. Second in points was Keating and Bleekemolen in the No. 33 Viper.

There were no major on-track incidents, though the race was run under the caution flag for 65 minutes while the Road Atlanta crew worked to repair part of the asphalt surface in turn three.

Perhaps the most dramatic moment came with 13 minutes to go, when the No. 70 Mazda Prototype, running in third, burst into flames just before the final turn. Driver Joel Miller got the car stopped on pit road and the fire was extinguished, along with Mazda's hopes for a good finish. The two-car team had already lost the No. 55, which qualified second, to an engine misfire that could not be repaired, leaving the No. 70 as the team's last hope for a victory, which has eluded Mazda for all three years it has run in the Prototype class.

"There is a challenger spirit at the heart of the Mazda brand and in every team member of our motorsports program," said John Doonan, director of Mazda Motorsports. "Unfortunately, when it comes to the season finale for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, that spirit was tested." As for the team, "One of these days their efforts will be rewarded with victory, I am sure of it."

And in the most bizarre incident, Jens Klingmann, a BMW factory driver for No. 96 Turner Motorsports' BMW M6 GT3, attempted a difficult late-race pass on Turner teammate Markus Palttala in the identical No. 97 car. They collided, mildly damaging both vehicles and sending Klingmann spinning.

The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship's short off season ends January 28, 2017 with the running of the Rolex 24 Hours At Daytona in Florida.

Select Quotes

OZZ NEGRI: I can't say enough about my team, Michael Shank Racing. My engineers, HPD/Honda, Ollie Pla, and mainly John Pew. I could not have asked for a better weekend. Pole, fastest lap, we led the most laps. I don't think I've ever had a 40 second lead before! It was just like a fairytale! It is my last race with John and maybe my last Prototype race. I just have to thank God, I'm so blessed to experience this"

OLIVIER PLA: We had a little incident with a Porsche, he just turned on me and there was nothing I could do. Then we had a little misfire after that. That was really scary, I was just praying we'd go to the end. But it was a perfect weekend, a dream weekend, I don't think I've ever had such a perfect weekend. And so thank you so much to Michael Shank and this whole team. From the beginning, it has been great with this team, there are a lot of very good people here.

JOHN PEW: I couldn't have asked for a better day, it was fantastic. Ollie (Pla) was unbelievable and really fast in traffic, just hammering away. That's what made the difference. Ozz (Negri) did an incredible job as well. I'm happy to win this race, but I think I'm happier for this team. Mike (Shank) has some amazingly talented people — and just all around good guys — on this team. I've been so pleased to be a part of this for so many years and for us to close this chapter like this, it really is all you could ask for. I don't know what to say, it's so incredibly satisfying to have a win like this.

The GTLM title winning #4 Corvette

TOMMY MILNER, CORVETTE RACING NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – GTLM DRIVER'S CHAMPION: Woo! That feels really good. It doesn't have the initial shock of a win, but deep down this is a pretty satisfying end of the season. We had four wins… a couple of bad races, but we had some amazing ones as well. I just don't know what to say. Most of all, I am just really happy. I feel really fortunate to be a part of this Corvette Racing team and Chevy. Every year, every weekend, every practice session, I always have the best stuff. That is all a driver can ask for. Yea…I'm happy. This is perfect!

OLIVER GAVIN, CORVETTE RACING NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – GTLM DRIVER'S CHAMPION: We've had a fantastic year. It started off with a fantastic race at Daytona. That was just epic to get that result. The one-two and the way we did it was just phenomenal. Then the win Sebring with Tommy – he was a rock and just steady the whole race. It was phenomenal again! He was a legend. We've just managed to pick up some great finishes throughout the season. Then to get the 100th win at Lime Rock – I think that is where Tommy and I really started believing that we could actually win this. Yes, the competition had some good results up to that point and we needed to stop their momentum, and we did that there. That crazy finish at Road America… We just sort of arrived here and knew what we needed to do. We executed really well and got another podium and another third place like last year. It is a great way to wrap up the championship in this way. I mean we got the Manufacturer Championship for Chevrolet, the Driver Championship, the Team Championship and the North American Endurance Cup Championship. We got it all. I'm thrilled… just thrilled. I'm thrilled for Tommy and thrilled for the team. Having Marcel (Fässler) on the team here in America has been just brilliant. He has been like our lucky charm in the car. He has been brilliant to have in the car. We want him back next year.

The Prototype title winning #31 Action Express Corvette DP

ERIC CURRAN, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 31 WHELEN ENGINEERING/TEAM FOX CORVETTE DP – PROTOTYPE DRIVER'S CHAMPION: It is unbelievable. I think it is going to take some time to sink in. But it's such a great opportunity for Dane Cameron and I to drive this Whelen Corvette DP for Action Express. All the guys at Action Express have worked so hard for this. We came so close last year and we felt like it was out championship to lose this year. It wasn't a perfect season, but it all came together. The Chevy Corvette was unbelievable. Dane is unbelievable as a co-driver. We brought in Simon Pagenaud for this race and he has had an unbelievable year – now two championships. Sonny Whelen and Whelen Engineering support is phenomenal. Nine years driving for them… I just want to thank everyone that supports this program. It all pays off, look at us now.

DANE CAMERON, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 31 WHELEN ENGINEERING/TEAM FOX CORVETTE DP – PROTOTYPE DRIVER'S CHAMPION: We had a rough start at Daytona, had a couple of strong races and a bunch of podiums. It took us awhile to get (the first) win. We had a big setback in Detroit that really set us back a lot of points. From there it really felt like we were trying to claw our way back. The point spread makes it difficult to make a big swing. It felt like we were just digging, digging, digging trying to get out of this hole. We finally got out of this hole at COTA. It wasn't by much, but we knew it was something. Coming to a 10-hour race is so nerve-wracking. Traffic is so difficult at Petit Le Mans. But we knew we had a good game plan, and we knew our Corvette Daytona Prototype was going to be solid. We knew what our strengths were and tried not to get wrapped up in other people's races, just worry about ourselves. We were able to do that and come away with the title. I am really pretty speechless. I am really proud to be a part of this group. I'm really grateful to Sonny Whelen and Action Express for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this team. For Action Express to have won all three Driver's titles in this merged championship with the Corvette Daytona Prototype is kind of special. To be a part of that sweep is pretty amazing. And I'm pretty proud to have two Driver's title for myself in two different classes; it is pretty amazing.

Results

Pos	No.	Cl.	Drivers	Make	Laps	Behind	Gap
1	60	P	J. Pew/O. Negri Jr./O. Pla	HONDA HPD LIGIER JS P2	412	0.000s	0.000s
2	2	P	S. Sharp/L. Derani/J. Van Overbeek	HONDA HPD LIGIER JS P2	412	3.524	3.524
3	10	P	R. Taylor/J. Taylor/M. Angelelli	CHEVROLET CORVETTE DP	412	11.745	8.221
4	31	P	E. Curran/D. Cameron/S. Pagenaud	CHEVROLET CORVETTE DP	412	14.258	2.513
5	5	P	J.Barbosa/C.Fittipaldi/F.Albuquerque	CHEVROLET CORVETTE DP	410	2 Laps	2 Laps
6	52	PC	R. Alon/J. Gutierrez/T. Kimber-Smith	ORECA FLM09	404	8 Laps	6 Laps
7	38	PC	J. French/K. Marcelli/K. Koch	ORECA FLM09	403	9 Laps	1 Lap
8	70	P	T. Long/J. Miller/S. Pigot	MAZDA PROTOTYPE	401	11 Laps	2 Laps
9	62	GTLM	G. Fisichella/T. Vilander/J. Calado	FERRARI 488 GTE	398	14 Laps	3 Laps
10	66	GTLM	J. Hand/D. Mueller/S. Bourdais	FORD GT	398	14 Laps	15.618
11	4	GTLM	O. Gavin/T. Milner/M. Fassler	CHEVROLET-CORVETTE C7.R	398	14 Laps	2.822
12	3	GTLM	A.Garcia/J.Magnussen/M.Rockenfeller	CHEVROLET-CORVETTE C7.R	397	15 Laps	1 Lap
13	85	PC	M. Goikhberg/C. Miller/S. Simpson	ORECA FLM09	395	17 Laps	2 Laps
14	912	GTLM	E.Bamber/F.Makowiecki/M.Christensen	PORSCHE 911 RSR	395	17 Laps	19.484
15	88	PC	M. Kvamme/R. Bradley/M. Hanratty	ORECA FLM09	393	19 Laps	2 Laps
16	100	GTLM	J. Edwards/L. Luhr/K. Wittmer	BMW M6 GTLM	391	21 Laps	2 Laps
17	33	GTD	B. Keating/J. Bleekemolen/M. Miller	DODGE VIPER GT3-R	385	27 Laps	6 Laps
18	73	GTD	J. Bergmeister/M. Mcmurry/P. Lindsey	PORSCHE 911 GT3 R	384	28 Laps	1 Lap
19	63	GTD	C. Nielsen/A. Balzan/J. Segal	FERRARI 488 GT3	384	28 Laps	1:07.370
20	97	GTD	M. Marsal/M. Palttala/C. Lawrence	BMW M6 GT3	384	28 Laps	3.595
21	48	GTD	B. Sellers/M. Snow/B. Miller	LAMBORGHINI-HURACAN GT3	383	29 Laps	1 Lap
22	9	GTD	M. Bell/L. Aschenbach/D. Von Moltke	AUDI R8 LMS GT3	383	29 Laps	38.814
23	27	GTD	P. Ruberti/L. Persiani/C. Sbirrazzuoli	LAMBORGHINI-HURACAN GT3	383	29 Laps	40.572
24	6	GTD	R. Liddell/A. Davis/M. Skeen	AUDI R8 LMS GT3	382	30 Laps	1 Lap
25	20	PC	D. Yount/T. Drissi/J. Mowlem	ORECA FLM09	379	33 Laps	3 Laps
26	67	GTLM	R. Briscoe/R. Westbrook/S. Dixon	FORD GT	372	40 Laps	7 Laps
27	23	GTD	I. James/M. Farnbacher/A. Riberas	PORSCHE 911 GT3 R	366	46 Laps	6 Laps
28	96	GTD	B. Curtis/J. Klingmann/A. Freiberg	BMW M6 GT3	364	48 Laps	2 Laps
29	68	GTLM	D. Serra/A. Pier Guidi/A. Bertolini	FERRARI 488 GTE	350	Not Running	307
30	16	GTD	C. Lewis/S. Pumpelly/R. Antinucci	LAMBORGHINI-HURACAN GT3	350	62 Laps :01:37.445	213
31	44	GTD	J. Potter/A. Lally/M. Seefried	AUDI R8 LMS GT3	349	63 Laps 1 Lap	317
32	25	GTLM	B. Auberlen/D. Werner/A. Farfus	BMW M6 GTLM	317	Not Running	237
33	8	PC	R. Van Der Zande/A. Popow	ORECA FLM09	287	Not Running	229
34	911	GTLM	P. Pilet/N. Tandy/R. Lietz	PORSCHE 911 RSR	229	183 Laps 58 Laps	196
35	90	P	R. Dalziel/M. Goossens/R. Hunter-Reay	CHEVROLET CORVETTE DP	198	Not Running	108
36	0	P	K. Legge/S. Rayhall/A. Meyrick	DELTAWING DWC13	169	Not Running	58
37	55	P	T. Nunez/J. Bomarito/S. Pigot	MAZDA PROTOTYPE	114	Not Running	3
38	7	PC	J. Dayson/Q. Lall/S. Coletti	ORECA FLM09	50	Not Running	8