
The2022 Petit Le Mans (known as the 2022MOTUL Petit Le Mans for sponsorship reasons) was the 25th running of thePetit Le Mans, and was held on October 1, 2022. It was the 12th and final race in the2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship, and the 4th race of the 2022Michelin Endurance Cup. The race was held atRoad Atlanta inBraselton, Georgia. The event was the last ever race for theDPi Class.

International Motor Sports Association's (IMSA) president John Doonan confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2021.[1] It was the ninth consecutive year the event was held as part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The 2022 Petit Le Mans was the final of twelve scheduled sports car races of 2022 by IMSA, and it was the last of four rounds held as part of the Michelin Endurance Cup.[2] The race took place at the 12-turn, 2.540-mile (4.088 km)Road Atlanta inBraselton, Georgia on October 1, 2023.[3]
As the final event of the 2022 season, the race marked the swansong for theDPi class.[4] First introduced in2017, the class enjoyed six seasons of success before making way for the new-for-2023GTP class.[5] Wayne Taylor, whose team scored the first DPi championship in 2017, described the class as one of the best in North American sports car racing history.[6]Wayne Taylor Racing competed from 2017 to 2020 with theCadillac DPi-V.R, and from 2021 to 2022 with theAcura ARX-05; the only two manufacturers which took to the grid for the 2022 running of Petit Le Mans.Nissan, who exited following the 2019 season, andMazda, who pulled their entry after 2021, did not take part.[7] The championship battle in the class was still on, with just 19 points separating theAcura entries fromWayne Taylor Racing andMeyer Shank Racing entering the race weekend.[8][9]
ThePorsche 911 GT3 R andFerrari 488 GT3 also entered their final IMSA events, ahead of the switch to new-generationGT3 machinery for both manufacturers and their respective customers in 2023.[10][11][12]Porsche would introduce a new GT3 offering based on the992 model,[13] whileFerrari would transition to an entry based on theFerrari 296.[14]
The event marked the 25th anniversary of thefirst Petit Le Mans, held in 1998.[15] The winners of the race's inaugural running,Eric van de Poele,Wayne Taylor andEmmanuel Collard, served as grand marshals for the 2022 event.[16]
The race was initially feared to be threatened byHurricane Ian, with serious concerns expressed early in the preceding week that the storm could threaten the race's running.[17] However, with the changing course of the storm, high winds early in the weekend proved the only major effect on the event's 25th running.[18]
On September 21, 2022, IMSA released the latest technical bulletin outliningBalance of Performance for the event.[19] No changes were made to cars in any of the four classes eligible for BoP adjustments.
Heading into the final race of the season,Filipe Albuquerque andRicky Taylor led the DPi Drivers' Championship with 3066 points; the duo held a 19 point advantage overTom Blomqvist andOliver Jarvis.[20] In LMP2,John Farano led the Drivers' Championship with 1640 points; 33 ahead ofRyan Dalziel andDwight Merriman.[20] With 1716 points,Jon Bennett andColin Braun led the Drivers' Championship by 83 points over Gar Robinson.[20]Matt Campbell andMathieu Jaminet led the GTD Pro Drivers' Championship with 3173 points, 265 points ahead ofAntonio García andJordan Taylor.[20] In GTD,Roman De Angelis led the Drivers' Championship with 2630 points; 45 points ahead ofStevan McAleer in second position followed by Ryan Hardwick andJan Heylen with 2573 points.[20]Acura,Porsche, andBMW were leading their respective Manufactures' Championships whileWayne Taylor Racing,PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports,CORE Autosport, Pfaff Motorsports, and Heart of Racing Team each led their own Teams' Championships.[20]
The event also preceded an IMSA-sanctioned joint test for the LMDh entries, attended byAcura,BMW, andCadillac. Of the 2023 LMDh manufacturers, Porsche were the only entrant that did not take part.[21]
A total of 43 cars took part in the event, split across five classes. 7 were entered inDPi, 6 inLMP2, 8 inLMP3, 7 inGTD Pro, and 15 inGTD.[22]
DPi saw the return of competitors taking part in IMSA's Endurance Cup championship. TheAlly Cadillac Racing entry returned in line with its Endurance Cup schedule, while all six full-season DPi teams added a third driver.Scott Dixon returned toCadillac Racing's #01 entry, whileRyan Hunter-Reay guested in the team's No. 02 after last appearing atSebring.Loïc Duval continued in his endurance role forJDC-Miller MotorSports, as didMike Conway andHélio Castroneves forWhelen Engineering Racing andMeyer Shank Racing respectively.Toyota factory driverBrendon Hartley joinedWayne Taylor Racing, replacingWill Stevens.[23]
Seven cars were listed on the preliminary LMP2 entry list, but the late withdrawal of theRacing Team Nederland entry following Frits van Eerd's arrest and subsequent release on suspicion of money laundering reduced the final entry list to six.[24]Indy Lights driverChristian Rasmussen joined Era Motorsport for the first time,[24] while other endurance additions includedSebastián Montoya forDragonSpeed,Rui Andrade forTower Motorsport,Tristan Nunez for thePR1/Mathiasen Motorsports No. 11 Oreca, andFabio Scherer atHigh Class Racing.[22]
LMP3 featured a number of changes from the preliminary entry list. FastMD Racing initially were set to return with Colin Noble, Adam Ali, and Max Hanratty, but were withdrawn late on.[25] The Forty7 Motorsports No. 7 was also withdrawn, with all three of their scheduled drivers spread across AWA's two entries.[26]Mühlner Motorsport also withdrew their scheduled entry. Other notable additions includedTyler Maxson for Performance Tech Motorsports,[27] andNico Pino for Sean Creech Motorsport.
GTD Pro included the addition ofRisi Competizione's Ferrari 488,[28] as well asWeatherTech Racing's return followingCooper MacNeil's withdrawal from the No. 79 entry.[29]Nicky Catsburg returned forCorvette Racing, as didFelipe Nasr andKyle Kirkwood for Pfaff Motorsports andVasser Sullivan Racing respectively.Jesse Krohn andTom Gamble joinedBMW Team RLL and the Heart of Racing Team, respectively, as well.[22]
15 cars were entered in GTD, decreased by one following the withdrawal of Crucial Motorsports' McLaren 720S GT3.[26] Ulysse de Pauw was drafted into Cetilar Racing's entry with endurance driverAntonio Fuoco taking part in theGT World Challenge Europe season finale in Europe,[30] whileSebastian Priaulx's addition to the Inception Racing McLaren marked the only other brand new addition to a GTD driver roster.
There were three practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Saturday, all three on Thursday. The first session on Thursday morning lasted 90 minutes. The second session on Thursday afternoon lasted 105 minutes. The final session on Thursday evening lasted 90 minutes.[31]
The first practice session took place at 9:50 AMET on Thursday and ended withEarl Bamber topping the charts forCadillac Racing, with a lap time of 1:09.583.[32]
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DPi | 02 | Cadillac Racing | Earl Bamber | 1:09.583 | _ |
| 2 | DPi | 60 | Meyer Shank Racing withCurb-Agajanian | Tom Blomqvist | 1:09.915 | +0.332 |
| 3 | DPi | 01 | Cadillac Racing | Sébastien Bourdais | 1:10.119 | +0.536 |
| Source:[33] | ||||||
The second practice session took place at 2:55 PMET on Thursday and ended withSébastien Bourdais topping the charts forCadillac Racing, with a lap time of 1:09.040.[34]
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DPi | 01 | Cadillac Racing | Sébastien Bourdais | 1:09.040 | _ |
| 2 | DPi | 60 | Meyer Shank Racing withCurb-Agajanian | Tom Blomqvist | 1:09.342 | +0.302 |
| 3 | DPi | 48 | Ally Cadillac Racing | Kamui Kobayashi | 1:09.425 | +0.385 |
| Source:[35] | ||||||
The night practice session took place at 7:30 PMET on Thursday and ended withEarl Bamber again topping the charts forCadillac Racing, with a lap time of 1:09.880.[36]
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DPi | 02 | Cadillac Racing | Earl Bamber | 1:09.880 | _ |
| 2 | DPi | 5 | JDC-Miller MotorSports | Tristan Vautier | 1:10.003 | +0.123 |
| 3 | DPi | 01 | Cadillac Racing | Renger van der Zande | 1:10.162 | +0.282 |
| Source:[37] | ||||||
Friday's afternoon qualifying was broken into three sessions, with one session for the DPi and LMP2, LMP3, GTD Pro and GTD classes, which lasted for 15 minutes each, and a ten minute interval between the sessions.[31] The rules dictated that all teams nominated a driver to qualify their cars, with the Pro-Am (LMP2/LMP3/GTD) classes requiring a Bronze/Silver Rated Driver to qualify the car. The competitors' fastest lap times determined the starting order. IMSA then arranged the grid to put DPis ahead of the LMP2, LMP3, GTD Pro, and GTD cars.[38]
Tom Blomqvist took overall pole forMeyer Shank Racing, reducing the championship points gap to 14 points heading into the race.[39]
Pole positions in each class are indicated inbold and by ‡.
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap | Grid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DPi | 60 | 1:08.555 | _ | 1‡ | ||
| 2 | DPi | 02 | 1:08.788 | +0.233 | 2 | ||
| 3 | DPi | 10 | 1:08.802 | +0.247 | 3 | ||
| 4 | DPi | 5 | 1:08.853 | +0.298 | 4 | ||
| 5 | DPi | 01 | 1:08.905 | +0.350 | 5 | ||
| 6 | DPi | 48 | 1:08.984 | +0.429 | 6 | ||
| 7 | DPi | 31 | 1:09.075 | +0.520 | 7 | ||
| 8 | LMP2 | 11 | 1:11.939 | +3.384 | 8‡ | ||
| 9 | LMP2 | 20 | 1:12.021 | +3.466 | 9 | ||
| 10 | LMP2 | 52 | 1:12.328 | +3.773 | 10 | ||
| 11 | LMP2 | 8 | 1:12.360 | +3.805 | 11 | ||
| 12 | LMP2 | 81 | 1:13.570 | +5.015 | 12 | ||
| 13 | LMP2 | 18 | 1:13.896 | +5.341 | 13 | ||
| 14 | LMP3 | 74 | 1:15.517 | +6.962 | 14‡ | ||
| 15 | LMP3 | 33 | 1:15.625 | +7.070 | 15 | ||
| 16 | LMP3 | 36 | 1:17.030 | +8.475 | 16 | ||
| 17 | LMP3 | 13 | 1:17.809 | +9.254 | 17 | ||
| 18 | LMP3 | 54 | 1:17.813 | +9.258 | 18 | ||
| 19 | LMP3 | 30 | 1:18.417 | +9.862 | 19 | ||
| 20 | LMP3 | 38 | 1:18.693 | +10.138 | 20[a] | ||
| 21 | GTD Pro | 14 | 1:18.835 | +10.280 | 22‡ | ||
| 22 | GTD Pro | 23 | 1:19.043 | +10.488 | 23 | ||
| 23 | GTD | 1 | 1:19.118 | +10.563 | 24‡ | ||
| 24 | GTD Pro | 25 | 1:19.279 | +10.724 | 25 | ||
| 25 | GTD Pro | 62 | 1:19.352 | +10.797 | 26 | ||
| 26 | LMP3 | 76 | 1:19.357 | +10.802 | 21[b] | ||
| 27 | GTD Pro | 3 | 1:19.444 | +10.889 | 27 | ||
| 28 | GTD | 39 | 1:19.506 | +10.951 | 28 | ||
| 29 | GTD | 42 | 1:19.522 | +10.967 | 29 | ||
| 30 | GTD | 27 | 1:19.546 | +10.991 | 30 | ||
| 31 | GTD | 12 | 1:19.560 | +11.005 | 31 | ||
| 32 | GTD Pro | 79 | 1:19.620 | +11.065 | 32 | ||
| 33 | GTD | 32 | 1:19.823 | +11.268 | 33 | ||
| 34 | GTD Pro | 9 | 1:19.942 | +11.387 | 34 | ||
| 35 | GTD | 57 | 1:19.977 | +11.422 | 35 | ||
| 36 | GTD | 21 | 1:20.022 | +11.467 | 36 | ||
| 37 | GTD | 16 | 1:20.025 | +11.470 | 37 | ||
| 38 | GTD | 47 | 1:20.041 | +11.486 | 38 | ||
| 39 | GTD | 70 | 1:20.390 | +11.835 | 39 | ||
| 40 | GTD | 44 | 1:21.431 | +12.876 | 40 | ||
| 41 | GTD | 99 | 1:21.470 | +12.915 | 41 | ||
| 42 | GTD | 66 | Times disallowed | 43 | |||
| 43 | GTD | 96 | No time established | 42 | |||
| Sources:[40][41] | |||||||
The morning warm-up took place at 9:15 AMET on Saturday and ended withLoïc Duval topping the charts forJDC-Miller MotorSports, with a lap time of 1:10.406.[42]
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DPi | 5 | JDC-Miller MotorSports | Loïc Duval | 1:10.406 | _ |
| 2 | DPi | 01 | Cadillac Racing | Scott Dixon | 1:10.596 | +0.190 |
| 3 | DPi | 02 | Cadillac Racing | Alex Lynn | 1:10.873 | +0.467 |
| Source:[43] | ||||||
Blomqvist and Jarvis took the DPi Drivers' Championship with 3422 points. They were 86 points clear of Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor.[44] With 2018 points, Farno won the LMP2 Drivers' Championship, 126 points ahead of Dalziel and Merriman.[44] With 2002 points, Bennett and Braun won the LMP3 Drivers' Championship, 54 points ahead of Robinson.[44] Campbell and Jaminet took the GTD Pro Drivers' Championship with 3947 points. They were 220 points clear of Barnicoat in second. Antonio García and Jordan Taylor were third with 3194 points.[44] De Angelis won the GTD Drivers' Championship with 2898 points, 23 points ahead of Hardwick and Heylend. McAleer was third with 2860 points.[44] Acura, Porsche, and BMW won their respective Manufactures' Championships, while Meyer Shank Racing, Tower Motorsport, CORE Autosport, Pfaff Motorsports, and Heart of Racing Team won their respective Teams' Championships.[44]
Class winners denoted inbold and with ‡
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The following day saw the overall title fall to the Car Guy team, again extending the roll of title winning honour for the car, set to be replaced as the contemporary customer racing offering next season by the new Ferrari 296 GT3.
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competitors battled wind gusts in upwards of 40 mph on Thursday morning as an effect from Hurricane Ian, which has been downgraded to a tropical storm as it passes through Florida. Current weather forecasts call for significantly less rain on Saturday — if any at all — with series officials now confident of getting the race in as planned.
The German manufacturer will be joined by Cadillac and Acura for a three-day scheduled IMSA-sanctioned LMDh test at Road Atlanta that's scheduled to kick off on Monday.
| IMSA SportsCar Championship | ||
|---|---|---|
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