Cadillac, Chevrolet and Porsche claim 2021 IMSA crowns with Michelin

Cadillac, Chevrolet and Porsche have secured this season’s IMSA titles in association with Michelin, Official Tire of North America’s IMSA SportsCar WeatherTech Championship. The year’s final round at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta – Petit Le Mans – was won by Mazda/Michelin.

This year’s IMSA campaign concluded on Saturday, November 13, at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in Georgia, USA, not far from Michelin USA’s headquarters in Greenville, North Carolina.

The 24th running of the 10-hour Petit Le Mans attracted an entry of more than 150 MICHELIN Pilot Sport-equipped cars.

The Mazda DPi RT-24 prototype of Oliver Jarvis/Harry Tincknell/Jonathan Bomarito bounced back from an early three-lap delay to take the win, ahead of Whelen Engineering Racing’s N°31 Cadillac and the N°10 Konica Minolta Acura, allowing Mazda Motorsport to bow out of the series with seven victories to its name.

The 2021 Dpi titles were harvested by Cadillac (Manufacturers), Whelen Engineering Racing (Teams) and Ricky Taylor/Filipe Albuquerque (Drivers).

Porsche/Michelin monopolized the top two places in GTLM with the WeatherTech Racing Porsche 911 RSRs of McNeil/Jaminet/Campbell and Estre/Christensen/Makowiecki, while the class’s titles went to Chevrolet-Corvette and Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor (N°3 Corvette C8.R/Michelin), winners at Daytona, Watkins Glen and Lime Rock. The GTLM category will be replaced by GTD Pro from next season.

The N°23 Heart of Racing Team-tended Aston Martin/Michelin (De Angelis/Gunn/James) topped the GTD order at Road Atlanta, but the titles ended up in the hands of Porsche, Pfaff Motorsports and Laurens Vanthoor/Zacharie Robichon.

Last but not least, PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports and Riley Motorsport took the LMP2 and LMP3 spoils, while the Michelin Pilot Challenge standings saw Taylor Hagler (Hyundai/Michelin) become IMSA’s first lady champion since Christina Nielsen.

“IMSA presents the most diverse range of circuits and conditions,” points out Tony Ménard, Director of Motorsport, Michelin North America. “We race in daylight and darkness, in heat and cold, rain or shine, on streets and a variety of permanent circuits. This ultimate test across conditions is why we choose IMSA as the platform to test our tires and showcase their longevity.”

IMSA SportsCar WeatherTech Championship action will resume in Daytona, Florida, with the Roar Before 24 on January 21-23, 2022.

From 2023, the same regulations will apply in LMH and LMDh, thereby enabling constructors to contest IMSA, the FIA World Endurance Championship and Le Mans. All these Hypercar prototypes will compete on Michelin rubber.