Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta is well known for being one of my favorite races on the IMSA sportscar calendar. It’s a great length for a race. 10 hours is not too long, and not too short. Not to mention October is a gorgeous time to be racing in the southeastern United States. The trees are changing, the air is crisp and the sun fills the track in vibrant light and color.
However, 2015 was not one of those years. It was awful. Miserable. Wet. Cold and grey. But it certainly was an interesting race. And yes, it’s still one of my favorite races.
The drivers put on a masterclass of skill out there. It was unreal to see them twitching and sliding in those conditions, with almost zero visibility at times. With about 2 hours left to run, the race was called. And leading the field was, of all things, a Porsche GTLM car! Of the many races that I have covered, this was by far one of the wildest I’ve seen. Not often is it that a normally “slower” GT car takes an overall victory. And that was due to one thing. Michelin. It’s rain tires were incredible. The cars had grip where the Continental clad Daytona Prototypes, Prototype Challenge and GT Daytona cars did not.
I think the memory we’ll all have of the 2015 Petit Le Mans will be of the rain. The never ending rain. Almost 9 inches fell on Saturday. It ruined cameras, destroyed clothing and soaked our souls to the core. But at least it made for interesting pictures.
Thanks to Road Atlanta, the incredible marshals and corner workers, IMSA, The Palmers and all the photographers who kept us all laughing during one of the longest days anyone could imagine.
© Jamey Price 2015. All Rights Reserved.