Scott Dixon has finished second outright in Petit Le Mans as Action Express Racing clinched the IMSA SportsCar Championship GTP title at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
It was a bag of mixed results for the New Zealand IndyCar drivers in the field, with Scott McLaughlin’s hopes of an LMP2 class win ending before the green flag when co-driver Ari Balogh crashed on the formation lap.
The #8 Tower Motorsports entry would ultimately finish eighth in class, 22 laps adrift of the class-winning #04 Crowdstrike Racing by APR Oreca.
Dixon, driving with Renger van der Zande and former IndyCar rival Sebastien Bourdais, finished second overall in the #01 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R.
Tom Blomqvist, who grew up in Auckland, took the overall win in the #60 Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb Agajanian Acura ARX06 with co-driver Colin Braun and four-time Indy 500 winner and former IMSA champion Helio Castroneves.
The Petit Le Mans was the last race for Meyer Shank Racing after nearly 20 years in the series.
Blomqvist and Meyer Shank Racing will focus their efforts on the 2024 IndyCar season.
Matt Campbell, driver of the #7 Penske Porshe 963, who was looking to give Penske Porsche their third consecutive win, finished fourth overall.
The Warwick, Queensland native, along with co-driver Josef Newgarden, the 2023 Indy 500 winner and two-time IndyCar champion, and Felip Nasr, led much of the race but saw their chances for victory end after the 963 developed a vibration late in the race after taking contact.
Hobart native Josh Burdon finished on the podium in third place in LMP3 in the championship-winning #74 Riley Motorsports Ligier.
Cameron Shields finished fifth in LMP3 behind the wheel of the #38 Performance Tech Ligier.
Pipo Derani and Alexander Sims clinched the GTP championship in the #31 Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R
Ben Keating and Paul-Loup Chatin won the LMP2 title in the #52 PR1 Mathiasen Racing Motorsports Oreca.
Gar Robinson and Felipe Fraga claimed the LMP3 title in the #74 Riley Motor Sports Ligier.
By starting the race, Jack Hawksworth and Ben Barnicoat won the GTDPRO championship in the #14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3.
Brian Sellers and Madison Snow claimed the GTD championship in the #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3.
The 2024 IMSA season gets underway on 18 January at the Roar Before the 24 in Daytona.
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