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.
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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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