Petit Le Mans - PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports recovers twice to claim LMP2 championship

It wasn’t the most graceful effort, but it was worthy of a championship. PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports recovered from an early spin and a late trip through the gravel to claim the championship in the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class.

Ben Keating, who recovered from the early spin, shared the driver championship with teammate Paul-Loup Chatin, but not before they watched anxiously while co-driver Alex Quinn recovered from a ride through a gravel trap to help the No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA LMP2 07 finish third in class at the Motul Petit Le Mans and preserve the title.

“This one is special for a lot of different reasons,” said Keating, who captured his second LMP2 championship in three years. “It’s just been an incredible run. It’s such a great team. It’s very literally a family affair. It’s just really special.”

Ben Hanley led the No. 04 Crowdstrike Racing by APR ORECA to the class win with co-drivers George Kurtz and Nolan Siegel. The No. 35 TDS Racing ORECA LMP2 07 co-driven by Giedo van der Garde, John Falb and Josh Pierson came home second as the race finished under caution.

“With the late yellows, we were just trying to save fuel and tires, as well,” Hanley said. “We knew we had an advantage on fuel, so it was just take it easy and get to that last pit stop. When that happened, we got the lead. The car was just fantastic in traffic. We were pretty confident we could bring it to the end, but there were a lot of yellows. You had to be cautious with that.”

Hanley and Kurtz also claimed the LMP2 IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup, which goes to the best performers in the four longer races on the WeatherTech Championship schedule.

Meanwhile, the Jim Trueman Bronze Cup, which includes an invitation to the 24 Hours of Le Mans next year, went to Kurtz, who came into the race tied with Keating and Steven Thomas in the Trueman standings.

“The big implication was Le Mans,” Kurtz said. “That was really the prize for us. We would’ve had to have a lot go right to win the championship, but the two things we were focused on was the endurance championship and Le Mans. At the end of the race with 20 minutes left, you never think it’s going to be a green flag to the end. So many emotions go through your mind.”

The route to the championship was far from typical. Keating started from the pole and pulled away from the field at the start before his car spun 52 minutes into the race. A 16-second lead at the time of the spin helped him maintain the lead.

Quinn’s spin came with less than two hours remaining. He slid into the gravel in Turn 10 but kept the car moving slowly and got it back on track.

“For those who don’t know, when I’m not at a racetrack, I’m a farmer,” Quinn said. “That experience paid off. … I just had to manage it. I didn’t want to be there in the first place, so I was a bit disappointed. But we got back on track and did what we needed to do.”