Paul Miller Racing BMW, Af Corse Ferrari Secure Motul Petit Le Mans GT Class Wins

BMW won the battle, but Corvette won the war. The No. 48 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO, anchored by an outstanding final stint by Dan Harper, claimed the race win Saturday night in the Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class in Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

Meanwhile, the No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R, co-driven by Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims and Daniel Juncadella, celebrated the GTD PRO season championship with a third-place finish.

The No. 48 BMW, shared by Harper, Max Hesse and Connor De Phillippi, was listed a lap ahead of second-place No. 4 Corvette Racing entry co-driven by Nicky Catsburg, Tommy Milner and Nico Varrone.

The No. 3 Corvette, with Sims behind the wheel at the end, claimed the manufacturer championship for Chevrolet, the team championship for Corvette Racing, and the driver championship for Garcia and Sims.

“Obviously, we didn’t have probably the pace to pass people on the track, but we did just a fantastic job again – saving fuel, doing everything right and gaining positions, taking every opportunity,” said Garcia, who celebrated Corvette Racing’s 16th IMSA championship and sixth in the modern era since 2014. It’s Garcia’s sixth as well, and second for Sims. 

“I think that’s a group thing. That will never happen without Corvette Racing, and all the teammates that I’ve had over the past 16 years.”

While Corvette was enjoying the championship, Harper had to work for the race win. With little more than an hour left in the 10-hour race, he passed Catsburg for the lead through Turn 11 and never looked back.

“I was very fortunate that he got held up a little through the last corner and I was able to get a good run onto the start-finish straight and get it inside for Turn 1. We had some great wheel-to-wheel action through the esses. He was very fair to me, and I was equally fair to him.”

Sims added, “It’s incredibly intense here at Petit Le Mans every single time I do it. But it’s so thrilling. The track is just amazing, such a nice sequence of corners and so many cars. All the traffic and the shenanigans in the race keep you on your toes.

"Our Corvette has been working well at many of the circuits, if not all of them. Although we haven't necessarily always had the fastest car, it's been a really nice car to drive -- consistent and easy to extract the pace out of it. When third or fourth is the best possible result you can get, then that's what we got. ... It's just been a really nice, smooth year."

DragonSpeed, Corvette Racing’s closest rivals in the GTD PRO championship, was in contention for most of the race before its luck ran out in the waning hours. Between a penalty and contact with another car, the No. 81 Ferrari 296 GT3 fell to seventh at the finish for the trio of title contender Albert Costa and co-drivers Giacomo Altoe and Davide Rigon. Costa finished second in the championship.

The victory for BMW also clinched the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup championship for the No. 48 BMW over its Paul Miller Racing sister car, the No. 1 BMW M4 GT3 EVO co-driven by Madison Snow, Neil Verhagen and De Phillippi.

GTD: Winward Takes Title as Af Corse Wins Race

The season championship in Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) took only minutes to decide. Deciding the winner of the race took all 10 hours.

Russell Ward and Philip Ellis clinched the championship shortly after the green flag waved, securing the points title in the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, the team’s second championship in two years. They also clinched the manufacturer’s championship for Mercedes-AMG, made all the more challenging by being the brand’s only full-season entrant.

“This year was a little bit more difficult,” Ward said. “We didn’t have two full-season entities in Mercedes-AMG, so to bring that home in the final race is a really nice carrot on top of the cake. Just an awesome day for us.” 

While Ward, Ellis and Indy Dontje were enjoying the championship, Af Corse was claiming the race win with its No. 21 Ferrari 296 GT3 co-driven by Simon Mann, Alessandro Pier Guidi and Lilou Wadoux, who became just the third woman to win at Petit Le Mans and the first in 20 years.

“It’s pretty difficult to win here,” Wadoux said. “It’s proper racing until the end of the race. It’s a nice victory, and I’m happy to achieve this with the team. It’s nice to finish like this.”

The No. 21 Ferrari also captured the Michelin Endurance Cup in GTD.

Pier Guidi crossed the finish line 4.158 seconds ahead of the No. 023 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 co-driven by James Calado, Kenton Koch and Onofrio Triarsi. Koch persevered through an ankle injury that forced him to shift to right-foot braking for the first time in more than a dozen years.

Jack Hawksworth finished third in the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3 he shared with Frankie Montecalvo and Parker Thompson.

The race opened with a first-lap pileup that took out several contenders in the GTD class. As Manny Franco spun in the No. 34 Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GT3, he was struck by the No. 70 Inception Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 driven by Brendan Iribe. The crash also collected Joey Hand in the No. 66 Gradient Racing Ford Mustang GT3, Trent Hindman in the No. 45 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2, and John Potter in the No. 44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo.

All except Franco were evaluated and released on site, with Franco back in “good spirits” after returning back to his Conquest Racing team later in the race after being transported to a local hospital for further evaluation.

With the season complete, the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship launches with the 64th Rolex 24 At Daytona on January 24-25, 2026.

Results are HERE