Carnage, carnage, and more carnage ensured drama was the dominating theme for the 20th edition of Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, where IndyCar-bound Kiwi Brendon Hartley, Scott Sharp, and Ryan Dalziel captured the overall victory in the No. 2 Tequila Patron ESM Nissan Onroak DPi.

The 10-hour rollercoaster ride, which produced more than a dozen caution periods and 2h52m of time behind the pace car, saw the lead change hands three times in the last 20 minutes. A pair of driving infractions, one more controversial than the other, took Pipo Derani out of first place in the sister No. 22 Nissan and then ripped Action Express Racing’s Filipe Albuquerque out of the lead in his No. 5 Cadillac DPi-V.R to pay a visit to IMSA’s penalty box.

Holding second on the final restart, Albuquerque’s was assessed a stop-plus 60-second hold for blocking his AXR teammate Dane Cameron entering the front straight; Cameron found himself on the grass due to the egregious block, but the car was undamaged.

Moments later, Derani – with a healthy gap and no significant pressure from behind – dived down the inside of Ford Chip Ganassi Racing’s Ryan Briscoe, which created contact that led to the Ford GT sliding off track where it backed into the barrier and incurred heavy damage. For his transgression, Derani was assessed a drive-through (but no stop) that dropped the No. 22 Nissan to fourth at the finish. Briscoe, running third in GTLM at the time, fell to eighth in class.

After the race, IMSA Race Director Beaux Barfield told RACER the malicious intent behind Albuquerque’s move on Cameron warranted a stiffer penalty than what Derani deserved for his part in the Ford crash.

Initially refusing to serve the penalty, Albuquerque stayed out and inherited the lead when Derani pulled in to serve his. As the clock wound down to its last 12 minutes, the AXR driver pitted to pay his fine, which gave the lead to Hartley who ensured both Nissan DPis scored a pair of wins in the last three races.

Without the Briscoe incident, Derani would have won with ease, but team co-owner/driver Sharp was proud nonetheless at the spirited outcome that resulted in a trip to Victory Lane.

“It was an up-and-down day for both cars,” he said. “We had a few issues with the alternator, had to reset the car, [but] it was the 22 car’s race to win and Pipo got a black flag, which I’m not sure he deserved.”

Dalziel was happy for the team and happy to earn his first win with the program.

“I’ve been with Patron for four years and not managed to finish one off,” he said. “Today, it was the 2 and the 22 car’s day. We had a lot of attrition and came back fighting.”

With Derani and Albuquerque out of the way, Cameron crossed the line in second in his farewell drive for AXR and Team Penske’s Juan Pablo Montoya secured the last podium spot on the team’s IMSA debut as he chased his 2018 teammate home in the No. 6 ORECA 07-Gibson.

The only class with a consistent performance that resulted in victory came in GT Le Mans, with Alexander Sims and Bill Auberlen, who was celebrating his 400th start with BMW in style. The No. 25 BMW Team RLL M6 GTLM held the lead in the final hours and gave the big twin-turbo V8-powered coupe a proper farewell – it will be replaced by the M8 in 2018 – as Auberlen celebrated his anniversary by spraying champagne.

“I’m the most fortunate person in the world; it’s been a privilege to drive for BMW for 21 years and to win on my 400th start,” said Auberlen, whose rear wing bore a “Bill Power” logo in his honor for the event. “I’m so thankful and so lucky.”

Co-driver Kuno Wittmer was elated to share the moment with Auberlen, who recorded his 151st professional race win.

“The boys, they performed to perfection,” said the French-Canadian. “I’m co-driving with a legend. And Alex at the end – a ball of talent. It’s a great victory.”

New GTLM champions Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen took second in their No. 3 Corvette Racing C7.R and the podium was completed by Risi Competizione’s Toni Vilander, whose No. 62 Ferrari 488 GTE took pole but dealt with adversity on the way to finishing 15 seconds behind the BMW.

One giant upset was recorded Saturday night as the Montaplast by Land Motorsport team rocked the GT Daytona establishment by winning in the No. 29 Audi R8 LMS GT3. The German endurance racing team, which took second to open the season at Daytona, closed the year in fine form as Connor De Phillippi, Christopher Mies, and Sheldon van der Linde took down a number of heavy hitters on the way to the checkered flag.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” said Mies. “We came so close in Daytona. It’s an incredible effort. I’m very proud of the whole team.”

The finish was an inverse of the Daytona 1-2 that saw Alegra Motorsports win with its No. 28 Porsche 911 GT3 R; Alegra’s Michael Christensen took runner-up and Porsche legend Jorg Bergmeister secured third in his No. 73 911 GT3 R for Park Place Motorsports.

Repeat GTD champions Scuderia Corsa retired the No. 63 Ferrari 488 GT3 driven by back-to-back title winners Alessandro Balzan and Christina Nielsen, but the DNF did not impact their lead in the points race.

Highlighting the contest of attrition, IMSA’s last race for its PC class went to the indomitable BAR1 Motorsports team, which persevered after Performance Tech Motorsports won the first seven races and threw the eighth away in a needless crash.

“I gotta tell you, this is awesome,” said Jon Falb, who shared the winning No. 26 ORECA FLM09-Chevy with Tomy Drissi and Garrett Grist. “What a day we had. I love this car, I’m super pumped to see it off on a good note.”

Team owner Brian Alder was relieved to break Performance Tech’s streak.

“We’re glad we didn’t give them the broom to sweep the whole year,” he said. “We didn’t give up. This one’s for the crew.”

Documenting the outcome of the race was the easiest part of IMSA’s sendoff to 2017. Keeping track of the silliness and heartbreak that generated almost three hours of cautions, by comparison, was the real challenge.

Two separate incidents took place where trackside advertising hoardings were hit and driven a short distance while stuck to the front of the cars. PR1/Mathiasen’s Jose Gutierrez managed to drive straight into the tire barriers at Turn 5 with his Ligier JS P217 and lodge it, nose pointed sky high, at a 45-degree angle. Prototypes spun prototypes. GTs blatantly drove into GTs.

The race-leading Rebellion Racing ORECA 07-Gibson driven by Nick Heidfeld was taken out in a crash with Performance Tech’s Kyle Masson, who exited the pits in his PC car and clobbered the P2 car into submission. The tattered Rebellion car was finished where it ended up against the wall and Performance Tech’s chances at completing a perfect season by winning every PC race were dashed.

JDC-Miller Motorsports’ ORECA 07 had contact at Turn 10, spun and sat motionless, was missed by at least half a dozen, cars, and was then hit by Matt Bell in the Stevenson Motorsports Audi R8 LMS, which knocked the back of the P2 car’s bodywork off and damaged the German GT car to the point where it was immediately retired. It was a cruel closure for the team in its final event.

BMW’s No. 24 M6 GTLM was pushed to the paddock in the final hour trailing smoke. The No. 50 WeatherTech Racing Porsche was out first with a driveline failure. New Prototype champions Wayne Taylor Racing watched as its Cadillac DPi-V.R’s 6.2-liter V8 engine lost oil pressure and blew early in the event with Ryan Hunter-Reay behind the wheel. New co-champion Jordan Taylor didn’t get a chance to drive before the car was retired.

Montoya was fighting for second with Joao Barbosa with 80 minutes to go when the car jerked hard left on the back straight into the Lexus driven by Jack Hawksworth and struck the Briton’s right front with the prototype’s left rear. A broken rim on the ORECA and suspension damage to Hawksworth’s car sent both to pit lane. Only Montoya would emerge after the 3GT Racing crew signaled their day was done. Considering Team Penske president Tim Cindric’s son Austin shares the No. 15 Lexus with Hawksworth and Ian James, the Colombian’s mistake drew the ire of both Cindrics. Twenty minutes into the race, Penske’s Helio Castroneves was hit by the errant Matteo Cressoni in Scuderia Corsa’s Ferrari that damaged both cars.

The No. 912 Porsche 911 RSR caught fire during an early pit stop. Townsend Bell completed a heart-stopping spin coming down the hill across the start/finish line and continued. Mark Wilkins tried to make a pass on the outside of the esses and slammed the nose of his Acura NSX GT3 hard into the tire barriers.

Broken suspension and axles sidelined cars or caused laps to be lost. Electrical issues halted SunEnergy1 Racing’s Mercedes-AMG GT3. The second Acura NSX was retired due to “undetermined issues.” The driver’s door fell off Risi Competizione’s Ferrari during a pit stop. The Visit Florida Racing Ligier JS P217 went four hours with a misfire due to a malfunctioning alternator, only to fall silent with 25 minutes to go. And it’s entirely possible there’s another five or 10 issues and incidents that could be added to the list.

Despite the routine interruptions, the 20th Petit Le Mans was a non-stop thrill. The madness, with returning and incoming teams, drivers, and fresh opportunities, will start anew at Daytona in less than 120 days.

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