 | |
 | |
| IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship | |
|---|---|
| Venue | Road Atlanta |
| Corporate sponsor | Motul |
| First race | 1998 |
| First USCC race | 2014 |
| Laps | 394 |
| Duration | 1998–2013: 1,000 miles (1,600 km) or 10 hours[a] 2014–present: 10 hours |
| Most wins (driver) | Rinaldo Capello (5) |
| Most wins (team) | Audi Sport North America (6) |
| Most wins (manufacturer) | Audi (9) |
Petit Le Mans (French for Little Le Mans) is a sports car endurance race held annually at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, United States. The race has been held for a duration of 10 hours since 2014, having previously been held for either 1,000 miles (1,600 km) or 10 hours, whichever came first.[1][2] In addition to the overall race, teams compete for class victories in different categories, divided into prototypes and grand tourers.
The race was founded by Road Atlanta owner Don Panoz to bring the rules and spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans to North America. The success of the inaugural event in 1998, held as part of the IMSA season with a special one-off format, led to the creation of the American Le Mans Series in 1999 with a similar formula. Petit Le Mans was a flagship event for the ALMS, which became the most prominent top-class sports car racing series during the 2000s. The 2010 and 2011 editions were also part of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, the precursor of the World Endurance Championship. Since 2014 the race has been one of the crown jewel events of the IMSA SportsCar Championship. Class winners of the event originally received an automatic invitation to the following year's 24 Hours of Le Mans, however this was removed in 2012.
The race is regarded as one of the major endurance races in the world and is among the biggest sports car races in North America alongside the 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring.[3][4] Rinaldo Capello holds the record of most race wins, having won in 2000, 2002, 2006, 2007 and 2008.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
- ^ "IMSA | TUDOR United SportsCar Championship | Petit le Mans". IMSA.com. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
- ^ Dagys, John. "Sportscar365 su Twitter: "#DidYouKnow that the Petit le Mans is no longer a 1,000-mile race? It's 10 hours, not 1,000-mile/10-hour (Whichever came first)."". Twitter.com. Archived from the original on 2015-01-29. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
- ^ "24 Hours of Le Mans and Petit Le Mans | A French connection in the U.S." 24h-lemans.com. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
- ^ Staff, Sportscar365 (2014-10-01). "Scrogham (GB Autosport): "I've Seen Petit Le Mans Change Over Time" – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)