2019 Petit Le Mans

Petit Le Mans is the culmination of the automotive spirit. It’s a singular event where any and all who possess a single ounce of octane in their system come together as one body, mind and spirit. The endurance race actually takes a back road to the atmosphere that Michelin Road Atlanta provides. Laughter, happiness and elation fills the weekend before the daily trudge of life batters you on the following Monday. A quick shoutout and thanks to Chevrolet for providing the opportunity for us to partake in the festivities this year.

The weekend saw Felipe Nasr and Co take the overall win in their Whelen Cadillac DPi with Caddy sweeping the front two spots on the podium. Acura poised a strong third place finish with Castroneves piloting the #7 ELS Studio machine.

GTLM (my personal favorite) saw a vicious battle but the Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 piloted by Daniel Serra took the win with Ryan Briscoe’s Chip Ganassi Ford GT and Conner De Phillippi BMW M8 rounding out the top 3. Chevrolet marked the end of an era with the last race for the dearly beloved C7R placing 4th.

The C7R will be replaced next year with the C8R but let’s take a quick look back on stats of the C7R. Built by Pratt & Miller the C7R had to be a fierce competitor to take up the mantle of the well regarded C6R. Officially debuting in 2014 the C7R racked up 4 wins in its first full year of racing. The very next year the C7R had wins at the prestigious Rolex 24 of Daytona and the 12 hours of Sebring…along with the cherry on top…a win at the 24 hours of Le Mans in 2015. Overall the C7R completed in 65 races winning 16 of them and gaining 2 Constructor’s Championships and Driver’s Championship.

The C7R will be sorely missed but we are ALL looking forward to the dominance of the new C8R when it debuts next year!