Mercedes-AMG secures all six GTD championships

• Winward Racing wins GTD drivers’ and team titles at the IMSA finale at Road Atlanta
• Mercedes-AMG had clinched the GTD manufacturers’ championships early
• Stefan Wendl: “The Mercedes-AMG GT3 has also impressed with good results on difficult race weekends.”

Mercedes-AMG has concluded its most successful Customer Racing season to date in the North American IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (WTSCC) with a total of six out of six possible championships. At the Motul Petit Le Mans, the season finale at Road Atlanta, Indy Dontje (NED), Philip Ellis (SUI) and Russell Ward (USA) from Winward Racing finished eighth in the GTD classification last weekend. This result was enough to win the drivers’ and team championships in their class in both the overall and endurance classifications. The GTD manufacturers’ championships for Mercedes-AMG in the overall standings and in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup had already been decided before the final weekend.

Motul Petit Le Mans: Eighth place in class and four championships for Winward Racing
With a 222-point lead, Winward Racing arrived at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in the US state of Georgia as the clear favourite for the remaining GTD championships. As in all IMSA endurance races this season, Indy Dontje teamed up with Philip Ellis and Russell Ward to complete the line-up. Korthoff/Preston Motorsports and Lone Star Racing also entered one Mercedes-AMG GT3 each in the 19-car GTD class. After the #57 car of Winward Racing ran consistently in the top five during the first four hours of the race, the team then dropped back following a puncture and ultimately finished the race in eighth position in the GTD classification after 410 laps.

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As a result, Winward Racing successfully clinched the first GTD drivers’ and team championships for Mercedes-AMG with a 230-point lead. The German-Texan team with Dontje, Ellis and Ward therefore won both classifications in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup as well. Together with the prematurely secured manufacturers’ championships, all six GTD titles went to Affalterbach. Mercedes-AMG had already won all three GTD championships in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup in 2023.

The Korthoff/Preston Motorsports team with Mikaël Grenier (CAN), Kenton Koch (USA) and Mike Skeen initially finished fourth in the GTD class, but was relegated to the back of the field due to a tyre pressure issue during scrutineering after the race. Scott Andrews (AUS), Rui Pinto de Andrade (ANG) and Salih Yoluc (TUR) from Lone Star Racing started from pole position. Pole-sitter Andrews initially set the pace in the race as well, but his Mercedes-AMG GT3 came to a brief halt in the gravel trap of turn five after 15 laps. He subsequently dropped to the back of the field. Lone Star Racing ultimately finished tenth in their class at the Motul Petit Le Mans.

Five GTD victories from ten races: Historically successful IMSA season for Mercedes-AMG
The foundations for Mercedes-AMG’s most successful season to date in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship were laid by the Customer Racing Teams at the traditional season opener, the prestigious Rolex 24 At Daytona in January. There, Winward Racing with Philip Ellis, Indy Dontje, Daniel Morad (CAN) and Russell Ward took the first of four wins of the season in the high-calibre GT3 classification. The #57 Mercedes-AMG GT3 then went on to win its class at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, at Laguna Seca and at Watkins Glen. Mikaël Grenier, Kenton Koch and Mike Skeen from Korthoff/Preston Motorsports scored the fifth win of the season for Mercedes-AMG at the Virginia International Raceway, celebrating the teams’ maiden GTD victory. In total, Mercedes-AMG claimed five victories, four further podium finishes and three pole positions in the 2024 season.

This year’s IMSA champions were presented with their awards on Sunday evening as part of the official end-of-season celebration, the WeatherTech Night of Champions. The banquet took place not far from the race track at the Chateau Elan in Braselton.

Mercedes-AMG statistics in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship