The Enduring Legacy of Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta

Nestled in the rolling hills of Braselton, Georgia, Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta has been a proving ground for speed, skill, and stamina since 1970. Its 2.54-mile, 12-turn layout, with its infamous esses and heart-stopping Turn 12 plunge, is a driver’s dream and a fan’s delight. But no event captures the track’s essence quite like Petit Le Mans, the 10-hour endurance classic that has defined American sports car racing for over a quarter-century. As we gear up for the 28th running on October 11, 2025—coinciding with Road Atlanta’s 50th anniversary—let’s take a lap through the history of this iconic race.

The Petit Le Mans story begins with Don Panoz, a visionary entrepreneur who purchased Road Atlanta in the mid-1990s when its star was fading. Determined to restore the track’s glory, Panoz looked to the 24 Hours of Le Mans for inspiration. Partnering with the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), he launched Petit Le Mans in 1998 as a 1,000-mile or 10-hour endurance race, mirroring Le Mans’ multi-class format. The debut was a spectacle: 31 cars, including Porsche’s Le Mans-winning 911 GT1, tore through the Georgia clay, with a dramatic backflip crash by a Porsche stealing headlines. The Panoz Esperante GTR-1 battled fiercely, and the event drew global attention, proving Road Atlanta was back.

That inaugural race wasn’t just a one-off—it sparked the creation of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) in 1999, with Petit as its crown jewel. The 1999 edition saw Panoz’s own LMP-1 Roadster S claim victory by a single lap over a BMW LMR, setting the stage for decades of fierce competition.

Petit Le Mans quickly became a must-watch event, blending European flair with American grit. The 2000s saw the ALMS flourish, with manufacturers like Audi, Porsche, Ferrari, and BMW duking it out in prototypes and GT classes. Road Atlanta’s challenging layout—elevation changes, blind corners, and high-speed straights—tested every nut and bolt. Memorable moments piled up: a Mercedes-Benz CLR’s triple somersault in 2000 echoed the track’s perilous past, while Porsche racked up a record 23 class wins, including a stunning 2015 overall victory by a 911 RSR in torrential rain, the first time a GT car took the top spot.

By 2008, crowds swelled to 113,000 over four days, drawn by the roar of LMP1 and LMP2 prototypes and the sleek beauty of GT3 machines. A 2007 repave smoothed the track and bolstered safety, making the esses even more thrilling for drivers and spectators alike. Petit’s prestige grew, offering automatic Le Mans entries for class winners, cementing its global status.

The race evolved with the sport. In 2014, the ALMS merged with Grand-Am to form the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and Petit Le Mans seamlessly transitioned as the season finale and a cornerstone of the Michelin Endurance Cup. The race settled into its 10-hour format, with classes like GTP (Grand Touring Prototype) and GTD (Grand Touring Daytona) showcasing cutting-edge tech from Acura, Porsche, Lamborghini, and more. Title sponsorships shifted—Motul took the helm in recent years—and the event became Georgia’s largest annual international sporting spectacle.

Ownership changes didn’t dim its shine. After Panoz sold Road Atlanta in the early 2010s, IMSA Holdings, LLC took over by 2024, aligning the track with the championship’s vision. The 2022 race, marking the 25th Petit, celebrated nearly 9,300 lead laps logged since 1998. Last year’s 27th edition saw Porsche and Mercedes-AMG clinch manufacturers’ titles, with Porsche Penske Motorsport leading the charge.

Velocity Pro Sims will proudly take part in the iRacing Petit Le Mans, a virtual event that mirrors one of the most iconic endurance races in the world. Just as the real Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta stands as a symbol of grit, precision, and teamwork in motorsport, the iRacing version will carry the same weight in the sim racing community. For VPS, the race won’t just be about competition—it will be about representing the spirit of endurance, strategy, and collaboration that defines both real and virtual racing. Taking part in this event will place VPS shoulder to shoulder with a global community of racers who see the Petit Le Mans as more than just a race, but as a tradition that connects the digital and physical worlds of motorsport.