The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is boiling down to an absolute knife-edge in the LMP2 class. As Motorsport.com reports, just four points separate the top two contenders as the paddock descends on Road Atlanta for the 10-hour Petit Le Mans finale. It is a straight fight for the crown, where whoever crosses the finish line ahead of their rival will likely take the ultimate prize.
At the center of it all is Tom Dillmann, sharing the #43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA LMP2 07 machine alongside Jeremy Clarke, Bijoy Garg, and Antonio Felix da Costa. Dillmann and Clarke hold a wafer-thin advantage over the #04 CrowdStrike Racing lineup of Alex Quinn and George Kurtz, with Toby Sowery rounding out the CrowdStrike squad for the grueling endurance test. While Daniel Goldburg of United Autosports USA sits 101 points back and defending champions PJ Hyett and Dane Cameron of AO Racing trail by 108 points, both crews remain mathematically alive. However, they need a top-two finish, maximum qualifying points, and total disaster for the two leading cars to steal the title.
For Dillmann, the 2024 LMP2 champion boasting four wins and nine podiums from his 19 series starts, playing it safe is completely off the table. Reflecting on the situation, Dillmann explained that four points is basically zero, meaning whoever finishes in front takes the championship. Unlike his 2024 title fight where he had a comfortable cushion and felt more stress trying not to lose it, this year demands a completely different mindset. Straightforward and relentless, the plan is maximum attack to try and win the race outright.
The pressure cooker starts immediately with Friday qualifying, where securing a six-point swing over CrowdStrike is the primary target. Achieving that goal would vault the team to a 10-point advantage, creating a vital one-position buffer for the race itself. That means Inter Europol could afford to finish one spot behind CrowdStrike on Saturday and still cling to the championship lead. Preparations have been carefully split, with earlier practice sessions in the heat of the day focusing on qualifying pace through Clarke and Garg, while Dillmann shoulders the night running to dial in the car for darkness at Road Atlanta.
Clarke has proven to be a devastating weapon in time trials, racking up four Motul Pole Awards this season. Dillmann praised his co-driver's incredible speed, noting that he is operating as the fastest Bronze-rated driver in a fiercely competitive field where multiple cars are split by mere tenths of a second. That qualifying prowess has been matched on the operational side, with strategist Nathan Toney navigating the complex IMSA rulebook and Team Principal Jakub “Kuba” Śmiechowski stepping up as a dedicated strategist for the car while also serving as Dillmann's co-driver at Le Mans.
Getting to this point has required a massive recovery after a disastrous start to the year. An early alternator failure at Sebring dropped the team 20 laps down to last place, but resilient victories at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and Road America—alongside strong points at Indianapolis—completely swung the momentum back in their favor. With three years of continuity for Dillmann, two years for Garg and Jeremy, and stability among the engineering staff, the #43 squad enters the finale knowing their speed is genuine. Now, it comes down to executing the plan when the lights go out.
