Now, that is a peculiar way to win a championship. As Motorsport.com reports, Jack Aitken officially captured his first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP drivers’ title the absolute second his Action Express Racing machine saw the green flag at Petit Le Mans.
Having built up an unassailable 151-point advantage during qualifying, simply starting the season-ending 10-hour classic guaranteed the Briton and his co-drivers Earl Bamber and Frederik Vesti the points needed for 11th place in the GTP standings. That mathematical reality meant Porsche rival Laurin Heinrich was locked out before a single corner had been negotiated in anger. It made for an understandably surreal atmosphere in the garage.
"Yeah, a bit of a relief, it's been a long time coming. We've had a fantastic year. And to do it before the race got underway, it's a bit of a strange feeling," Aitken said. "You've definitely got one eye on the race start, and the other was just hoping that the car started and got out of pit lane, which of course it did."
It is a massive milestone for Aitken, breaking a decade-long championship drought that stretches back to his double Formula Renault 2.0 titles and Pro Mazda single-seater successes in 2015. More impressively, he stands as the first solo drivers’ champion in IMSA’s premier class since Jörg Bergmeister took the Rolex Sports Car Series crown in 2006, and the first in the broader American Le Mans Series lineage since Tom Kristensen managed it in the LMP900 class way back in 2002.
Despite having the main prize safely tucked away, the mindset inside the #31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R camp did not shift toward a lazy Sunday cruise. The season has been defined by ruthless consistency—podium finishes in seven of the first eight races—and Aitken made it clear they still wanted the actual race win.
Of course, Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta decided to throw everything at the field. Treacherous track conditions, endless caution periods, and a full red flag for miserable weather in the fourth hour turned the endurance test into a survival of the fittest. Yet through the chaos, the newly minted champion was simply keeping his head down, sharing the load with Bamber and Vesti while waiting for the final-hour sprint where the gloves come off.
