IMSA final 2021 points standings, results from Petit Le Mans

IMSA points, results Petit Le Mans: The 2021 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship concluded at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, where there were two happy farewells.

Harry Tincknell won in Mazda’s last start in the DPi class, completing 410 laps on the road course over 10 hours and finishing 3.29 seconds ahead of Felipe Nasr.

Tincknell and co-drivers Oliver Jarvis and Jonathan Bomarito rebounded after the Mazda fell multiple laps down with early mechanical woes.

“At the start of the program, we were spraying fire extinguishers at it,” Tincknell said. “Now we’re spraying champagne at it after one of the biggest races in the world.”

RESULTS: Click here for the finishing order at Petit Le Mans l Results by class

Capturing the DPi championship in his final start for Action Express’ No. 31 Cadillac, Nasr survived a spirited charge and daring off-road excursion in the final turn by third-place finisher Ricky Taylor (whose No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura needed to finish ahead of Action Express to win the title).

“I knew he was going to try to make a last-minute move, but that was a little too wild,” Nasr said of Taylor. “All the way to the gravel and then coming across the track. If there was grass there, he could have just continued. He had to go through the gravel, and then I had to drive to take the position back.

“Maybe it was a little too much, but I get it. He’s a racer, too. He’s got to try something. It came down to the last corner after 10 hours of racing,” Nasr said. “I said to the team, ‘Why does it have to be so hard? What a day. What a day!’ ”

OTHER CLASS WINNERS:

LMP2: The No. 8 Tower Motorsport ORECA LMP2 07 of John Farano, Gabriel Aubry and James French was declared the winner when the No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA received a postrace penalty for an unserved pit-lane drive-through — punishment for a late collision.

LMP3: The No. 74 Riley Motorsports Ligier JS P320 of Gar Robinson, Felipe Fraga and Scott Andrews finished a lap ahead of second in clinching the championship.

GTLM: The WeatherTech Racing Porsche 911 RSR-19s swept the top two spots in the final race for the division.

GTD: The No. 23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin outdueled the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche (which won the title).

POINTS

After the final round of the 2021 season, here are the champions in each division:

DPi: Felipe Nasr and Pipo Derani

LMP2: Ben Keating and Mikkel Jensen

LMP3: Gar Robinson, Riley Motorsports

GTLM: Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor

GTD: Zacharie Robichon and Laurens Vanthoor

Click here for the unofficial standings after Motul Petit Le Mans.

STATS PACKAGE FOR THE MOTUL PETIT LE MANS AT ROAD ATLANTA:

Fastest laps by driver

Fastest laps by driver after race (over the weekend)

Fastest laps by driver and class after race

Race distance and speed average

Time cards

Pit stop time cards

ROUND 1: Points and results from the Rolex 24 at Daytona

ROUND 2: Points and results from the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring

ROUND 3: Points and results from Mid-Ohio

ROUND 4: Points and results from Detroit

ROUND 5: Points and results from the Sahlen’s Six Hours at The Glen

ROUND 6: Points and results from Watkins Glen WeatherTech 240

ROUND 7: Points and results from Lime Rock Park

ROUND 8: Points and results from IMSA SportsCar Weekend at Road America

ROUND 9: Points and results from IMSA SportsCar Weekend at Laguna Seca

ROUND 10: Points and results from the IMSA Grand Prix of Long Beach

ROUND 11: Points and results from Virginia International Raceway

NEXT: The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will begin the 2022 season Jan. 29-30 with the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway.

Ryan Hunter-Reay was named to replace Conor Daly in Ed Carpenter Racing’s No. 20 Dallara-Chevrolet, starting in the NTT IndyCar Series event next week at Road America.

Hunter-Reay is the 2012 series champion and 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner. He finished 11th for Dreyer & Reinbold last month in the 107th Indy 500, his first start since the 2021 season finale. He drove full time for Andretti Autosport from 2010-21.

“We need to improve our competitiveness and I wanted to add a fresh perspective from a driver like Ryan who has a massive amount of experience and success as well as a reputation as a team leader. I am excited to welcome Ryan to the team,” team owner Ed Carpenter said in a team release. “We have worked together in the past as teammates and he tested for ECR at Barber Motorsports Park in October 2021, where he made an immediate impact as we were able to qualify one of our cars on the pole following that test. I am confident that his experience and technical abilities will be an asset to ECR as we move forward toward our goals as a team.”

Hunter-Reay has 18 IndyCar victories, most recently in 2018. He also is a winner in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, having been a part of winning entries in the 2020 Twelve Hours of Sebring and 2018 Petit Le Mans. Last year, he was an endurance driver for Cadillac Racing while being on standby for Chip Ganassi Racing.

He replaces Daly, whose departure was announced a day earlier in what the driver and team said was a mutual decision.

“I was surprised when I got the call from Ed,” Hunter-Reay said in a team release. “He described how frustrated he was that his team has not been able to realize its potential despite their efforts, investments, as well as technical and personnel changes over the past few years and asked for my help. Ed and I are very close friends and have been for a long time. I’ve worked with the team in the past and they are a very talented group with high expectations and a committed partner in BITNILE.COM.

“This will certainly be a challenge for me as well. It’s a tough situation jumping in a car in the middle of the season without any testing in what I believe to be the most competitive series in the world. Certainly, part of my motivation in saying ‘yes’ to Ed is the great challenge ahead. The last time I turned right driving an NTT IndyCar Series car was in October of 2021 with this team at Barber. However, I remain very confident in both my driving and technical abilities and believe by working with the talented people at ECR and Team Chevy, while representing BITNILE.COM, we will make progress. I am going to do everything I can do to help the team achieve its long-term objectives.”

Said Milton “Todd” Ault, the chairman of sponsor BitNile.com: “It is great for BitNile.com to be aligned with an Indy 500 Winner and an NTT IndyCar Series champion. I have followed Ryan’s career for years and I am confident he will challenge the entire ECR team to perform at higher levels. I wish everyone luck at Road America.”

Final IMSA 2021 results, points standings after Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta

Ryan Hunter-Reay hired as replacement for Conor Daly at Ed Carpenter Racing