Tom Dillmann goes ‘max attack’ for IMSA LMP2 title at Petit Le Mans

The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s LMP2 title fight heads to Petit Le Mans separated by just four points.

Tom Dillmann and Jeremy Clarke (#43 Inter Europol Competition) lead Alex Quinn and George Kurtz (#04 CrowdStrike Racing) by just four points entering Saturday’s finale. Bijoy Garg and Toby Sowery completing the lineups for Inter Europol and CrowdStrike, respectively, for the 10-hour push, whichever car crosses the line ahead of the other will likely lock up the title.

While Daniel Goldburg (#22 United Autosports USA, 101 points back) and defending champions PJ Hyett and Dane Cameron (#99 AO Racing, 108 points back) remain mathematically alive, both need a top-two finish, qualifying points, and major trouble for both lead cars.

Dillmann plans ‘max attack’

For Dillmann, the 2024 LMP2 champion who has four wins and nine podiums in 19 series starts, the slim margin leaves no room to play defense.

“Yeah, it’s a new game, as we say, because four points is basically like zero,” Dillmann said. “So, whoever finishes in front will take the title. So, it’s a bit a different position than I was in in ’24 where I feel we could have only lost the championship with the gap we had. So, I think it was a bit more stressful in a way, in ’24. 

“Now I just go to this year, you know, max attack. We have to try to win the race, finish in front of all if you can. It’s very straightforward.”

Building a buffer in Friday qualifying

#43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA LMP2 07: Tom Dillmann, Bijoy Garg, Jeremy Clarke

Photo by: Brandon Badraoui / Lumen via Getty Images

The tactics begin Friday during qualifying, where valuable points offer an early advantage.

“Yeah, it’s actually a target on Friday night is to take six points out of CrowdStrike,” Dillmann said. “That would put us on 10 points and give us at least a one position buffer. So that’s the goal.”

That qualifying result would give Inter Europol enough of a margin to finish one position behind CrowdStrike in the race and remain ahead on points. Managing practice running is equally important as Road Atlanta transitions into darkness.

“In terms of running the weekend, it’s quite straightforward at Petit Le Mans,” Dillmann said. “The car basically needs to be good for the night, so it’s a bit like Sebring where it’s mostly dedicated to me driving and setting up the car for the night. Earlier in the heat of the day, we can focus on qualifying and more on Jeremy and Bijoy, so it works quite well with how the FPs are separated.”

Clarke, who has taken four Motul Pole Awards this season, has been key to that qualifying pace.

“He has been super strong, already from the middle of last season,” Dillmann said. “I think, as a team as well, we have improved qualifying, which is not something we focused on. We are very strong now in IMSA, but also in Europe. And yeah, I think he’s the fastest Bronze. It’s a tough fight. There are four or five guys very quick, fighting for pole within a couple tenths. It’s quite impressive. We’ve managed to take a lot of poles. Hopefully the same in Petit to give a bit of a buffer for the race.”

Strategic operations on pit wall

Strategist Nathan Toney and Team Principal Jakub “Kuba” Śmiechowski, who also occasionally co-drives, have played important roles in Inter Europol’s campaign.

“Yeah, Nathan has been key because he knows the IMSA rules very well, so it’s helping us a lot to adjust to things quickly,” Dillmann said. “Also on my car, we have since this year, a strategist which you might not know about, but it’s Kuba.

“He’s my co-driver in Le Mans. You know Kuba. And he has been very strong on that. And so, I think he played a key part as well. All four of our engineers have a very important role. And this year they delivered definitely.”

How Inter Europol recovered from Sebring

#43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA LMP2 07: Tom Dillmann, Jeremy Clarke

Photo by: Michael Tan

Inter Europol’s lead comes after recovering from an early-season alternator failure at Sebring, using victories at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and Road America, plus a strong showing at Indianapolis, to reclaim control.

“This year it has been a bit more up and down with a really bad result in Sebring. Very unlucky because we were the only car with issues. We even finished the race, but 20 laps down meant we were actually last… But yeah, we managed to catch that with some maximum points in Mosport and Road America, including pole positions. We’re a bit disappointed in Indy… but we still took 40 points over the weekend out of CrowdStrike and yeah, it’s better to have the championship in our own hands, going into the last race for sure.”

As next Saturday’s finale approaches, Dillmann also points to the team’s continuity as an advantage.

“Well, I have seen the confidence has been super high. We were really fast in Sebring. We won Le Mans. The confidence is very high. We have a quick car,” Dillmann said. “It’s now three years together for myself, two years and for Bijoy and Jeremy. So, (we have)  also the continuity, the same engineers. I knew we could win any races; finally, you know, everything went together. We know that every race we start, we are able to win. It just depends on what cards you are dealt with and also, you know, there’s always a part of a bit of luck in endurance.”

We want your opinion!

– The Motorsport.com Team

Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: motorsport.com