As in 2009, a red flag interrupted the race for more than a full hour, but unlike in 2009, the race did resume. Weather conditions played a role as dusk rolled in, so the race direction brought out the checkered flag for safety reasons with a little more than two hours left in the race.

The decision allowed Porsche to make history by bringing a GT to victory for the first time at Petit Le Mans. This success has earned the German manufacturer the three titles (Drivers, Teams, Constructors) in the GTLM class of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, and scored Nick Tandy another overall win after the one at Le Mans. If at the 24 Hours the Brit was a contender since he was at the wheel of a Porsche 919 Hybrid entered in the head class, in Georgia it was a real Hail Mary since the No. 911 Porsche 911 he shared with Patrick Pilet - the new champion - started from the back of the grid following a non-compliant body height noticed during the post-qualifying verifications.

Nick Tandy ( No. 911 GTLM Porsche 911 RSR): “We were concentrating so much on our own battle and against BMW and Corvette, its been such a good year’s racing. The fact that we were a lot of time the fastest cars on track, so by racing against each other, naturally we had to race against the prototypes. So when they were in our way we had to race against us. It was a case of just pulling ahead of the rest, but we ended up winning overall, so it was fantastic. The opening stint opened our eyes to the fact that we could actually be fighting for the overall victory, the fact we came from the back of the field to I think we were running 2nd on pure pace. To be honest, the first 2 hours were the best conditions we had. We had consistent rain, but very little running water. Clearly towards the end, it dried out a little more and our pace compared to the other classes and the BMW and Corvettes came back. It was a race of 2 halves really.”

Despite the win, Tandy did not clinch the title since he did not compete in all the races like his teammate Patrick Pilet did, and as a result Pilet is now the one and only champion (Richard Lietz, included on the entry list, did not take the wheel). To hope to win the title, the French driver absolutely had to finish ahead of the No. 25 BMW Z4 of Bill Auberlen and Dirk Werner. They crossed the finish line in eighth place overall and fourth in the GTLM class, and in so doing left the title to the official Porsche driver - who incidentally just won his first overall win at a major endurance race.

Patrick Pilet (No. 911 GTLM Porsche 911 RSR): “The title means a lot. It’s a lot of work, especially since I was with Porche since 2008, its really a championship I love. It’s a fight with Corvette and BMWs, and all the manufactures really push us. The team works so hard to improve the car, we had a really bad thing in the beginning of the season, and we just improved the car, improved everything. It’s just, I’m so happy now, just trying to enjoy the moment, and looking backward to what we have achieved, it’s really amazing.”

Team RLL's second BMW - driven by Lucas Luhr, John Edwards and Jens Klingmann - also made history as the overall runner-up to the Porsche, while João Barbosa, Christian Fittipaldi and Sébastien Bourdais, victorious at the 12 Hours of Sebring this year and at the 2014 Rolex 24 at Daytona, rounded out the podium and won in the Prototypes class with Action Express Racing's No. 5 Corvette DP. This third step on the podium allowed the first two to win the Drivers and Teams titles in the class, with their main rivals Richard Westbrook and Michael Valiante - supported for the race by Mike Rockenfeller, winner at the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans - finishing deep in the standings after several off-track excursions.

The title champions in the PC class, Jon Bennett and Colin Braun, finished fourth in the class, but their 12-point lead over their closest pursuers, Mike Guasch and Tom Kimber-Smith, allowed them to retain the lead and win the title despite the victory for Guash and Kimber-Smith supported by Andrew Palmer.

Fourth place in the class that was won by Spencer Pumpelly, Patrick Lindsey and Madison Snow (No. 73 Porsche 911), also for the trio Jeff Segal, Townsend Bell, Bill Sweedler and Scuderia Corsa's No. 63 Ferrari 458 Italia in GTD after the third step on the podium in the LM GTE Am class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. The support of Jeff Segal, like at Le Mans, paid off since Townsend Bell and Bill Sweedler won the title in the class, denying Christina Nielsen the crown.

The female Danish driver will now have to wait a year before again attempting to become the first woman to win a major endurance championship title. But it won't be in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, instead the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the IMSA-governed championship changing its name to the new sponsor in 2016.

Cécile Bonardel / ACO - Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO

Photo: Copyright - Michael L. Levitt / IMSA

PHOTO: BRASELTON (GEORGIA, U.S.), ROAD ATLANTA, TUSC, PETIT LE MANS, SATURDAY OCTOBER 3 2015, RACE.