IMSA WEATHERTECH SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP: MOTUL PETIT LE MANS

October 3, 2026

George Kurtz

Alex Quinn

Toby Sowery

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We're pleased to be joined by our LMP2 winners here as well as our 2026 WeatherTech Championship champions.

Alex, winning the race, winning the championship, doing it that way, does it mean more?

ALEX QUINN: Yeah, probably does mean more. Said to a few people, we're so happy, relieved in some ways to win the championship. Forgot we won the race totally. When you realize you do it, it does make it extra special.

Such a unique race, intense race, especially this one, the way it all panned out. An amazing day. Rounds off an amazing year.

THE MODERATOR: George, obviously you get the Le Mans entry as part of all this. Put all this together. Have you had a better day in racing?

ALEX QUINN: He's had a lot of good days (smiling).

GEORGE KURTZ: This is incredibly special because it was really a team effort. My co-drivers were phenomenal. Team gave us a great car. There was so much adversity we had to overcome for the entire season, but obviously this race. It was up and down, up and down. It really was a shootout with the 43.

From my perspective, this is probably one of the best seasons I've ever had with all the wins up and down the board, to crown it with the championship.

We've come so close. In '23 we lost by a point in the championship. We were close at Daytona in '23. This year we won Daytona, won this. For me it's a year of redemption.

THE MODERATOR: Toby, helping the team to what they did to win the championship, talk about that.

TOBY SOWERY: I played my part, when the racers allowed me to. A pleasure to share the car with these two. George is one of the best drivers on the planet. Alex is one of the best prototype drivers out there as well.

To fit in a team that has high-level performances is truly a pleasure. Brings the better side out of me and the team.

To win how we did shows the level we're performing at. LMP2 sometimes it's overlooked. For me it's some of the best racing in IMSA. It's definitely the toughest.

To be able to win Daytona as a team, like George said, the championship and Petit Le Mans as well is pretty special in a season.

THE MODERATOR: We'll start with questions.

Q. Toby, the word 'Herculean' comes to mind during the rain when you stayed out on the slicks. What was the mindset in you staying out on the slicks during the rain?

TOBY SOWERY: Oh, shit, don't crash, I guess (smiling).

The teams have a lot of good guys that sit on the pit wall. If they say the call is slicks, I trust them. Obviously they trust the input that I give back.

It was about a 50/50 call. Could have gone one way or the other. I think we gave the brave choice, the option today, and that paid off for us.

Whether or not it would have dictated any positions in the race, I don't really know. To be able to go out there and kind of show that we're still as quick as the other P2s on wet tires was quite fun.

First few laps were pretty sketchy. To know you have two or three drivers on wets trying to get past you in turn one isn't easy, but it's part of racing. We're not here to make friends, we're here to fight for positions.

I had a good time. Didn't make any mistakes, thankfully, and brought the car back. Being English, we're used to that sketchy weather.

Q. Alex, can you talk me through the incident with Tom and then what was going through your mind with the damaged car, coming back from a lap down, the range of emotions there?

ALEX QUINN: I mean, the whole race, not just that incident, was pretty chaotic. It always is here. In the beginning it didn't seem like things were going our way. Of course, yeah, we got back in it.

I was going to follow up on Toby's questions because I think Toby really deserves a huge amount of credit. Not necessarily because he didn't do the full season, he doesn't get the full credit, and that's not fair in my opinion. I think he's an amazing driver and deserves to be, like me and George, crowned the champion.

That incident with Tommy, that was tricky. We had damage on the car. I guess it's a chance to thank the team because they repaired it insanely quickly, kept us actually on the lead lap, and in some ways it maybe helped us because a fuel advantage, the next yellow came, we cycled back to the front. Tom got a penalty for it. That switched the positions.

Yeah, I was frustrated at the time, but that's actually when I done a lot of my best laps during the race (smiling). I guess everything happens for a reason. In the end it all worked out.

Q. Is that kind of the beauty of endurance racing, when you do have a setback early or late in the race, you can fight back and take the trophy?

ALEX QUINN: Yeah, 100%. I said it before and I say it again, we're so lucky to have this team behind us. We've got some fantastic engineers. Without a doubt the engineering in this team is spectacular. The calmness they have, the strategic brains that they have, is very impressive.

In times like that, we also had a similar case in Road America where we fell back quite late in the race, but they got us back in the race quite quickly. In some ways it makes our life easy. It's just very nice to have them behind us.

Q. George, talk about the championship itself, winning this championship. That's a new thing for you. What does that mean?

GEORGE KURTZ: Well, it's been elusive. I think it's just sort of a crowning achievement. We talked about the level of the drivers in IMSA just in general. When you look up and down the P2 lineup, it's stacked. You have great drivers, some of the best literally in the world.

You have arguably a spec car and you have incredible professional drivers. I think 'Herculean' understates what this guy did in the rain. I mean, it was crazy.

To be able to put it all on the line in a one-race shootout that had so many ups and downs, to actually have it all fall into place to get the win and the championship after so much hard work that we put in, the team put in, it's a lifelong dream.

I've won other championships in other series, but to win an IMSA championship is a crowning achievement for me, and the rest of the team as well.

THE MODERATOR: Gentlemen, we'll let you resume your celebration. Congratulations.