Corvette Wins Prototype Title In Daytona Prototype FinalePR1/Mathiasen Wins In PC, Starworks Takes Title By Tie-BreakerOlivier Pla held off Pipo Derani in a battle of Honda-powered Ligiers to win Saturday’s Petit Le Mans presented by Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort, while Corvette Daytona Prototype drivers Dane Cameron and Eric Curran captured the 2016 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with a fourth-place finish.“It was a dream weekend from the beginning,” said Pla, who won his second TOTAL Pole Award in Friday’s qualifying session. “I had a really good feeling and sometimes it works. I always go for it, but I really wanted this one.”Pla was joined by Ozz Negri and John Pew in the No. 60 Michael Shank Racing Curb Records/AERO Honda Ligier JS P2, leading 230 of the 412 laps in their second victory of the season. After 10 hours of competition, Pla beat Derani to the checkered flag by 3.524 seconds, stopping a late-race charge by the Daytona and Sebring-winning No. 2 Tequila Patrón ESM Honda Ligier JS P2 co-driven by Scott Sharp and Johannes van Overbeek.“I was catching him a little bit at the end, but unfortunately there were a few GT cars between us at the restart,” said Derani. “It was a great result for Ligier. We couldn’t do it this time, but congratulations to Ollie (Pla) and his team.”To celebrate its 250th Prototype race, Michael Shank Racing featured a red, white and blue livery on the No. 60 and invited spectators from the outstanding crowd to autograph the race car during the pre-race grid walk.The race also marked the final appearance of the Daytona Prototype, which has competed in North America since 2003. Brothers Ricky and Jordan Taylor, joined by Max Angelelli, finished third in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Corvette Daytona Prototype, taking the podium position from the championship-bound Curran and Cameron in the closing laps.“It felt like a real fight the whole year,” said Cameron, joined by Curran and recently crowned IndyCar champion Simon Pagenaud for the finale in the No. 31 Action Express Racing Whelen Corvette DP. “This is a very stressful race, there are a lot of things that go wrong.”PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Wins Prototype Challenge, Loses Title On TiebreakerPRI/Mathiasen Motorsports took its third Prototype Challenge (PC) victory of the season in the No. 52 Prisma/Professional Security Consultants/Westfield ORECA FLM09, with Robert Alon, Tom Kimber-Smith and Jose Gutierrez combining to lead all but 65 of the 404 circuits.“It’s great to end the season with a win,” Kimber-Smith said. “We’ve been consistently strong this season, we just had some bad luck at a couple of circuits. My teammate’s stints (Alon) were really impressive, he set the fastest lap of the race in our car. It’s amazing at how much he’s progressed in the last nine months.”James French, Kyle Marcelli and Kenton Koch finished second in the No. 38 Ric-Man Construction/ Children’s Miracle Network/NeuroSpine Institute ORECA. French needed a late pit stop for a splash of fuel with six minutes remaining, putting him 51 seconds behind the winners.Rolex 24 At Daytona PC winners Misha Goikhberg, Stephen Simpson and Chris Miller rounded out the podium, taking third in the No. 85 JDC-Miller Motorsports LaModerna/Hi-Tide Boat Lifts/Red Line Oil entry.While Starworks Motorsport parked its No. 8 ORECA with less than two hours remaining due to brake problems, a sixth-place finish was good enough for Alex Popow and Renger van der Zande to tie the race winners in the final standings with 355 points each. For the tiebreaker, the Starworks drivers took the championship due to winning four races.“It’s a sweet and sour feeling, because we wanted to win the race,” Popow said. “But a championship is a championship. It’s amazing for what we’ve done all year. We’ve fought a lot up until now. We won it this way, but racing is what it is.”For consolation, PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports and drivers Alon, Kimber-Smith and Jose Gutierrez took the championship in the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup, winning the team title while edging Kenton Koch for the driver’s title by one point.View full results via Al Kamel Systems at Results.IMSA.com.NOTEBOOKChristian Fittipaldi and Joao Barbosa lost out on a third consecutive Prototype title, but placed fifth in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Corvette DP co-driving with Filipe Albuquerque. The pair managed to edge the Tequila Patrón ESM team for the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup, 43-41.“Winning the third straight Patrón Cup was a great achievement,” Fittipaldi said. “We still finished second in the championship, which is not a bad accomplishment. Congratulations to the No. 31 car.”Pew wrapped up his career as a full-time driver with the victory. Competing with Michael Shank Racing since 2007, winning four of his 113 races – including the 50th Rolex 24 At Daytona in 2012.“We had a little problem on our pit stop when I went in early and came out last, but I had fun coming up through traffic,” Pew said. “Great place and great weather. It’s great to go out with a win, but it also makes it very hard to quit. It’s been a fantastic 10 years.”The 2016 champions will be honored at the annual WeatherTech Night of Champions at the Chateau Elan Resort and Winery on Monday evening in Braselton.There will be a three-hour Petit Le Mans presented by Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort highlight program on FS1 on Monday, Oct. 3, at 7 p.m. ET.