A total of 14 manufacturers participated in last week’s Rolex 24, with the margin of victory under one second in the Prototype and GT Daytona classes, and under three seconds in GT Le Mans, although 21 caution periods amounting to just under eight hours undoubtedly contributed to these figures.

Nonetheless, five cars led the race in the Prototype class, 10 cars led the race in GTLM and 15 different cars from six manufacturers led in GTD, including newcomers Acura, Mercedes-AMG and Lexus.

“The IMSA Technical Committee did a remarkably effective job with a lot of new cars and unknowns heading into the Rolex 24,” said Atherton. “While we recognize it will always be a topic of great debate, we believe it was extremely fair and equitable for all involved.

“We are very pleased by the fact that three of the four races for the class win came down to the final few moments of the race, and both GT classes could have gone to any one of several different manufacturers.

“The results were determined by driver and team performance – exactly as it should be.”