Tom Dillmann Achieves Redemptive Victory at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

Tom Dillmann secured a commanding victory for Inter Europol Competition at the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Sunday, completing a redemption story after a severe crash a year earlier that left him with a broken back.

The sole Canadian round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship featured a two‑hour, 40‑minute sprint race highlighted by the LMP2 class.

Inter Europol’s weekend began strongly on Saturday when Bronze‑rated driver Jeremy Clarke broke a seven‑year‑old LMP2 lap record, earning pole position in the #43 ORECA 07 Gibson.

Clarke carried that momentum into Sunday’s opening stint, leading the first 34 laps while expertly managing traffic and fuel consumption.

“The primary objective for Stint 1 was to seize the lead at the start, maintain fuel targets, and keep our pace ahead of the traffic behind,” Clarke explained. “Ultimately, the goal was to bring the car home cleanly for Tom so he could focus on his performance.”

Two brief safety‑car periods in the opening hour disrupted the team’s initial strategy, temporarily ceding the lead to competitors who opted for an alternate pit cycle. When Dillmann took over, the team’s true pace proved unstoppable; with 1 hour 14 minutes left, the French driver executed a clean on‑track pass on Alex Quinn in the #04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR, reclaiming the lead.

The final hour and 47 minutes unfolded without any caution periods, creating an unexpected fuel‑consumption challenge for the leaders. Since no late‑race yellow flag appeared, the top three cars — Dillmann, Quinn, and the #99 AO Racing entry driven by Dane Cameron — were compelled to make late‑race splash‑and‑dash pit stops for fuel.

“When I received a late pit call, I wondered, ‘Did we make a mistake?’\” Dillmann said. “They quickly assured me everything was fine.”

The pit stops did not change the overall order. Thanks to a superior final pit stop by the Inter Europol crew, Dillmann crossed the finish line 9.796 seconds ahead of Quinn, concluding a dominant performance in which the #43 car led 93 of the 127 laps completed.

The win adds to Inter Europol’s spectacular 2026 campaign, which has now secured victories across IMSA, the Asian Le Mans Series, the European Le Mans Series, and the FIA World Endurance Championship, including an LMP2 class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.

The triumph also marked a striking contrast to 2025, when a mechanical failure caused Dillmann’s throttle to stick open while he was leading late in the race, resulting in a high‑speed crash that fractured two of his vertebrae.

“Going into the weekend, nothing changed for me; I always aim to win,” Dillmann said. “Now, in hindsight, I see it’s a compelling story.”

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