Tom Dillmann Gets "Cool" Redemption with IMSA Win at CTMP

Tom Dillmann completed a “cool story” of racing redemption at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) on Sunday, anchoring Inter Europol Competition to a commanding victory in the Chevrolet Grand Prix. The triumph came exactly one year after a terrifying crash at the same circuit left the Frenchman with two fractured vertebrae and required surgery, marking a profound personal and professional milestone.

The only Canadian round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship saw the two-hour, 40-minute sprint race headlined by the LMP2 class, where speed, strategy, and nerve were tested to their limits. Inter Europol’s weekend got off to a flying start on Saturday when Bronze-rated driver Jeremy Clarke shattered a seven-year-old LMP2 lap record to secure pole position in the #43 ORECA 07 Gibson.

Clarke carried that momentum into Sunday's opening stint, leading the first 34 laps while cleanly managing traffic and fuel targets. His focus was not on setting fastest laps, but on preservation and positioning.

“The main goal for Stint 1 was to grab the lead right at the start and maintain fuel targets and distance our pace from the traffic behind,” Clarke said. “Really the main goal was bringing the car home to Tom with no scratches, that way he could go do his thing.”

Strategy and Survival

A pair of brief safety cars in the first hour threw off the team's initial strategy, temporarily costing them the lead to rivals who gambled on an alternate pit cycle. However, once Dillmann took the wheel, the team's underlying pace proved unstoppable. With one hour and 14 minutes remaining, the Frenchman executed a clean, decisive on-track pass on Alex Quinn in the #04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR machine to retake the lead.

The final hour and 47 minutes of the contest ran entirely caution-free, introducing an unexpected fuel-mileage sweat for the leaders. Because a late-race yellow never materialized to bunch the field and save fuel, the top three cars Dillmann, Quinn, and the #99 AO Racing entry of Dane Cameron were all forced to make late "splash-and-dash" pit stops for fuel.

“When I got a late call to pit, I was, ‘Oh, did we make a mistake or something?’” Dillmann recalled. “Then they quickly told me it was all good.”

The stops ultimately did not alter the running order. Thanks to a superior final pit stop by the Inter Europol crew, who minimized time lost during the refueling process, Dillmann crossed the finish line a comfortable 9.796 seconds ahead of Quinn. It capped off a dominant performance in which the #43 car led 93 of the 127 completed laps.

A Global Success Story

The victory adds to a spectacular 2026 campaign for the multi-faceted Inter Europol organization. The team has now achieved race wins across IMSA, Asian Le Mans, European Le Mans, and the FIA World Endurance Championship – including a prestigious LMP2 class victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. This global consistency highlights the team’s ability to adapt to different regulations and tracks while maintaining a high level of performance.

However, for Dillmann, the latest triumph was a poignant contrast to the events of 2025. In last year’s race, a mechanical failure caused his throttle to stick wide open while he was leading late in the event, resulting in a high-speed accident that fractured his back. Returning to the site of such trauma and emerging victorious required immense mental fortitude.

“Going into the weekend, it didn’t change anything for me; I always want to win,” Dillmann said, reflecting on his mindset. “But now after the fact, I can see it’s a cool story. Having a back injury, coming back to win it again... I think without that crash, we could have made it three wins in a row here. But this feels special.”

CrowdStrike Racing by APR’s George Kurtz and Alex Quinn finished second, while AO Racing’s PJ Hyett and Dane Cameron recovered from a grid penalty to take third. For Dillmann and Inter Europol, however, the day belonged to resilience, precision, and the sweet taste of redemption.