They led the point standings in GTD class since the 6 Hours of the Glen in June, when they took fifth place. And they entered Petit Le Mans, the season finale, with a cushion of 44 points.
And yet it all fell apart for Screeching Moose Motorsports and their #5 Mercedes AMG GT3 team, losing the championship to the new GTD series champions #78 Champion Motorsports.
"The setup was extremely heartable and it was actually quite enjoyable to drive.", said Lukas Santos of what the race was like for Screeching Moose Motorsports.
"We tried to enter this race with the mindset it's ours to lose and to mitigate problems would be the key for success."
So how did all this drama unfold, that cost the team the championship?
Four hours into the ten-hour event, with Phillip Forrester behind the wheel, the #5 Mercedes was hit hard in the right rear by the #88 DS Racing eSports Team LMDh car of Nelson Clemente, going into turn three.
Several incidents occurred over the course of the race, in this particular section of the track, most notably between prototype and GT class cars. However, probably no other incident had as dire championship consequences as this one, forcing the championship leaders to bring it back to pit lane.
In disbelief, the Screeching Moose Motorsports pit crew determined the car had suffered a broken suspension. And while the team was able to fix up the car in an impressive quick turnaround, the team went back on track several laps down and the dice in the championship had been cast.
"We executed pretty much flawlessly as a team, no one made any critical mistakes.", said Lukas Santos.
"We didn't have the fastest pace, but we were consistent and if we had no external issues such as this crash, it would have been a top five for us."
In the end, the #5 Mercedes took the checkers in P8, eight laps down. With the #78 BMW of Champion Motorsports finishing second, the opponents from Texas took the championship in a stunning turn of events in the final race of the season.
On the new champions and losing the series title in such heartbreaking fashion, Santos said:
"We have a lot of respect for CMS. We enjoyed racing them the whole season and are happy for their success despite us losing out."
"No one wants to lose a championship, especially going into the final event as the championship leaders. I’m not going to lie and say that we weren’t disappointed that the way we lost the entire thing was due to having contact with a faster class car. That incident should have never happened. It’s happened a few times throughout the season, but with the spirit of the team, we deal with it and press on."
"But congratulations to Champion Motorsports and the #78 guys. They kept us on our toes and made sure we were doing what we were confident in, no matter the strategy we chose. Sure, it’s very disappointing for us as a team to lose the championship, but it has made us hungrier for more."
"Everyone in the team, including myself, will be looking forward to winter testing and next season. This season is over and will probably stick with us for a while, as tough as it is for us to swallow. But the way I look at it, the experience of 2023 will strengthen our mentality for next season and push us further."