Sheena Monk keeps Myers Riley Mustang in contention for class podium before accident outside of team's control ends unlucky season
The 2026 IMSA season ended in frustration for Sheena Monk, with the Myers Riley Motorsports driver once again showing strong pace throughout her stint in the Motul Petit Le Mans before the #16 Ford Mustang was caught up in an accident that was entirely outside her teammate's control.
The 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season ended in frustrating fashion for Sheena Monk, with the Myers Riley Motorsports driver showing strong pace throughout her stint in the Motul Petit Le Mans before the #16 Ford Mustang GT3 was caught up in an accident that was entirely outside her teammate's control.
Monk nevertheless closes the season third in the Bob Akin Award standings, highlighting the consistency and competitiveness she displayed across the campaign despite a series of setbacks that repeatedly interrupted otherwise strong performances.
Sheena Monk headed into the Motul Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta looking to close her 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship campaign on a high after a season in which strong pace had frequently been overshadowed by misfortune.
The Myers Riley Motorsports driver had emerged as one of the leading Bronze-rated competitors, sharing the #16 Ford Mustang GT3 throughout the season with Felipe Fraga and being joined by Jenson Altzman for the endurance rounds. Particularly strong performances at Long Beach, Laguna Seca and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park had demonstrated Monk’s pace, while her most recent outing at Indianapolis had seen her come close to a GTD podium, leading the Bronze class on the road and helping the Mustang climb as high as second overall before a late fuel stop dropped the crew to ninth.
Monk arrived at Road Atlanta with another opportunity to convert her consistent performance into a strong result while securing valuable points toward the Bob Akin Award - and the #16 Ford Mustang immediately showed encouraging speed during the final IMSA weekend of the year.
Myers Riley Motorsports placed second in GTD in the opening practice session, with a 1:19.804, while Fraga set a 1:19.694 in FP2 to put the car fifth in class. Monk herself was one of the fastest Bronze-rated drivers during the session, providing further evidence that the Mustang had the pace to fight at the sharp end of the GTD field in the ten-hour season finale.
Monk was entrusted with qualifying duties and posted a 1:20.479, securing 14th overall on the GTD grid. Importantly, her time placed the #16 ahead of both of her direct Bronze-class rivals in the Bob Akin Award standings, giving Monk a favourable starting position.
Monk also took the start of the iconic ten-hour Motul Petit Le Mans, with the Road Atlanta circuit still wet for the formation lap but no rain falling as the GTD field prepared for the opening stint. The #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin experienced problems on the grid and was forced into the pits, but the race itself got underway cleanly across all classes. Conditions were changing rapidly, however, with the track drying quickly and teams immediately having to assess the right moment to switch from wet-weather tyres to slicks.
Monk made an excellent opening lap and moved up to 13th, immediately settling into a battle with Salih Yoluc’s DXDT Racing Corvette. She remained tucked into Yoluc’s slipstream while maintaining a strong pace, initially recording a 1:31.0 before improving to a 1:29.2 as the circuit continued to dry. GTD teams began making their first pit stops as early as lap seven to switch to slick tyres, but Myers Riley Motorsports kept Monk on track before bringing her in on lap nine.
The strategy briefly elevated Monk as high as third in class during the pit cycle, and she returned to the circuit in 13th once the field had settled. With slicks now fitted and the track continuing to improve, Monk immediately began lowering her lap times, recording a 1:23.8 before finding further time on virtually every subsequent lap. Her progress was helped when Yoluc was handed a five-minute penalty for hitting the RFID reader at pit entry, with the DXDT driver serving the penalty and Monk moving up to 12th by lap 18.
The #96 Turner Motorsports BMW of Selldorf then encountered trouble and limped back to the pits, promoting Monk to 11th. Traffic from the different classes made it difficult to establish a consistent rhythm, and she slipped back to 12th, but Monk continued to drive intelligently and, crucially, kept the Mustang clean through the increasingly busy field. She soon broke below the 1:23 mark and began gaining ground on Brendan Iribe and Till Bechtolsheimer, maintaining a pace that kept the #16 Mustang in a good position.
The first full-course yellow arrived after John Farano’s LMP2 crashed into the tyre barriers approximately one hour into the race. The caution gave Monk the opportunity to reclaim the lead lap, and when the GTD pit window opened she was waved by before making her next stop from sixth position on lap 42. The pit cycle dropped her to 14th, but she remained on the lead lap and was able to attack immediately once racing resumed approximately ten minutes later.
Monk quickly climbed back to 13th and produced a 1:21.545, her fastest lap of the race to that point. Her pace was now quicker than several cars running ahead of her, allowing her to put pressure on Potter, Hardwick and Iribe while beginning to pull away from Fridani’s Corvette. It was another strong stint from the Bronze-rated driver, who continued to demonstrate that the #16 Mustang had the speed to move through the GTD field.
Another caution followed when the #2 United Autosports LMP2 of Fayer went off into the gravel, with the race restarting with eight hours and 33 minutes remaining. Monk found herself involved in a close moment with Orey Fidani’s #13 Corvette at Turn 1, with both cars running off onto the grass, but she was able to rejoin without significant delay and remained in 14th.
The race was soon neutralised again when Yoluc hit an advertising board, scattering debris across the circuit. Monk used the caution to make another pit stop on lap 60 to top off fuel, returning to the track with eight hours and 18 minutes remaining. Back under green, she was running 12th and continued to maintain a strong position, staying within approximately one second of Iribe while also keeping the cars around her under pressure.
Monk remained 12th for a sustained period, sandwiched between Iribe and Fidani. She subsequently moved up to 11th, although Triarsi was able to fight back, and the frequent cautions and traffic made it difficult to build a sustained rhythm. Nevertheless, Monk continued to circulate competitively and without incident as the race approached the next pit cycle.
With approximately seven and a half hours remaining, Monk completed her driving time and brought the #16 Mustang into the pits from 12th in GTD on lap 99, still on the lead lap, handing the car over to Fraga for the next phase of the race.
Fraga immediately continued the momentum established by Monk, running in the low 1:21s and improving to a 1:21.3 as he worked his way through the GTD field. The Mustang climbed to tenth over the following laps before the #45 Lamborghini of Danny Formal came to a halt and triggered another full-course yellow with approximately seven hours remaining.
A number of GTD cars stopped under the caution, allowing Fraga to cycle as high as sixth when the race returned to green on lap 120. He immediately attacked, passing Yardley for fifth as the #16 continued to look like a genuine contender for a strong finish.
The weather then became the next major factor. Rain drops began falling before quickly developing into heavier rain, forcing teams to decide whether to commit to wet-weather tyres. Myers Riley Motorsports brought Fraga into the pits on lap 125 and gambled on wets, a decision made increasingly necessary as the rain intensified. The #37 Intersport Racing LMP2 then went off and hit an advertising board, bringing out another safety car.
Fraga completed an efficient pit stop and retained fifth position in GTD, but the race was soon neutralised again after contact between the #22 and #12 United Autosports Orecas at the final corner. With six hours and 20 minutes remaining, race officials eventually brought out the red flag because of a lightning warning in the area.
After approximately 30 minutes under red flag conditions, the field returned to the circuit behind the safety car, with rain still affecting the track. Fraga remained fifth in GTD when the pit lane reopened, but Myers Riley Motorsports elected to keep him on track, allowing the #16 Mustang to inherit the GTD lead as different strategies began to develop.
Racing finally returned to green on lap 141 with five hours and 38 minutes remaining, and Fraga was leading the GTD field. He immediately produced a 1:28.6 as he attempted to build a gap, but the changing conditions once again forced the teams to rethink their tyre strategy. With the circuit drying sufficiently for slicks, Fraga pitted on lap 144 and rejoined ninth, subsequently recovering to eighth.
The race then suffered another interruption when Palou and Magnussen became involved in an accident, with Magnussen’s BMW GTP ending up against the barriers and another full-course yellow being declared. The #16 Mustang was still in contention when the field prepared to restart, but its race would come to an abrupt and deeply unfortunate end.
On the restart, an accident involving the Manthey Porsche and the Gradient Racing Ford saw Fraga’s #16 Ford Mustang being hit, resulting in severe damage to the Mustang’s front-right. Fraga was effectively an innocent victim of the incident, being caught up in the chain of contacts as the other cars collided. The damage was too severe for the Mustang to continue, sending the Myers Riley Motorsports car behind the wall and ultimately ending the crew’s Petit Le Mans challenge.
For Monk, it was a particularly frustrating conclusion to a season that had repeatedly followed a similar pattern. Her opening stint at Road Atlanta had once again demonstrated the pace that had made her one of the most solid Bronze drivers in the field: she adapted intelligently to rapidly changing conditions, maintained competitive lap times through traffic and completed her driving programme on the lead lap. Once again, however, a strong performance was undone by circumstances beyond her control.
Despite the retirement, Monk completed the 2026 season third in the Bob Akin Award classification after eleven rounds, scoring 2,890 points. She finished 220 points behind Orey Fidani, who ultimately secured the Bob Akin Award title. Monk's performances performances across the season consistently demonstrated the potential to compete at the front of the class, but accidents, mechanical problems and late-race circumstances repeatedly prevented that pace from being reflected in the final results.
