Bernhard's afternoon got worse when he clipped a wall on his first lap after being released from the penalty box, damaging the left front corner and requiring another precautionary pit-stop for a tyre change. Dropping to seventh in class, and promoting Brabham and Highcroft to second on the road as a consequence, Bernhard pressed hard to make up lost ground, but had to rely on a strategic late tyre change for the #6 sister car to gain sufficient points to remain at the head of the P2 points race.
With Brabham claiming second spot, and closing the P2 gap to just four points, the final two races take on greater significance, particularly as Acura now appears more than a match for the Porsches. AGR's victory - its first sinc giving Acura a winning debut at Sebring last year - took the marque ahead of its German rival in the manufacturer standings, while de Ferran Motorsports' third place gave Acura a clean sweep of the class podium for the first time.
Rossiter and Montagny were joined as first time winners by Audi's Marcel Fassler, who partnered veteran Emanuele Pirro to LMP1 success for Audi.
The best of the Audi R10s finished third overall, but some 20.114secs behind the AGR entry even with the help of the late caution period. A win was a win for the #1 car, however, with Pirro and Fässler ending the seven-race class winning streak established by team-mates Lucas Luhr and Marco Werner since Long Beach.
The German duo had a miserable race, crashing out with only 20 laps on the board and denying themselves a chance to claim the LMP1 crown with two rounds remaining on the schedule.
GT1 also saw a lengthy run of success ended, as Corvette Racing's Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta won for the first time since late March. The 'Ollies', who had been out-qualified not only by the sister Corvette but also a couple of GT2 entries, took the lead by winning an early race off pit-lane and then benefited further when the #3 went a lap down behind the final pace car.
