– The fatal accident of Juha Miettinen on the Nürburgring Nordschleife was also a major topic at the concurrently held World Endurance Championship (WEC) race in Imola. BMW and WRT dedicated the LMGT3 victory to the deceased Finn. However, it was the victorious amateur driver Anthony McIntosh who caused goosebumps.
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The CEO of Global Power Components, a manufacturer of parts for power generation, took the floor when the victorious trio consisting of him, Parker Thompson, and Dan Harper were asked about the fatal accident at the Nürburgring during the press conference. For his words, the 51-year-old received an extra round of applause at the press conference:
“It’s paradoxical in a way – I only started racing after I [shortly before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic] almost died. I was in the hospital and had to say goodbye to my children at the time, which is an incredibly painful experience. Overall, it was a very traumatic situation.”
“That was my path into motorsport. I had never owned a nice car before, so I decided to treat myself to one and made a down payment. However, due to the pandemic, the car was never delivered.”
“That gave me the idea to rent a car and participate in a track day. But nobody wanted to rent me one because I didn’t have a racing license. So I looked up how to get one – simply because I really wanted to get on the racetrack. That’s how this path unfolded step by step, eventually leading me into IMSA and my racing career.”
“Since then, racing has become a great passion for me. Of course, you always walk a fine line. Should something happen, I would be infinitely sorry for my surroundings. But for me personally: If I were to die in racing, I would do it doing something I truly love.”
“I am incredibly grateful and happy that I get to do something I am so passionate about. There is hardly anything in life that means as much to me as motorsport – and I say that as someone who didn’t grow up with it. I hardly watched races before, never drove a kart, and didn’t have a special car until this experience.”
“In a way, racing saved my life. It’s something I look forward to every single time. Tragic events are part of the reality of this sport – and you have to do everything to minimize the risks – but at the same time, every driver must be aware: It can happen at any time.”
From Deathbed to Podium
Speaking to Motorsport-Total.com, the American explains how he came so close to death: “A virus had attacked the back of my brain. It felt like electric shocks – extremely strong, causing my hands to cramp uncontrollably. These seizures occurred every 20 minutes, each lasting about ten minutes, around the clock. There was nothing that could stop it.”
McIntosh experienced hell on earth: “The doctors couldn’t give me effective painkillers because the cause was directly in the brain. At the same time, they frantically tried to figure out what was wrong. I couldn’t eat or sleep for days – my condition was critical.”
“At some point in the hospital, I reached my breaking point. The virus had practically taken over my brain. The doctors kept asking the same questions and eventually even wanted to transfer me to a special agency.” It seemed as if his life was over. He had already said goodbye to his relatives.
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Ultimately, salvation came from a seemingly trivial question: “Someone asked me if I had been to California.” And indeed he had, because his daughter had seen the film Free Solo and now also wanted to become a free climber. As a good father, he insisted on testing the wall (with safety ropes) in Yosemite National Park beforehand, which he did.
“I initially considered the question irrelevant because my symptoms only appeared months later in Wisconsin. But they tested me for a specific type of tick that exists in California but not in Wisconsin. It turned out that I had contracted Lyme disease from a tick bite, which had spread to my brain and caused the inflammation there.”
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Once a diagnosis was finally made, targeted antibiotics could be used. “Two weeks later, I was able to leave the hospital again,” says the newly crowned race winner.
Rapid Ascent in Motorsport
With the sudden desire to race cars, he entered the Mazda MX-5 Cup at the end of 2021. Two years later, he had already won the amateur classification in the North American Lamborghini Super Trofeo and at the Lamborghini World Final in Vallelunga.
A year later, he won both the sprint classification of the Italian GT Championship in the amateur class and the Pro-Am classification at the Lamborghini World Final in Jerez de la Frontera. He then stepped onto the big stage in the IMSA SportsCar Championship in 2025 with his first appearances in the WEC.
“I was always good at everything I did – triathlon, cycling, or even wrestling. But in a race car, I was really bad at first. I had to train really hard with other drivers,” he recalls.
“It was a lot of work, and that’s where motorsport differs from other sports. When you love something but aren’t good at it, and then you work so hard and it ultimately pays off, that means a lot to you.”
WRT team principal Vincent Vosse explains to Motorsport-Total.com how McIntosh ultimately ended up at WRT: “We got in touch, and he wanted to drive for us. We naturally saw what he did in the Aston Martin last year. That was very strong. And he proved that again today. Three years ago, I didn’t even know his name; today, he showed incredible things in our car.”
Drama and Hundredths-of-a-Second Thriller in LMGT3
Sportingly, the 6-hour race was a blast: The Garage 59 McLaren #10 (Au/Fleming/Kirchhöfer) was actually on course to give Garage 59 its first victory in its first WEC outing. But half an hour before the end, the McLaren 720S LMGT3 suddenly went completely crazy. The cause of the defect is not yet clear.
“I feel for the McLaren team; they did everything right, had strong pace, and the drivers did a flawless job. We take this victory and would like to dedicate it to Juha Miettinen,” says Vosse.
However, it was a nail-biting finish, as the BMW ultimately won by just 0.265 seconds ahead of the TF Sport Corvette #33 (McDonald/Edgar/Catsburg). Closing driver Harper, for whom it was his WEC debut, explains why it was so close:
“There was a communication problem, and it was difficult to predict whether the Hypercars would lap us again. So I didn’t know if it would be two or three more laps. We were already very low on fuel, and then it was said that it would be two more laps.”
“That’s why I came out of the last corner and celebrated a little, because I thought it was over. But then it was said that this would be the start of our last lap. Nicky [Catsburg] was already very close and made me sweat quite a bit on the last lap. But I brought it across the line.”
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