Forbush Performance’s Caranta sweeps VPRC at Road Atlanta

BRASELTON, Ga. (2 October 2026) – Talk about making a big impression. Before the Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta IMSA event weekend, Jules Caranta had never taken a rolling start – much less from the lead – and had never competed in a sprint race in the U.S.

But by the time the pair of 45-minute IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge races at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta were done, he had done that and more, winning both races from pole for Forbush Performance and setting the quickest race laps.

Prior to the weekend, the Duqueine Academy driver’s focus had been on the endurance side of LMP3 racing, co-driving with Matt Forbush and scoring a podium in the Airbnb Challenge at Road America last month and the quick lap of the race at Circuit of the Americas in May.

But the 18-year-old Saint-Tropez native set the tone immediately, posting the fastest time in practice one and the third-quickest time in practice two – right behind the two championship leaders. This on his first-ever day of running on the iconic Georgia circuit.

With only 15 minutes to post a time that would set his race one grid position, Caranta immediately set the quickest lap time – and continuously improved upon that time, setting a new track record with a lap of 1:15.439 for his first series pole position.

“Pole for both races!” said Caranta. “Super happy with that result, my first pole in LMP3. The car felt really good: I’m still getting used to the track, but I love it. Looking forward to starting well in both races and bringing home a good finish for the team.”

Despite never having taken the green flag for a rolling race start, Caranta mastered the launch at the green and continued at a blistering pace, not putting a foot wrong on Michelin Raceway’s tricky 2.540-mile, 12-turn circuit and clearing nearly five seconds ahead of second position. Caranta continued to focus forward as he reached the Grand Sport (GS) class back markers, making his way through traffic with ease. But with 24 minutes remaining, the caution flag waved for a car stopped on course, bringing the field back together.

Going back to green with 18 minutes remaining, Caranta nailed the restart and again pulled away from the field, taking the win by over nine seconds.

“I was happy with the start, my first ever rolling start from P1,” said Caranta. “On the restart, I knew I had better pace, so I wasn’t too worried, but it’s always good to take good restarts. Once I hit traffic, I was trying to be as good as I could be, to not lose too much time. It was a good race, huge thanks to the team for the opportunity they’ve given me, and my parents also.”

Caranta started on pole again on Sunday morning, but with a very different opening lap than Thursday’s. With the championship decided, the top two in the title chase – starting behind polesitter Caranta – commenced a back-and-forth battle. Both Oscar Tunjo and Danny Soufi took looks inside Caranta, but the young Frenchman could not be forced into a mistake, holding his racing line and settling into a two car-length lead by lap three.

But with 23 minutes left, championship winner Tunjo caught Caranta, making several feints at the lead. But Caranta would have none of it, finding a new gear and putting distance between the two cars by the end of the lap.

A caution flag for a car off track brought the action to a halt, but Caranta again managed the restart flawlessly, maintaining the gap to Tunjo. He went on to take the win by over a second, capping a perfect weekend.

“I’m so happy with the weekend,” said Caranta. “We weren’t so dominant today but having a fight with other drivers is always fun. We worked quite hard to get here, and we came to the weekend with no testing here, all our testing was in practice this week. So I think it worked well! Hopefully we can really do more things like this in the future with the team.”

Forbush Performance team principal Matt Forbush was proud of the entire team – starting with the young phenom behind the wheel.

“We couldn’t have asked for anything better, getting pole and both wins,” said Forbush. “And in pretty dominant fashion. That’s what we wanted to do, to end the season on a high note which gives us a lot of momentum going into next year. And obviously, a ton of props going out to Jules, he’s a phenomenal talent. The team did an amazing job as well; the car was prepped perfectly. We couldn’t have showed up more ready to race – and it was great to see a Duqueine 1-2-3 at the finish. We’re really happy to be a part of the Duqueine family.”

About Forbush Performance

Partnering with other teams, Forbush Performance raced part time in Spec Miata and HSR starting in 2019. The team then launched the Toyota GR Supra GT4 in SRO’s GT4 America series in 2021 while capturing a dominant TC America team title that same year, with the team’s two drivers finishing first and second in driver points. In 2022, Forbush progressed to the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge and GT4 America, then partnered with Skip Barber Racing in the 2023 series. Matt Forbush raced at Daytona in 2024 with support from Racing to End Alzheimer’s, before the team moved to HSR and the LMP3 platform in 2025.

Instagram: ForbushPerformance

About Duqueine

The Duqueine Group was formed in 1976 by brothers Gilles and Vincent Duqueine. Starting out building single-seater formula cars, making history by building the first all-carbon F3 car in 1983. The Group then expanded into the aerospace sector, and by 1989 had created a worldwide composite and sub-assembly production company, located in in three countries and employing over 900 people.

The sports car side of the story begins in 2014, with the formation of Duqueine Engineering, the race team arm of the company.  The team earned its first ELMS victories in 2023 and captured a podium at Le Mans, and has gone on to earn titles in ELMS, the Michelin Le Mans Cup, the IMSA Prototype Challenge (now the VP Racing Challenge), and the Asian Le Mans series.

Vendée, France-based Duqueine Automotive is innovative automotive manufacturer specializing in high-performance vehicles for international motorsport competitions. The newest iteration, the Duqueine D09 LMPS, sees an upgrade to the all-new Toyota twin turbo V6 engine within the redesigned engine architecture, with enhanced cooling, dynamic balance and aerodynamic integration. Weight distribution was optimized while downforce increased, improving overall performance, reliability and driver response.

Instagram: Duqueine_Automotive
Facebook:  Duqueine Automotive
LinkedIn:   Duqueine Automotive