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International Motor Sports Association Lamborghini Super Trofeo series

International Motor Sports Association

www.imsa.com

About the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA)

International Motor Sports Association, LLC (IMSA) was originally founded in 1969 and owns a long and rich history in sports car racing. Today, IMSA is the sanctioning body of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the premier sports car racing series in North America. IMSA also sanctions the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge and IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, as well as four one-make series: Ferrari Challenge North America, Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich Tires, Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America and Porsche Carrera Cup North America. IMSA – a company within the NASCAR family – is the exclusive strategic partner in North America with the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) which operates the 24 Hours of Le Mans as a part of the FIA World Endurance Championship. The partnership enables selected IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competitors to earn automatic entries into the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Catalano Takes Third Win of VP Racing SportsCar Challenge Season in COTA Nightcap

Walker Doubles Down in Texas, Porter Breaks Through for GSX Win

March 1, 2025

Staff Report

IMSA Wire Service

Race 2 Results

AUSTIN, Texas – A wild ending in Saturday’s first race of the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge race at Circuit of The Americas snapped Valentino Catalano’s overall and P3 class winning streak, but the German returned to his winning ways on Saturday afternoon.

Driving the No. 30 Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsports Duqueine D08, Catalano started the race from the pole position and remained out front for the duration of the 45-minute race to record his third victory in four races this season. Catalano beat teammate Oscar Tunjo to the checkered flag in the No. 31 Gebhardt Duqueine by 48.813 seconds.

“This morning we were a bit unlucky,” said Catalano, who along with his teammate, seemingly ran out of fuel on the penultimate lap of Race 1. “I mean, it is racing and sometimes that happens, but we knew that we were quick. I felt comfortable with the car. The car felt well. So we just kept our focus for the next race.

“In Race 2, we just brought it together and it worked out, so I’m really happy about showing my potential and getting the result for it.”

Tunjo followed closely behind Catalano for much of the race before fading in the closing laps. He also incurred a 10-second post-race penalty for passing under a local yellow, but it did not affect his finishing position.

Third place in P3 went to Jonathan Woolridge in the No. 54 MLT Motorsports Ligier JS P320 for his third consecutive podium result. Woolridge scored his second series victory in Race 1 and vaulted into second place in the P3 point standings with a solid weekend in Texas. He trails Catalano by 110 points, 1310-1200, with four of 12 races now in the books.

Brian Thienes took his third consecutive P3 Bronze Cup victory in the No. 77 Forte Racing Ligier JS P320.

Walker Sweeps COTA Weekend in No. 6 Turner Motorsport BMW

Jake Walker had a perfect weekend at Circuit of The Americas. The young Pennsylvanian started both races from the GTDX class pole position, claimed his first series victory on Saturday morning and made it a clean sweep with a victory in Race 2 aboard the No. 6 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3.

Walker made a quick getaway at the drop of the green flag to pull into the class lead and controlled the race from the front. Although his gap narrowed a bit toward the end of the race, Walker was never in any jeopardy of losing the race and finished 10.759 seconds ahead of AJ Muss to win the race.

“In the beginning, we got a good run,” Walker said. “We got ourselves a gap and we just kept picking away at the GT4s (GSX cars) and LMP3s and catching the lapped traffic – navigating it and keeping the car clean. That was mainly our race.”

Muss drove the No. 66 Af Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 to his second runner-up result of the day and his fourth GTDX class podium in as many races this season. As a result, Muss now finds himself atop the class point standings by 10 points, 1260-1250, over Adam Adelson, who encountered an early issue in his No. 24 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R that dropped him far behind the field. He eventually battled back to finish sixth in class.

Matias Perez Companc made it two Af Corse Ferraris on the podium with a third-place performance in the No. 50 Ferrari.

Samantha Tan capped off a successful COTA weekend with her second Bronze Cup class victory and a fourth-place GTDX class result in the No. 38 ST Racing BMW M4 GT3.

Porter Claims Breakthrough Victory in GSX in No. 68 RAFA Racing Toyota

A RAFA Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 has been out front for all of the GSX class season thus far.

However, when the checkered flag fell on Race 2 at COTA, it was not the No. 8 Supra driven to three consecutive victories by Kiko Porto. This time, it was Ian Porter, who claimed his maiden series victory aboard the No. 68 Toyota.

For the first 39 minutes of the 45-minute race, Porto was having another dominating performance. Unfortunately for the Brazilian, an unspecified mechanical issue reared its ugly head at the most inopportune time, forcing the No. 8 machine to slow dramatically on course and eventually pull off in a safe location trackside.

That opened the door for Porter – who was having his own adventures in the No. 68 Supra – but not enough to keep him from the top step of the podium for the first time in his VP Racing SportsCar Challenge career.

“That was probably the scariest race I’ve ever driven because we’re doing multi-class (racing) and I had no left mirror,” Porter said. “I had no right mirror. The rear camera was way, way too dark for how bright it was. And then you can’t see anything out of the top mirror, so it was a terrifying situation to try to figure out where the GT3s (GTDX cars) are. A lot of it, I was actually just doing by sound because I had no visuals.”

In addition to the GSX class victory, Porter also claimed Bronze Cup honors in the class.

"This is my second year racing and it’s an incredible feeling,” he said. “I mean, that was an actual battle to pass every single car that I had to pass, so it was very refreshing, especially coming from iRacing and online. That’s what I’m used to and now I’m just seeing this in real life and through my own two eyes and it’s just wild. I’m 15 months in and got an IMSA victory under my belt, so it’s nice.”

Chris Walsh wound up second in GSX aboard the No. 10 Carrus Callas Raceteam BMW M4 GT4 EVO, coming home 9.107 seconds behind Porter. Steven Clemons finished third in the No. 76 BSI Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 despite crossing the finish line just 0.827 seconds behind Porter as he was assessed a 10-second post-race penalty for multiple track limits violations early in the race.

Despite the setback, which saw Porto finish last in the GSX class, the Brazilian still has a fairly comfortable, 150-point lead, 1270-1120, in the championship standings.

Next up for the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge is a doubleheader at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on June 6-8 as part of the O’Reilly Auto Parts 4 Hours of Mid-Ohio event weekend headlined by the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge.

Woolridge Wins COTA Race 1 After Leaders Run Out of Fuel on Penultimate Lap

Walker Scores First GTDX Win, Porto Keeps Rolling in GSX

March 1, 2025

Staff Report

IMSA Wire Service

Race 1 Results

AUSTIN, Texas – In a shocking finish to the 45-minute IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge race at Circuit of The Americas on Saturday morning, Canadian Jonathan Woolridge collected his second career victory in the series as the cars running first and second ran out of fuel coming to the white flag.

Driving the No. 54 MLT Motorsports Ligier JS P320, Woolridge trailed race-leading teammates Oscar Tunjo in the No. 31 Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsports Duqueine D08 and Valentino Catalano in the No. 30 Gebhardt Duqueine by more than a minute on the second-to-last lap. Tunjo, who started the race from the pole position, led most of the race until Catalano took over out front with just over six minutes remaining.

The two ran nose-to-tail before Tunjo briefly claimed the lead from Catalano with 1:40 left on the clock. Seconds later, both cars ran out of fuel and slowed to a stop on course.

That opened the door for Woolridge to eventually take the white flag as the new leader, and 2.4 miles later, he claimed the victory, his first since winning at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in 2023.

“I was a little surprised coming around the carousel there and finding those two parked there,” Woolridge said. “But I feel like that’s racing. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don’t and today we got lucky.”

While other cars also slowed to a stop on course on the final lap, Woolridge reported no fuel concerns in his No. 54 Ligier.

“No fuel light, so I have to thank my team for making sure it was full and they’re really strong with all the calculations and stuff,” he said. “Tom Brown, John Bobbitt, they’re so good with the car and they know that car so well. Obviously, it’s a lot of respect to them for doing that for me.”

Brian Thienes finished second in the P3 class and won the Bronze Cup race in the No. 77 Forte Racing Ligier JS P320. Mirco Schultis rounded out the P3 podium with a third-place run in the No. 70 Mishumotors Ligier.

After dominating the first 44 minutes of the 45-minute race, Catalano – who entered the race as the P3 points leader by virtue of his double victory at Daytona – and Tunjo were relegated to fifth and sixth in the final P3 race standings.

Catalano still leads the championship by 60 points, 960-900, over Woolridge, who vaulted from fourth to second in the season standings with the victory.

Walker Earns First GTDX Victory in Turner BMW at COTA

Jake Walker started the No. 6 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 on the GTDX pole position but he found himself immediately under attack at the drop of the green flag by points leader Adam Adelson in the No. 24 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R.

In fact, Adelson claimed the lead at the conclusion of the first racing lap and the battle was on between Adelson and Walker for the first 10 to 15 minutes of the race. The decisive moment in the race came when Adelson spun on his own entering the esses approximately 12 minutes into the race. Walker, who was right on Adelson’s tail but avoided contact, quickly took evasive action and sailed off into the GTDX lead.

“I saw him get a little loose on the initial part of the esses,” said Walker of Adelson. “He started to spin and I just kind of backed out and took a little bit of a shortcut. He’s a great driver, so we’ll definitely have a good battle in Race 2.”

He was never challenged the rest of the way, pulling away to win by 15.407 seconds over AJ Muss in the No. 66 Af Corse Ferrari 296 GT3. In fact, Walker nearly claimed the overall race victory, crossing the stripe just 0.429 seconds behind Woolridge. It was Walker’s first career VP Racing SportsCar Challenge victory.

Adelson recovered from the spin to finish third and retain the GTDX points lead. After three of 12 races, he holds a 60-point advantage, 1,000-940, over Muss.

Samantha Tan finished fifth in GTDX and won the Bronze Cup in the No. 38 ST Racing BMW M4 GT3.

Beat Goes on for Porto Who Wins Third Straight in No. 8 RAFA Racing Toyota

Kiko Porto has proven to be impossible to beat in the early stages of the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge GSX season.

The Brazilian started from the pole position and won both races in January’s season-opening weekend at Daytona International Speedway. It’s been more of the same so far at COTA, where Porto again qualified on the pole position and quickly showed his competitors a clean pair of heels en route to his third consecutive victory in the No. 8 RAFA Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2.

“I tried to pass some GT3 (GTDX) cars (at the start) and this is what I did,” Porto said. “I passed three of them, I think, in the first corner just to kind of protect me with all the GT4 (GSX) cars with a gap in the cars between us. After this, on the second or third lap, I understood that the GT3s would pass me eventually, so I tried to not lose as much time and giving the right gap to them.”

Porto finished a full lap ahead of Steven Clemons, who finished second in GSX aboard the No. 76 BSI Racing Toyota. Ian Porter made it a top-three sweep for Toyota in GSX with a third-place run in the No. 68 RAFA Racing Supra. Porter also won the Bronze Cup in GSX Race 1.

The victory kept Porto perfect in the GSX point standings and stretched his advantage to 230 points, 1,050-820, over Patrick Wilmot (No. 12 Swish Racing BMW M4 GT4) and Justin Di Benedetto (No. 4 Di Benedetto Racing Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS), who finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

The VP Racing SportsCar Challenge will take to the 2.4-mile COTA circuit again this afternoon for its second race after a full day of NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series activity.

Race 2 is scheduled to take the green flag at 5 p.m. CT and again will be streamed live in the U.S. on Peacock and internationally on IMSA’s official YouTube Channel.

From Stand-In to Polesitter, Tunjo Claims Pole at Circuit of The Americas

Walker Puts Turner BMW on GTDX Pole, Porto Stays Perfect in GSX Qualifying

February 28, 2025

Staff Report

IMSA Wire Service

Results (Click Here)

Second Fastest Laps (Click Here)

AUSTIN, Texas – Oscar Tunjo wasn’t even planning to be at Circuit of The Americas but when the checkered flag fell on IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge qualifying under cover of darkness on Friday night, the Colombian found himself on the pole position.

Tunjo posted a best time of 1 minute, 30.150 seconds (95.840 mph) in the No. 31 Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsports Duqueine D08 to earn the top P3 and overall starting position for the first race of Saturday’s VP Racing SportsCar Challenge doubleheader on the 2.4-mile COTA layout. Tunjo was pressed into service this week to drive the No. 31 entry when Markus Pommer had to withdraw due to a bad cold.

Tunjo bested teammate and P3 points leader Valentino Catalano by 0.028 seconds to lead a 1-2 sweep for Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsports. Tunjo brings two years of LMP3 experience from the European Le Mans Series and was pleased to get his first laps at Circuit of The Americas.

“It was pretty dark,” Tunjo said of the 15-minute qualifying session. “I’m happy to be here this weekend replacing Markus, who is ill. We send him a really speedy recovery. I’m happy to be on the pole.

“Tomorrow is when it counts in a 45-minute race, so hopefully we can stick in the front row for both cars. Big thank you to the Gebhardt team for a great car today.”

Catalano’s best lap was 1:30.178 (95.810 mph) to qualify second. He swept both races of the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge season-opening doubleheader at Daytona in January, and will start from the pole in tomorrow’s second race by virtue of having the quickest second-fastest lap. Tunjo will line up on the outside of the front row for that race.

Jonathan Woolridge rounded out the top three in P3 qualifying with a best lap of 1:32.497 (93.408 mph) aboard the No. 54 MLT Motorsports Ligier JS P320.

Walker Claims GTDX Pole in Turner BMW

Tacos are particularly popular in the greater Austin area, so it stands to reason that the “taco-powered” Turner BMW of Jake Walker would be quick at Circuit of The Americas.

True to form, Walker motored the No. 6 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 to the GTDX pole position by posting a best lap of 1:32.604 (93.300 mph). Walker will start both of Saturday’s 45-minute races from the GTDX class pole, as his second-fastest lap also bested his fellow competitors.

“It was a lot of great teamwork with Turner Motorsport and BMW,” Walker said. “They’ve given me a great car once again. Working with (Turner’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship driver) Robby Foley and the guys is awesome. We have a really strong car right now and we’re looking to carry this momentum forward.”

Walker has shown plenty of speed in the early going of the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge season, but he missed the first race of the Daytona doubleheader due to an incident. As a result, he’s facing a steep climb from ninth in the GTDX point standings coming into the weekend.

“These are great drivers,” said Walker of his GTDX competition. “(Adam) Adelson, right beside me, (AJ) Muss, lots and lots of great names here. And having to navigate the P3 drivers and the tons of GT4 drivers, it’s tough.”

Adelson, who swept both ends of the Daytona doubleheader, will line up second for both races in GTDX. Adelson’s best qualifying lap in the No. 24 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R was a 1:32.875 (93.028 mph). Matias Perez Companc qualified third in the No. 50 Af Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 at 1:33.037 (92.866 mph).

Porto Stays Perfect with GSX Pole

Kiko Porto has now been first in every GSX race and qualifying session so far this season.

After sweeping both races and qualifying at Daytona, Porto was at it again in qualifying at Circuit of The Americas. As the last few rays of sunlight disappeared into darkness on Friday night, Porto piloted his No. 8 RAFA Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 to a best lap of 1:39.252 (87.051 mph) to take the pole position. His second-fastest lap will keep him on pole for Saturday’s nightcap also.

“After NASCAR went on the track, we were afraid a little bit of changes on the track, and it definitely changed a little bit with their different tire compound,” Porto said. “It changed a little bit the balance of the car. The car was much more loose on the rear, but I tried to adapt as best as possible and definitely with, like, half the track in the dark already and the last three laps, it was awesome. It was my first time experiencing COTA at night, or at least half-night. It was awesome and I’m pretty happy with the team.”

Porto’s teammate, Ian Porter qualified second in GSX with a best lap of 1:39.907 (86.480 mph) in the No. 68 RAFA Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO1. Steven Clemons made it a top-three sweep for Toyota Supras with a best lap of 1:40.331 (85.265 mph) in the No. 76 BSI Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2.

The first race of Saturday’s doubleheader takes the green flag at 8:40 a.m. CT, with the second race schedule for 5 p.m. CT. Both races will be streamed live in the U.S. on Peacock, with international live streaming available on IMSA’s official YouTube Channel.

Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Roars Into 13th Season

Formal, McGee Seek Third Super Trofeo Titles; Field Still 30-Plus Cars Strong

March 6, 2025

By Tony DiZinno

IMSA Wire Service

Entry List (Click Here)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A trip to Sebring International Raceway raises the curtain on the 13th season of Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America (LSTNA) in 2025. With more than 30 cars entered across the series’ four classes for a pair of 50-minute races as part of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring weekend, the action should be fast and furious.

The “raging bulls” on parade in the IMSA-sanctioned championship are identical Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo Evo2 race cars, which pack a punch with more than 600 horsepower on offer.

A total of 14 different teams and nine different Lamborghini dealerships (Palm Beach, Austin, Broward, Hawaii, Miami, Philadelphia, Newport Beach, Charlotte, Greenwich) are represented in this year’s field. The dealerships provide support to the team programs.

The season features six race weekends, five alongside WeatherTech Championship events held at Sebring, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Watkins Glen International, Road America and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The sixth weekend comes as part of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Finals, held in Lamborghini’s home country of Italy at the Misano Circuit. The November weekend also features European and Asian series competitors alongside their North American counterparts.

Class structure remains unchanged from 2024, with these parameters in place:

Pro class: one or two drivers in each car, both drivers must be rated Gold or Silver in the most recent FIA driver categorization;
ProAm class: two drivers in each car, one Gold/Silver rated and the other Bronze;
Am class: one or two drivers in each car, both must be Bronze rated;
LB Cup class: one or two drivers in each car, both must be Bronze rated and meet additional LB Cup requirements.

Each race also features a mandatory pit stop, occurring during a prescribed 10-minute pit window opened midway through each race. A minimum pit stop time (clocked from a car entering pit lane to when it exits) covers off both single and two-driver requirements, which a features slightly longer minimum stop for single-driver entries.

There’s a bevy of championship-winning drivers and teams on display set to compete in 2025, as well.

Perpetual championship challengers Wayne Taylor Racing, a 14-time series champion and past World Finals champion, seek to regain their Pro title throne with two entries this year. Representing Lamborghini Palm Beach, their two Pro class entries of Danny Formal and Hampus Ericsson in the No. 1 Huracán and Nick Persing in the No. 8 Huracán should be in the mix. Formal is a two-time North America Pro champion (2022 and 2023), Ericsson a World Finals race winner, and Persing a six-time ProAm winner stepping up to Pro.

Defending Pro class champions TR3 Racing, representing Lamborghini Miami, have a six-pack of entries across all four classes including the No. 29 Huracán Pro class car for Elias De La Torre IV and Will Bamber. TR3 is one of two teams (eXclaim Motorsport Group, LLC) fielding a car in each Super Trofeo class.

The eXclaim four-car effort will feature the RAFA Racing Team branding across its cars, representing Lamborghini Austin in Pro, ProAm and Am and Lamborghini Greenwich in LB Cup. Three-time 2025 IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge GSX winner Kiko Porto (No. 2 Huracán, Pro) and 2015 Rolex 24 GTD winner Cameron Lawrence (No. 68 Huracán, ProAm) are two drivers to watch from this stable, as well as an all-female lineup in another car with Lindsey Brewer and Jem Hepworth (No. 81 Huracán, Am).

ANSA Motorsports (Lamborghini Broward), World Speed Motorsports (Lamborghini Hawaii) and 2024 ProAm champions Forty7 Motorsports (Lamborghini Philadelphia) also have title-contending potential. Colin Queen and Lamborghini Super Trofeo Junior Driver Enzo Geraci share its No. 4 Huracán. Multi-time Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring winner Scott Huffaker and inaugural IMSA 3D Scholarship recipient Jaden Conwright spearhead World Speed’s No. 22 Huracán. Al Morey and Keawn Tandon share Forty7’s No. 77 Huracán.

ProAm features two-time Am class champion Anthony McIntosh stepping up a class, now sharing the No. 69 WTR Huracán with Brendon Leitch, a past Super Trofeo Europe Pro champion. They won the ProAm World Championship at the World Finals in 2024. The Flying Lizard (Lamborghini Newport Beach) pair of entries figure to contend; both pairings of Andy Lee and Slade Stewart in the fan favorite, pink unicorn No. 14 Huracán and Marc Miller and Paul Nemschoff in their No. 41 Huracán banked wins in 2024. ANSA’s ProAm pair of Nicky Hays and Antoine Comeau (No. 30 Huracán) and TR3’s Conrad Geis and Jason Hart (No. 67 Huracán) are also worth watching. Precision Performance Motorsports (Lamborghini Palm Beach) figures to contend too with 2021 Am champion Bryan Ortiz sharing the No. 47 Huracán with Dominic Starkweather. Kaizen Autosport (Lamborghini Charlotte) completes the eight-car class with Wyatt Foster and Seth Henry in the No. 44 Huracán.

The 11-car Am class is the most populous. Glenn McGee shares WTR’s No. 10 Am class Huracán with Graham Doyle, and McGee seeks his third straight Am class championship. Beyond WTR, TR3 has a class-high three cars. Forty7 (Lamborghini Greenwich) has Jackson Lee and Christopher Tasca sharing its No. 88 Huracán. Other teams to watch here include One Motorsports, Rearden Racing, MLT Motorsports, Precision Performance, and eXclaim.

Last year’s LB Cup champion Nick Groat (No. 57 One Motorsports Huracán) returns to the category as one of six cars entered from six different teams (TR3, Forty7, ANSA, Forte, eXclaim).

Teams have two 45-minute practice sessions Wednesday before qualifying Thursday morning. Races are at 5:55 p.m. ET Thursday and 5:05 p.m. ET Friday, streaming on Peacock, IMSA.TV, the IMSA Official YouTube channel and Lamborghini Squadra Corse YouTube channel.

2024 Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Sebring Race 1 Winners:

Pro: Kiko Porto/Nico Jamin, No. 4 ANSA Motorsports
ProAm: Nate Stacy/Nick Persing, No. 8 Wayne Taylor Racing
Am: Ken Dobson, No. 27 Forte Racing
LB Cup: Mark Brummond, No. 02 Auto Technic Racing

2024 Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Sebring Race 2 Winners:

Pro: Ernie Francis Jr./Giano Taurino, No. 88 TR3 Racing
ProAm: Tim Pappas/Jeroen Bleekemolen, No. 54 Flying Lizard Motorsports
Am: Ken Dobson, No. 27 Forte Racing
LB Cup: Naveen Rao, No. 32 Wayne Taylor Racing

Entry List Notebook – 73rd Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring

Aston Martin Valkyrie Debuts; Tandy Looks To Add Another Overall Win

March 6, 2025

By Tony DiZinno

IMSA Wire Service

Entry List (Click Here)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The famed concrete surface and the notorious, legendary bumps of Sebring International Raceway greet the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for the 73rd Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in just over a week. The second race of both the full 2025 season and IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup is often advertised as half as long but twice as tough as the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona, although both Florida races provide different tests to the field.

A field of 56 cars, spread across 13 Grand Touring Prototype (GTP), 12 Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), 11 Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) and 20 Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) class entries are set to tackle this year’s edition of the mid-March classic.

In GTP, Aston Martin debuts its new Valkyrie in North America, the first car built to Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) specifications competing alongside LMDh specification prototypes in IMSA. Aston Martin THOR Team runs the single entry, and its presence alongside five other manufacturers – Acura, BMW, Cadillac, Lamborghini and Porsche – sees a record-setting 13 GTP cars racing for the reborn class in its third year of competition.

After winning at the Rolex 24, Nick Tandy pursues an overall victory in the 12-hour race to add to his personal “Tandy Slam” of four major 24-hour endurance overall race victories. No top-class IMSA prototype entrant has won back-to-back overall in Daytona and Sebring since Wayne Taylor Racing did so in the first two Daytona Prototype international (DPi) category races in 2017, when Jordan and Ricky Taylor shared the winning Cadillac DPi-V.R with Max Angelelli and Jeff Gordon in Daytona and Alex Lynn in Sebring.

Key facts and figures ahead of this year’s race are below:

Fast Facts

73rd Running of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring

Sebring International Raceway – Sebring, Florida

March 12-15, 2025

Race Day/Time: Saturday, March 15 – 10:10 a.m. ET

Peacock Streaming Coverage: LIVE – Flag-to-flag beginning at 10:00 a.m. (IMSA.com/TVLive, YouTube.com/@IMSAOfficial outside the U.S.)

Live Qualifying Stream: Friday, March 14 – 11:20 a.m. (Peacock in the U.S. and IMSA.com/TVLive, YouTube.com/@IMSAOfficial outside the U.S.)

Circuit Type: 3.74-mile, 17-turn road course

Classes Competing: Grand Touring Prototype (GTP), Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO), Grand Touring Daytona (GTD)

Race Length: 12 hours

Track Social Media:

Event Hashtags: #IMSA, #Sebring12

WeatherTech Championship Track Records - Sebring International Raceway

GTP: Pipo Derani, Cadillac V-Series.R, 1:45.836 / 127.215 mph, March 2023

LMP2: Giedo van der Garde, ORECA LMP2 07, 1:48.311 / 124.308 mph, March 2022

GTD PRO: Jack Hawksworth, Lexus RC F GT3, 1:58.714 / 113.415 mph, March 2024

GTD: Daniel Serra, Ferrari 488 GT3, 1:58.710 / 113.420 mph, March 2018

2024 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Motul Pole Award Winners:

GTP: Pipo Derani, No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R

LMP2: PJ Hyett, No. 99 AO Racing ORECA LMP2 07

GTD PRO: Jack Hawksworth, No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3

GTD: Antonio Fuoco, No. 47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari 296 GT3

2024 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Winners:

GTP: Louis Deletraz/Jordan Taylor/Colton Herta, No. 40 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-06

LMP2: Ryan Dalziel/Dwight Merriman/Connor Zilisch, No. 18 Era Motorsport ORECA LMP2 07

GTD PRO: Jack Hawksworth/Ben Barnicoat/Kyle Kirkwood, No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3

GTD: Russell Ward/Philip Ellis/Indy Dontje, No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3

Storylines

Nick Tandy’s Sebring Overall Pursuit: After winning the Rolex 24 At Daytona, Nick Tandy has now won four major 24-hour endurance races overall in Daytona, Le Mans, the Nürburgring and Spa-Francorchamps. The three-time class winner at Sebring seeks to become the 10th driver to win Daytona, Sebring and Le Mans overall if he can win this year. He’ll share the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 with Felipe Nasr and Laurens Vanthoor.
Aston Martin Valkyrie GTP Debut: The Aston Martin Valkyrie and its sonorous, shrieking 6.5L, V12 powerplant will make its North American race debut in Sebring. Ross Gunn, Roman De Angelis and Alex Riberas are set to share the No. 23 car for the Aston Martin THOR (The Heart of Racing) Team.
Eight Manufacturer Winners: The opening month-plus of the IMSA season produced eight different winning automotive manufacturers: Porsche, Ford and Chevrolet in WeatherTech Championship (with Porsche also winning in IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge), McLaren and Hyundai in Michelin Pilot Challenge, Toyota and BMW in VP Racing Challenge and Mazda in Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by Michelin.
Intense GTD PRO, GTD Battles: Most of the GT field incurred battle scars at the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Ford (GTD PRO) and Corvette (GTD) won their classes, but not without intense clashes also involving BMW, Aston Martin and Porsche, which also contended for class podiums. After tougher Daytona races, entries from defending Sebring GTD PRO and GTD winners Lexus and Mercedes-AMG, as well as Ferrari and Lamborghini will look to mix it up closer to the front of the field here.
IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup: Three of the four Rolex 24 class winners also scored the most points toward the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup, which awards separate points at different hourly markers in the five endurance races. At Sebring, points are awarded at the four-, eight- and 12-hour marks. Leading in each class following the Rolex 24 are the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 in GTP, the No. 22 United Autosports USA ORECA LMP2 07 in LMP2, the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 in GTD PRO, and a tie between the No. 13 AWA Corvette Z06 GT3.R and No. 70 Inception Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 in GTD.
CrowdStrike Endurance, Teamwork and Speed Award: The No. 24 BMW M Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8 (WeatherTech Championship) and No. 13 McCumbee McAleer Racing with Aerosport Ford Mustang GT4 (Michelin Pilot Challenge) were awarded the CrowdStrike Endurance, Teamwork and Speed Award for their performance at the Rolex 24 At Daytona weekend. The teams will be presented with the award during Sebring prerace ceremonies.

Who’s Hot?

Porsche: A dominant 1-3 finish at the Rolex 24 At Daytona positioned Porsche Penske Motorsport for season-long success in GTP. Additionally, Porsche snared a GTD podium with Wright Motorsports in second place. At a track where Porsche has won seven races in GT classes since 2018, the manufacturer is looking for more including its first overall win at this race since 2008.
Ford: Like Porsche in GTP, Ford ended 1-3 in GTD PRO at the Rolex 24 with the first global victory achieved for the new Mustang GT3. Ford also scored two podiums in the final three races of 2024, so the Ford Multimatic Motorsports team is riding its best wave of momentum thus far.

Who’s Good Here?

Jordan Taylor and Cadillac: Three-time Sebring winner Taylor seeks to defend his 2024 win with Wayne Taylor Racing in the team’s return to Cadillac, a manufacturer that has won the Twelve Hours of Sebring overall five times in the last eight years (2017, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023).
Colin Braun, Nick Tandy: The pair of three-time Sebring class winners have never won this race overall, but a fourth Sebring win for either driver would erase that stat.
Antonio Garcia and Corvette: The lone four-time Sebring winner in the field shares the No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R with Alexander Sims and Daniel Juncadella. Corvette Racing has 12 Sebring wins although like Garcia, none since 2022.

Previous Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Winners in 2025 Field (44)

Antonio Garcia (4): GT1 – 2009; GTLM – 2015, 2017; GTD PRO – 2022
Sebastien Bourdais (3): GT2 – 2006; P – 2015; DPi – 2021
Colin Braun (3): PC – 2014, 2016; LMP3 – 2021
Nick Tandy (3): GTLM – 2018, 2019, 2020
Jordan Taylor (3): P – 2017; GTD PRO – 2022; GTP – 2024
Earl Bamber (2): GTLM – 2020; DPi – 2022
Ryan Dalziel (2): WEC P2 – 2012, LMP2 – 2024
Mario Farnbacher (2): GTD – 2015, 2017
Joey Hand (2): GT – 2011, 2012
Mikkel Jensen (2): LMP2 – 2021, 2022
Tommy Milner (2): GT – 2013; GTLM – 2016
Madison Snow (2): GTD – 2018, 2023
Jack Aitken (1): GTP – 2023
Klaus Bachler (1): GTD PRO – 2023
Ben Barnicoat (1): GTD PRO – 2024
Mirko Bortolotti (1): GTD – 2019
Gianmaria Bruni (1): GT2 – 2010
Josh Burdon (1): LMP3 – 2023
Dane Cameron (1): PC – 2011
Matt Campbell (1): GTLM – 2021
Nicky Catsburg (1): GTD PRO – 2022
Louis Deletraz (1): GTP – 2024
Indy Dontje (1): GTD – 2024
Philip Ellis (1): GTD – 2024
John Farano (1): LMP2 – 2023
Felipe Fraga (1): LMP3 – 2023
Antonio Fuoco (1): GTD – 2022
Jack Hawksworth (1): GTD PRO – 2024
Mathieu Jaminet (1): GTLM – 2021
Neel Jani (1): DPi – 2022
Lars Kern (1): GTD – 2021
Kyle Kirkwood (1): GTD PRO – 2024
George Kurtz (1): LMP3 – 2021
Felipe Nasr (1): DPi – 2019
Alex Riberas (1): GTD – 2015
Zacharie Robichon (1): GTD – 2021
Gar Robinson (1): LMP3 – 2023
Mike Rockenfeller (1): GTLM – 2017
Giorgio Sernagiotto (1): GTD – 2022
Alexander Sims (1): GTP – 2023
Ricky Taylor (1): P – 2017
Russell Ward (1): GTD – 2024
Laurens Vanthoor (1): GTD PRO – 2023
Tristan Vautier (1): DPi – 2021

Previous Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Pole Winners in 2025 Field (17)

Gianmaria Bruni (3): GT – 2011, 2013; WEC GT – 2012
Dane Cameron (3): LMPC – 2011; GTD – 2014; DPi – 2019
Antonio Garcia (3): GTLM – 2020, 2021; GTD PRO – 2023
Sebastien Bourdais (2): P – 2014; DPi – 2022
Colin Braun (2): LMPC – 2013; PC – 2016
Daniel Serra (2): GTD – 2018; GTD PRO – 2022
Tristan Vautier (2): GTD – 2017; P – 2018
Connor De Phillippi (1): GTLM – 2018
Scott Dixon (1): P1 – 2009
Antonio Fuoco (1): GTD – 2024
Jack Hawksworth (1): GTD PRO – 2024
PJ Hyett (1): LMP2 – 2024
Rasmus Lindh (1): LMP3 – 2021
Zacharie Robichon (1): GTD – 2022
Gar Robinson (1): LMP3 – 2022
Ricky Taylor (1): DPi – 2020
Steven Thomas (1): LMP2 – 2021

Previous Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Winning Teams in 2025 Field (18)

Corvette Racing (12): GTS – 2002, 2003, 2004; GT1 – 2006, 2007, 2008 2009; GT – 2013; GTLM – 2015, 2016, 2017; GTD PRO – 2022
PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports (5): LMPC – 2013; PC – 2015; LMP2 – 2020, 2021, 2022
Team Penske (4): PROTO 15 – 1964; GT13 – 1966; Trans-Am – 1968; P2 – 2008
Action Express Racing (3): P – 2015; DP – 2019; GTP – 2023
BMW M Team RLL (2): GT – 2011, ALMS GT – 2012
Paul Miller Racing (2): GTD – 2018, 2023
Pfaff Motorsports (2): GTD – 2021; GTD PRO – 2023
Riley (2): GTD – 2017; LMP3 – 2023
Wayne Taylor Racing (2): P – 2017, GTP – 2024
Af Corse (1): WEC GT – 2012
Cetilar Racing (1): GTD – 2022
Era Motorsport (1): LMP2 – 2024
Ford (1): P13 – 1967
JDC-Miller MotorSports (1): DPi – 2021
Tower Motorsports (1): LMP2 – 2023
Vasser Sullivan Racing (1): GTD PRO – 2024
Winward Racing (1): GTD – 2024
Wright Motorsports (1): GTD – 2020

Previous Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Winning Manufacturers in 2025 Field (11)

Porsche – 101
Chevrolet – 41
Ferrari – 38
Ford – 9
BMW – 8
Cadillac – 5
Acura – 4
Aston Martin – 3
Mercedes-AMG – 3
Lamborghini – 2
Lexus – 1

Grand Sport Hits the 250-Race Milestone in Sebring

Several of Class’ Winningest Competitors Reflect on 25 Years of GS

March 6, 2025

By Tony DiZinno

IMSA Wire Service

Entry List (Click Here)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Through the first quarter of the new century in an ever-evolving domestic sports car landscape, one IMSA class has stayed relatively consistent: the Michelin Pilot Challenge Grand Sport (GS) class. A hotbed for pony cars, home-built specials and, most recently as of 2017 to present day, SRO GT4 homologated thoroughbreds, GS often provides some of IMSA’s best racing on any given weekend.

At the Alan Jay Automotive Network 120 at Sebring International Raceway (Friday, March 14, 2:15 p.m. ET, Peacock and YouTube), the GS class runs its 250th race since coming under GRAND-AM sanction to start the 2001 season. That total covers 249 previous GS and GSI class races through the 2025 Michelin Pilot Challenge season-opening BMW M Endurance Challenge at Daytona International Speedway.

The Road to 250

Reflecting on the road to 250 GS races, some of Michelin Pilot Challenge’s most frequent GS winners weighed in on the class and what it’s meant to the North American sports car landscape.

“I’ve always felt for most of my career, GS tends to be better than GT in terms of battles the field has for close racing,” said Billy Johnson, the 2016 GS champion and co-leader in all-time Michelin Pilot Challenge wins with 24 total, 20 in GS.

“It’s the perfect example of human evolution,” added Matt Plumb, a two-time GS champion (2013, 2024) and the man tied with Johnson on 24 Michelin Pilot Challenge wins, although he’s got 21 in GS. “Everything has progressed to be so specialized and technical. It’s light years ahead of where it was even 10 years ago in 2015.”

“The GS format has always had a minimum drive time, and a pit stop. That consistency levels the playing field between pro/am and pro/pro teams,” noted Will Turner, whose Turner Motorsport team is the all-time winningest GS team with 29 victories.

“As a GT4 category, there isn’t another one globally the way GS operates in IMSA. Proper pit stops. Proper strategy. It’s a proper race. It’s old school,” reflected Robin Liddell, a 17-time GS winner and 2015 GS champion (pictured above at Sebring, racing Plumb and Johnson).

This quartet of longtime GS stalwarts encapsulate just some of the evolution that’s happened in the class over 25 years and the first 249 races. The consistent theme that’s emerged is the GS of today has shifted from a build-your-own battler to a buy-from-manufacturer model. What hasn’t changed is the competitiveness, depth and door-to-door action.

“When we first started in ‘05, we built new cars for GRAND-AM,” said Turner, who like many GS competitors started in World Challenge. “I still remember in the shop building everything from the cages, to where we’d put the fuel cells, even coming up with splitter designs at the front. Then we’d need to run to the Turner parts side of things to find parts for the race car! It was that easy, for us, having the parts store related to the race team.”

KohR Motorsports team principal/driver Dean Martin, an engineer by background, added, “Your job here is to figure out what someone is doing better and then evolve your own attention to detail to beat them. I say a lot that more races are won back in the shop than at the track. If you don’t prep right, you’re going to struggle.”

Memorable Moments

Many memorable races stand out. For the Plumb brothers (pictured right at a 2015 GS Road America win), Matt and older brother Hugh, it meant showing up in Daytona with only their helmets and no rides in 2002.

“I essentially thought to myself, ‘I'm either going to quit racing or make this happen,’” Matt Plumb said. “I started doing some coaching and I wandered down to Daytona just to check out the sports car thing and that ultimately led to a pivot into closed top racing.”

Hugh Plumb added, “Showing up two days before the race, hoping to get a ride, those were the days where that could happen. It sounds hysterical now, but the fascination of getting a ride at Daytona seemed like this really cool thing.”

For Johnson, it included winning historic races for the Roush family as part of a dynamic run of form from 2009 to 2013, when he won 10 GS races in a five-year span.

“At Miller Motorsports Park in ’09, I was battling Bill Auberlen the last 10 laps, changing the lead two-three times a lap,” Johnson recalled. “I came out on top there and that gave Jack Roush Jr. his first professional race win.

“Then at Homestead-Miami Speedway in ’10, we won again, and that was Jack’s father’s 400th victory as a team owner across NASCAR, drag racing and sports car racing. They’d made challenge coins with 400 on the back. Other teams tried to achieve that win for Jack Roush Sr., but we got it done. Jack came back through the field after a tech issue and we won the race anyway. Those were good memories.”

For Turner (pictured left after a 2022 GS win at Watkins Glen with Bill Auberlen and Dillon Machavern), it was his first win in a GS-only race nearly 20 years ago in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic with Bill Auberlen and Justin Marks.

“Our team was in its infancy; we weren’t all professional race crew. It felt going in like a fun vacation as well as a race!” Turner laughed. “Beyond the win, I remember two things. One, how many fans we had in the Dominican Republic. It was so fan-heavy that when Justin and Bill won, they had to do a ‘human chain’ around them to get them from the car to the podium!

“The second was how good the race was. It was a low-grip, makeshift track and very hot, dry and dusty, but it was so good for the fans to see it from everywhere. To win our first one there was nuts. Justin was a baby back then, and even Bill had hair!”

Liddell’s last laps fourth-to-first charge in the rain at Road America 2019, passing two cars in Canada Corner and then leader Kuno Wittmer just before the start/finish line, stands as a GS all-timer.

“As I came onto the frontstraight I was pretty happy about finishing second but the next thing I saw was the leader slowing and pulling over in front of me. I just kept my foot in it, drove onto the grass and squeezed past just before the line,” Liddell reflected.

Rivalries and Respect Carry Through Time

The battle between Plumb and Johnson has carried through three decades of GS, even if both drivers haven’t always overlapped in the series. What’s clear is that both have a huge amount of respect for each other, and a desire to beat the other one.

“It’s been awesome throughout our careers,” Johnson said. “Our rivalry has gone back so many years, even as I was out of the series for several years. That one period from ’09 to ’12, it felt like if I didn’t win, Matt won, or vice versa. That speaks to the depth of the field. I think a common denominator is us winning throughout different generations of cars and formats of racing.”

Plumb added, “I think I said it to him at Daytona, but I'm glad that he is the one who I'm competing against for this win (record). Because I do respect the hell out of him. Knowing he’s in front or behind me, he’s got just enough sense to race him where it works out for both of us. No matter when you’re around him, he races you the same. I’m happy to share that record with him, but I’ll still do anything to kick his rear end!”

Winning is hard in GS. Turner, BMW’s longest serving customer team, has made more than 600 total race starts and estimated it’s made more than 370 of those in GS, running at least two cars most years.

Behind Turner’s 29 wins, among active GS teams, KohR is the second-winningest team with nine GS wins, with its predecessor Rehagen Racing adding five more wins. Rebel Rock Racing has eight, BGB Motorsports six, RS1 and Team TGM five apiece, CarBahn four and Winward Racing three.

Jeff Lapcevich and John Shreiner won the first GS race on February 4, 2001 in a Ford Mustang Cobra R at Daytona. Nearly 24 years later, Michael Cooper and Moisey Uretsky won the 249th GS race in Daytona in their No. 44 Accelerating Performance McLaren Artura GT4, to become the 149th and 150th drivers to win a GS race.

And in a little over a week, the two Plumbs (split in the Nos. 46 and 64 Team TGM Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 EVOs), Johnson (No. 59 KohR Ford Mustang GT4), Liddell (No. 71 Rebel Rock Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 EVO) and Turner (fielding the Nos. 95 and 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 EVOs), have a chance to win this milestone race.

Or, one of the other 20-plus cars entered in GS covering both all-pro and pro/am lineups, as the class has long intended.

“In this modern age of sports car racing, we live in a world where we can’t escape track limits, BoP, driver ratings, and I celebrate GS because we get to keep running in the vein of the old GRAND-AM GT series,” said Liddell.

For Bryan Sellers, New Role Means “Learn by Doing”

Post-Driving, Sellers Steering DXDT Racing’s Complex, New IMSA Voyage

March 4, 2025

By David Phillips

IMSA Wire Service

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - “Learn by doing.” It’s advice offered by sages from Aristotle and Confucius to Thomas Jefferson, Dale Carnegie and Richard Branson, to name a few. It’s advice being put into action by many a young team in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, including 2025 newcomers DXDT Racing.

DXDT made its initial WeatherTech Championship series start in the Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) class in January’s Rolex 24 At Daytona. Suffice to say the team’s GTD debut was a mixed bag given that the No. 36 Corvette Z06 GT3.R qualified 16th in class and was laid low by a fire just past the midway point of the race. On the other hand, drivers Charlie Eastwood, Salih Yoluc, Alec Udell and Pipo Derani had worked their way into the top five in class – and even led a lap – before their race reached a premature conclusion.

The good news is that, like their competitors, DXDT will have had eight weeks to regroup and prepare for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, March 15. The bad news? Like their competitors, DXDT will have had eight weeks to regroup and prepare for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

DXDT’s program manager Bryan Sellers explains.

“The break gives us time to learn from things that happened at Daytona,” he said. “I wouldn’t call them mistakes. I’d prefer to think in terms of us benefiting from the experiences of actually racing to continue our program’s development.

“The Rolex 24 was a new series, a new car and the first time a lot of people were working together. And there are some things you just can’t learn without doing them. You can practice and practice but there's no replacement for actual exposure to real, live race conditions.”

Sellers knows whereof he speaks. Like his team, he’s facing a steep learning curve in his first season as DXDT program manager after a remarkably successful career as a race driver that saw him earn a pair of WeatherTech Championship GTD championships (2018, 2023) and the 2020 IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup (co-driving with Madison Snow) with Paul Miller Racing. Additionally, Sellers raced a DXDT Corvette in GT World Challenge before accepting team owner David Askew’s offer to join general manager Erin Gahagan in orchestrating the organization’s WeatherTech Championship GTD program.

Sellers’ first “actual exposure to real, real live race conditions” at Daytona as DXDT’s program manager was, predictably, an eye opener.

“I truly enjoyed it,” he says. “Looking back, for sure there were moments when I wanted to be out there driving. But I got a great deal of satisfaction helping to formulate the driver, pit stop, fuel and tire strategies. Of course, I contributed to that driving for Paul Miller Racing, but to have a larger part in it I found extremely rewarding.

“Erin and I have very complementary roles leading up to everything in the race. She’s been amazing to work with; her depth of knowledge in how this all comes together and works is pretty incredible. I feel pretty fortunate. When we get into the race my responsibility moves more towards the operational side, being able to see what happens in pit lane but also strategy and working with the engineering department, driver line-ups and rotations, pit stop rotations.

“Most places have a structure where a strategist or a lead engineer makes those calls. On our side we’ve structured it so that Zach Rischar, our lead engineer, has the final decision. But until then it’s a pretty open conversation as to what our options are and what we think is best. For me, I can offer alternate thoughts in those areas, provide a different point of view that’s not from an engineering side and more from a driver’s side.”

Absorbing all the action exclusively from atop the pit stand was a new experience for Sellers.

“The perspectives are very different,” he said. “There are often times when it’s easier to make a call from inside the car. You see things sometimes very clearly based on the tire degradation, where you’re at in terms of track position, how easy or how difficult it is to pass, how the traffic outlay is coming. Often there are conversations back to pit lane where you say, ‘If we’re in our pit window, now would be a good time to stop.’ From the timing stand that’s a very easy decision to go along with: ‘This is what the driver wants, it does fit into our window. Let’s go!’

“You have a very different picture on the stand. You don’t get all those visuals and feelings you have inside the car. You don’t feel how the tire degradation is going, how the car is going with the fuel load burning off. (Instead) you’re often making decisions based on what you see from the pit stand, how the race is playing out in your eyes and what other people are doing, and you’re reacting or not reacting to their calls. It’s a very different game.”

Speaking of different games, along with the challenges of readying for Sebring, DXDT is knee deep in preparations to run a new Bosch electronic hand-brake control system on its Corvette at Long Beach in April, the first of half a dozen sprint races in which Robert Wickens is slated to compete alongside a to-be-announced co-driver.

Wickens was partially paralyzed as the result of an IndyCar crash in 2018 but returned to racing the past several seasons, driving a Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra N to the 2023 Michelin Pilot Challenge Touring Car (TCR) class title.

Announced officially in September, the new Bosch system is anticipated to provide a quantum leap in “driver friendliness” over the mechanical hand-brake system Wickens has used to such effect in the past. He raced the new system twice in his Hyundai Elantra to cap off the 2024 Michelin Pilot Challenge campaign.

Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports’ Tommy Milner has already conducted straight line testing of the system in a Corvette in January, and the next step is anticipated when Wickens takes the wheel of the DXDT Corvette at Sebring the Monday and Tuesday after the Twelve Hours.

But as Sellers will be the first to tell you, while much will be gleaned on those test days, the real learning will come when Wickens and the DXDT Corvette hit the track in competition.

Sellers Photo Courtesy of DXDT Racing

Finalists Named for 2026-27 IMSA 3D Scholarship

A Field of 12 in the Running for Benefits Worth Up to $300,000 to Race in IMSA

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 4, 2025) – The field has been narrowed to 12 finalists for the 2026-27 IMSA Diverse Driver Development (3D) Scholarship. The recipient, to be named in the fall, will receive benefits worth up to $300,000 to compete in one of four IMSA-sanctioned championships in 2026.

The IMSA 3D Scholarship promotes and empowers drivers from a variety of backgrounds and experiences to participate in an IMSA series. The finalists chosen possess a strong desire to compete in IMSA, have outstanding previous race results and/or proven on-track potential in junior racing categories, plus the ability to create a compelling strategy to compete in a full season in one of four IMSA-sanctioned series: the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge or – new for 2026 – Mustang Challenge.

The scholarship includes benefits from IMSA and a growing number of corporate partners: Michelin, VP Racing Fuels, OMP, Bell, Recaro, Skip Barber Racing School, RAFA Racing Club and LAT Images.

Over the next several months, the finalists will work on IMSA-developed modules. Previous topics included marketing, business development, personal branding, media training, nutrition and how to approach teams and represent an automotive manufacturer. The final step for finalists is submission by August 8 of a business plan and securing a full-season ride with a team in one of the four participating IMSA-sanctioned series for the following season before the winner is named.

The 12 finalists for the fifth annual IMSA 3D Scholarship were selected from a pool of candidates who submitted their applications starting in January. The list of finalists consists of seven men and five women, six of whom were finalists in past years. Listed in alphabetical order with hometown, here are the 2026-27 finalists (*-designates a finalist in a previous year).

ANDRE CASTRO,* 26

New York, New York

Castro made his third and fourth career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts in 2024 at Portland and the Chicago street course. Beyond his stock car career, Castro is also a very experienced open-wheel driver across Skip Barber F2000, USF2000, F1600, Formula Ford, F4 U.S. and USF Juniors. He holds an economics degree and won the Team USA Scholarship in 2021, which allowed him to race abroad in the Formula Ford Festival.

SABRE COOK,* 30

Carmel, Indiana

Cook joins JDX Racing in 2025 for her third season of Porsche Carrera Cup North America, looking to improve upon a best result of sixth place achieved in Miami, 2023. A vastly successful karter with eight Colorado state titles and three TAG USA world titles, Cook’s racing career has taken her to the W Series, Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by Michelin, Indy Pro 2000, USF2000, F4 U.S. Championship and more. She holds a mechanical engineering degree and is in her third year as a Porsche female development driver for Porsche Motorsport North America.

JULIAN DACOSTA, 17

Myakka City, Florida

DaCosta advanced to the Whelen MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin ranks for 2024 and finished eighth in the championship with a runner-up finish at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. This season, he is racing with JTR Motorsports Engineering in MX-5 Cup. The teenager has already accumulated extensive experience testing or racing Trans Am TA2, Pro Late Model, Late Model, MX-5 Cup, Spec Miata and GR Cup cars since his karting days.

ERNIE FRANCIS JR.,* 27

Southwest Ranches, Florida

Francis Jr. took to the IMSA-sanctioned Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America like a duck to water in his 2024 rookie season, claiming the Pro class championship with co-driver Giano Taurino at TR3 Racing on the strength of four victories. A multi-time champion in Trans Am (47 wins) and a regular winner in World Challenge (16 wins), Francis’ versatility has also taken him to Indy NXT open-wheel cars, where he podiumed, and the half dirt-track, half-paved track SRX Series, where he won a race and finished second in the 2021 championship.

NICKY HAYS,* 23

Huntington Beach, California

Hays advanced from karting into formula cars in 2018 and has since accumulated a wealth of experience across Formula F, F1600, F4, FR Americas and USF2000. Since adding sports cars to his résumé, he’s been in several academy programs (notably the Richard Mille Young Talent Academy and HPD Acura NSX GT3 Academy) while also making a pair of Porsche Carrera Cup North America starts in 2023. Hays has been confirmed to run in Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America this season with ANSA Motorsports.

MAX HEWITT, 23

Houston, Texas

Hewitt has spent time in FR Americas and GR Cup as he’s worked to advance his career. An entry point to a potential greater role comes with his presence as part of the Aston Martin Drivers Academy, racing in the GT4 Winter Series in Europe. He is exploring joining the IMSA paddock later in 2025.

CHRISTINA LAM,* 36

Vienna, Virginia

A longtime SCCA and NASA series competitor, Lam has also achieved a bevy of success both as a driving coach and racing in BMW Car Club of America (BMW CCA) competition. Outside the track, Lam has focused on several STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) programs. She’s been involved with Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Society of Women Engineers, Center for Women's Innovations and Collegiate FSAE. She stepped up to IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Touring Car (TCR) competition in 2025, sharing the No. 10 Rockwell Automotive Development Audi RS3 LMS TCR with the father-son pair of Alex and Eric Rockwell. She finished 10th on debut in Daytona, and hosted FSAE students from Florida State University and Embry Riddle Aeronautical University during the weekend.

SALLY MOTT, 19

Crawford, Texas

Mott competed in her first season of Whelen MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin in 2024 after winning the MX-5 Cup Women’s Initiative Scholarship, finishing 12th in the championship with a best result of sixth at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. She is back in the series for 2025 with JTR Motorsports Engineering in an Iron Dames-inspired livery and helmet. She is also a Spec Miata race winner, championship karter and driver coach.

RILEY PEGRAM, 20

Hebron, Ohio

The daughter of motorcycle road racing champion Larry, the younger Pegram is competing alongside her dad for the full 2025 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season in the No. 72 Pegram Racing Hyundai Elantra N TCR in Touring Car (TCR). She has shifted up from both driving and coaching in karting into racing in Porsche Sprint Challenge in 2023. She made her TCR debut with her dad in 2024 running select races and securing a best finish of sixth in Indianapolis.

ASHLYN SPEED, 18

Mansfield, Texas

Speed joined Whelen MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin with Hendricks Motorsports on the heels of winning the Mazda Women in Motorsports Initiative Scholarship and made her debut in Daytona. Prior to that, she raced in Spec Miata, F1600, F4 and Formula Mazda, capturing the SCCA FX Class Southern Class Championship in the latter series. Outside of driving, she volunteers with the U.S. Olympians and Paralympians in training and raises awareness for Hands On Driving Academy, providing fully sponsored racing in the SCCA for disabled racers.

JOAO VERGARA, 17

Sunny Isles Beach, Florida

Shifting up from karting in Brazil, Vergara has gained his initial American racing experience through the junior open-wheel categories of the Lucas Oil Formula Car Series (where he won a shootout scholarship in 2023) and USF Juniors. He’s also already had engineering experience as a junior engineer with a leading USF Pro 2000 Championship team.

WESTIN WORKMAN,* 20

Charlotte, North Carolina

Workman has become a workhorse in his early sports car racing career across multiple series. He captured the 2024 Whelen MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin Rookie of the Year Award with two wins – one at Sebring International Raceway and the other at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park en route to sixth place in points. He also scored 11 podiums in GR Cup competition. He moved into MX-5 Cup after winning the 2023 MX-5 Cup Scholarship Shootout, following a successful rise through the junior formula car ranks (third in 2022 Lucas Oil Formula Car Series) and karting. He competes with BSI Racing in both MX-5 and GR Cup in 2025.

IMSA Full-Season Grid Heavily Represented in 2025 Le Mans Entry List

Porsche Penske, Boulle, Fidani and Heavy GTP Presence Across 62-Car Field

March 3, 2025

By Tony DiZinno

IMSA Wire Service

Entry List

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The crossover of IMSA entries into the 24 Hours of Le Mans continues with the 2025 edition of the June endurance classic, following today’s entry list release.

Three IMSA entrants received automatic invitations for their efforts in the 2024 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season: Porsche Penske Motorsport, Nick Boulle and Orey Fidani.

Porsche Penske claimed its spot by capturing the 2024 Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class championship. Meanwhile Boulle and Fidani were the top-scoring Bronze-rated drivers in Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) and Grand Touring Daytona (GTD), respectively, and secured the Jim Trueman Award and Bob Akin Award for their efforts. IMSA recognizes those entries with a chance to race at the Circuit de la Sarthe in June.

Felipe Nasr and Nick Tandy are the first named drivers for the No. 4 Porsche 963, which joins the team’s FIA World Endurance Championship-entered Nos. 5 and 6 cars.

Boulle takes up his Trueman spot with Inter Europol Competition in LMP2 Pro/Am, the same team he competed with en route to the 2024 LMP2 title. He’s racing in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup this season with United Autosports USA. He’ll share the No. 34 Inter Europol ORECA LMP2 07 with Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer and Luca Ghiotto.

Fidani and AWA (left) bring the Corvette Z06 GT3.R to Le Mans GT3 (LMGT3). The same Rolex 24-winning trio of Fidani, Matt Bell and Lars Kern will share the No. 13 Corvette.

Beyond those automatic invitations, a handful of other IMSA teams received at-large entries as part of the greater 62-car grid.

Action Express Racing, entered as the No. 311 Cadillac Whelen car, is set for its third trip to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a row. Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber, Frederik Vesti and Felipe Drugovich shared the team’s No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R at the Rolex 24 At Daytona, with Bamber in his full-time WEC slot in the Cadillac Hertz Team Jota entry leaving the other three to race the Whelen Cadillac at Le Mans.

Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing makes it four Cadillacs at Le Mans, with the eponymous team owner now set to bring his team over to the track for the first time with the No. 101 entry and drivers Jordan Taylor, Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque. Wayne Taylor competed in 13 24 Hours of Le Mans races as a driver over a span from 1987 through 2002, and secured a class win in a Doyle-Risi Ferrari 333 SP in 1998. His last three times at Le Mans came as part of the former Cadillac Northstar prototype program from 2000 to 2002.

A handful of additional teams beyond those mentioned above have raced in both IMSA and the FIA WEC and will race at Le Mans. These include Aston Martin THOR Team, Proton Competition, United Autosports, Af Corse, AO Racing (with TF Sport), Algarve Pro Racing, TDS Racing, TF Sport and Iron Dames.

There’s also a prevalence of drivers that competed in the Rolex 24 to start the IMSA season that will also compete in the WEC’s blue-riband event, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. At least 88 (45 Hypercar, 30 LMGT3, 13 LMP2) drivers who raced in the Rolex 24 are entered on the provisional Le Mans entry list, including roughly 30 projected full-season IMSA drivers.

It includes nearly the entire IMSA Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) full-season field, with Matt Campbell, Mathieu Jaminet, Felipe Nasr and Nick Tandy (Porsche Penske), Ricky Taylor, Jordan Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque (Cadillac WTR), Jack Aitken (Cadillac Whelen), Dries Vanthoor and Sheldon van der Linde (BMW M Team WRT), Ross Gunn and Roman De Angelis (Aston Martin THOR Team) all racing with their same manufacturer and in all cases except BMW, same team as in IMSA.

Despite not being entered, Acura Meyer Shank Racing is heavily represented as well with all four of its full-season GTP drivers. Colin Braun (Nielsen Racing), Tom Blomqvist (CLX Pure Racing), Renger van der Zande (United Autosports) and Nick Yelloly (Inter Europol Competition) are split across four different LMP2 cars.

There are also a handful of drivers entered thus far that won the Rolex 24 with a shot to win both in Daytona and Le Mans this same year. They include:

Felipe Nasr, Nick Tandy, Laurens Vanthoor
Paul Di Resta
Dennis Olsen
Orey Fidani, Matt Bell, Lars Kern

The Le Mans Test Day is Sunday, June 8, with practice and qualifying during the week leading up to the race start on Saturday, June 14 at 4 p.m. local time. After the race ends Sunday, June 15, those IMSA participants competing at Le Mans will travel back to the U.S. for the third round of the Michelin Endurance Cup season, the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, Sunday, June 22, at Watkins Glen International.

Koch’s Decade-Long IMSA Journey Finally Promises a Full Season

Korthoff Mercedes-AMG Driver Celebrates Mother’s 10-Year Anniversary Post Heart Transplant

March 3, 2025

By Holly Cain

IMSA Wire Service

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Kenton Koch’s rise through the IMSA racing ranks shows a lot of perseverance and commitment. It has certainly enhanced an uncommon natural combination of talent and drive.

And Koch gets it honestly, as they say.

The 30-year-old Californian has earned his way up the competition ladder to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with the ultimate role model: his mother Karen Koch, who just celebrated being a 10-year heart transplant survivor.

From the “Donate Life America” emblem on his race cars to the inspiration that fills his heart, Koch and his family sure do not lack in motivation or can-do spirit.

“Having to go through something like that, you know, there’s the worry, but also the happiness of the promise that has resulted,” said Koch, who will drive the No. 32 Korthoff Competition Motors Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on March 15 with teammates Seth Lucas and Maxi Goetz in Grand Touring Daytona (GTD).

“Now, having her support has brought me joy and just makes you cherish life. You appreciate your parents and it gives you a different perspective, I would imagine, than if life was a little bit different and you didn’t go through such a traumatic thing.

“You think your parents are invincible, you know. You don't think anything bad can happen,” Koch continued. “Thankfully, everything went really well.”

In many ways, racing was a coping mechanism for Koch, who started racing after attending a car show in Los Angeles but quickly proved he had the talent to give the sport a real go. He captured multiple racing scholarships to propel each level in the early going.

In 2012, he absolutely dominated the Skip Barber Mazdaspeed Challenge winning 17 of 20 races en route to the championship. The next year he won the Skip Barber Pro Challenge Series championship in a similarly dominant fashion, scoring nine wins in 11 races and setting five track records.

A pivotal period in his racing career occurred a decade ago. Koch secured the Mazda MX-5 Cup title in 2014 with six wins from 12 races, with a scholarship secured into IMSA Prototype Lites for 2015 (the series has since evolved into the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge).

Midway through the 2014 season, a race weekend in Houston in June changed Koch’s perspective. That was the weekend he remembers his mother was placed on the heart transplant list.

“We didn’t have a lot of funding or budget at that time,” Koch said. “I basically came up going through scholarship opportunities. MX-5 Cup was a huge year … if I didn’t win, then that was it, so you had to make it work.

“That weekend (in Houston) was a pretty big turning point. We were super fast, but we had to buckle down and my mom’s situation was always in the back of my mind,” he continued. “It gave me more of a desire to do well and we dominated that weekend and then did really well from that point on, winning the championship.

“That’s when I kind of fell in love with what (success) could do for you in terms of motivation and positivity. It was certainly a motivating factor. I would say I’m probably not on one of the more ‘emotional-lists’ when it comes to being in a car. There’s not really a lot that gets me, but that weekend, I actually broke down in tears.”

He began the Prototype Lites season at Sebring in 2015, which occurred shortly after his mother received her heart transplant in January. Without the MX-5 Cup championship scholarship to advance to begin with, it’s unclear how Koch might have progressed.

“She got it and was able to recover over six months or so,” he explained. “That was the year we were in IMSA Lites, which we were able to win, so we did pretty good.”

Koch began the 2016 WeatherTech Championship season with a Prototype Challenge (PC) class win on debut in the Rolex 24 At Daytona, part of JDC-Miller MotorSports’ lineup.

While he’s had intermittent starts since, he made just his 20th WeatherTech Championship start at the 2025 Rolex 24. He is coming off a 2024 season with a career-high seven starts, his first GTD win – which came at VIRginia International Raceway – and a subsequent podium at Indianapolis.

The reshuffled Korthoff team sees Koch now anchoring the team’s Mercedes-AMG GT3 alongside the up-and-coming Lucas, with Mercedes-AMG veteran Goetz as third driver. It comes after Koch was generally the third driver alongside Korthoff’s previous full-season pair of Mikael Grenier and Mike Skeen; that trio won the 2023 IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTD title. In a late-season tweak, Koch moved into the sprint race seat alongside Grenier at Road America and VIR.

This season marks Koch’s first full-time WeatherTech Championship campaign after a decade-long journey to get there, and after the new lineup finished ninth at Daytona. Ascending to this spot is a big step for his career, but one that he feels prepared for, and excited about.

“Being a third driver is very different than being a full season driver because as a third, you pretty much get the minimum amount of time in the car and just try not to screw up for the team,” Koch said, adding, “Now I'm in the position where I have a little bit more say and I like that. I feel like I have a lot to be able to add and I'm excited to be in that position to do that.

"I feel like I'm ready for it."

Sports Car Success Beckoning For Kevin Magnussen In ‘Second Career’

Roman's Rise: De Angelis Ascends
To GTP Atop IMSA Ladder

DragonSpeed Adds Altoe For Remainder Of 2025 IMSA Season

Tickets And Premium Fan Hospitality Still Available For Mobil 1 Twelve Hours Of Sebring

VP Racing SportsCar Challenge Adds To IMSA’s Eclectic COTA History

Walls Of St. Petersburg Street Course Attempt To Tame Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup

More Lamborghini Super Trofeo Teams Reveal 2025 Programs

Meyer Shank Is Back Where It Belongs

Team’s IMSA, Acura Return Off To Strong Start With Rolex 24 Runner-Up

February 26, 2025

By John Oreovicz

IMSA Wire Service

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - You don’t often see a smile as big as Mike Shank’s following a second-place finish – the result the No. 60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura ARX-06 and drivers Colin Braun, Tom Blomqvist, Scott Dixon, and Felix Rosenqvist achieved in January’s 2025 Rolex 24 At Daytona.

But Shank had plenty of reasons to be grinning after seeing his team return to competition in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship after a year’s absence. In partnership with Honda Racing Corporation USA (HRC US), an expanded and invigorated MSR is back as the factory team fielding a pair of Acura prototypes in the top Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class. Blomqvist and Braun picked up right where they left off, exceeding their third-place finish in the 2023 IMSA GTP standings in the Shank organization’s previous single-car iteration with the Daytona runner-up.

While Shank now also operates a two-car IndyCar team, his roots are in sports car racing and he can’t wait for his rejuvenated effort’s next race – the 73rd running of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, March 12-15 at Sebring International Raceway.

“It was really good to be back, and I’m surprised how much I missed it, actually,” Shank related. “I had done 20 years in a row up to that point, so missing it for a year was pretty weird. Getting back, and getting back at the level we were at, which I was very pleased with, was very satisfying. And we continued just making it better. Our group takes a little time to get rolling, but once we do, we build a head of steam. We damn near won the Rolex 24. A couple more laps, and we would have won the race.

“We had a good test at Sebring, and I’m just anxious to get going.”

Bigger is Better

Shank and HRC had plenty of prior experience, working together for the ’23 season in GTP and the two preceding years in IMSA’s former top class called Daytona Prototype International (DPi). MSR also spearheaded a two-car Acura effort in IMSA’s Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) class from 2017-20 and won back-to-back GTD championships in 2019 and 2020.

Without fanfare, and with assistance from Honda and partners Jim Meyer and Mike Curb, Shank has transformed his organization into a major player.

“We haven’t been a little team for a very long time,” he said. “We had 108 people at the Rolex 24 this year. That perception is long gone, in my opinion. It’s okay that it’s how we started, and our heart is still like that, but we operate one of the larger teams out there now. From a capability standpoint, I think we’re a top three team.

“But I think most people you would ask here would say we still have that sense of family values,” Shank continued. “The mentality is still to treat people with a high regard, to respect their environment, and look out for their safety. I’m proud of that part, and it’s hard, the bigger we get. That’s certainly the intention.”

What impressed Shank the most was the speed and the smoothness of the team’s preparation for 2025, despite not receiving the cars until late October 2024.

“The cool thing is we only had the equipment for about eight weeks when we went to Daytona,” Shank said. “To be able to perform at the level we did with two cars and all these incredible people we have, to get them all communicating effectively, it was very, very cool.

“We had run two NSXs for Acura from 2017 to 2020, so we’ve done two cars before. But two cars in GTP is a whole different animal; the massive amount of bodies it takes to run these cars at a high level is pretty amazing. I was really happy how it all came together. Out of 100 percent, I would say we performed in the 80s somewhere right out of the box, and I’m very pleased with that.”

Blomqvist and Braun co-drove to three race wins during their 2023 GTP campaign with MSR. Both were delighted with the progression of the team away from IMSA in the past year and are eager to reap the benefits of expanding to two cars in 2025.

“We were fortunate that Mike had the long-term view of keeping all the people we had in 2023,” Braun observed. “Obviously, adding a second car we’ve had to add engineering and other quality people. We’re strengthened in the sense that we have more resources at our disposal, and many of the core people are still in the program in different roles. We just have more smart people trying to pull the rope in the same direction and it’s fantastic. I think it’s just made the whole thing stronger and it’s going to raise the whole game of the team, for sure.”

One significant change is that Honda is supplying engineering personnel for the No. 93 – the car number symbolizing 1993, the year what was originally known as Honda Performance Development opened up shop and began preparing to field IndyCar engines. Already responsible for the design and development of the Acura ARX-06, HRC US continues to expand its range of capabilities.

Nick Yelloly and Renger van der Zande, the full-time drivers for the No. 93, have extensive history with multi-car factory programs (Yelloly with BMW and van der Zande with Cadillac) and can provide additional knowledge and perspective.

“HRC has stepped in and taken a larger operational role this time, so the 93 car is basically engineered by a lot of the Honda employees to give them some kind of trackside experience,” Blomqvist said. “I think that’s a great initiative for Honda. Our car (the No. 60) is run by guys I’ve worked with in the past. It’s pretty cool and I think it’s good for everyone. It definitely feels like there’s a lot more resources, which is always fun in racing. I’m excited for the season and think it’s going to be a good one for us.”

“The great thing is that we can work together as drivers but there’s double the data and double the ideas,” Yelloly added. “It will be really good for Honda and MSR as a whole to work together through this whole period because it will accelerate development to where we should be.”

Sunny Outlook

Like so many others, Shank is excited by the clear recent growth of the WeatherTech Championship and sports car racing around the world. He’s had a ringside seat to observe the development of IMSA over the last 20 years.

“You’ve got to credit Jim France and all that the IMSA and GRAND-AM people and staff have done over all the years through all the ups and downs,” Shank said. “Jim France kept his vision intact for where he thought we needed to be to have more participation and what he calls ‘a full paddock.’ His dad used to tell him, ‘You fill the paddock first, and then you worry about everything else.’

“And that’s what they’ve done here. They’ve created a place for the OEMs where they can compete at a high level but not have to spend the kind of money they spent back in the days when the factory teams were dominating sports car racing and nobody could afford it. While it’s still expensive, it’s a much better value proposition today.

“It takes a tremendous amount of work to get the combination or formula correct, and to then tie it together with Europe so that we share a worldwide car (with the FIA World Endurance Championship),” he concluded. “I just can’t over-emphasize how much work that was for John Doonan and his group. It’s impressive, and it’s really just now starting to show and to pay off, in my opinion. Sports car racing is only getting stronger and stronger.”

Roman’s Rise: De Angelis Ascends to GTP Atop IMSA Ladder

Canadian Has Captured Multiple Wins, Championships Along the Way

February 25, 2025

By Tony DiZinno

IMSA Wire Service

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Perhaps the most impressive part of how long Roman De Angelis has been a member of the IMSA community is realizing he’s only just turned 24 years old in mid-February.

Because the accolades have stacked up along the way as he prepares for his debut in the top class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring: Grand Touring Prototype (GTP).

De Angelis will share Aston Martin THOR Team’s No. 23 Aston Martin Valkyrie with Ross Gunn and Alex Riberas at Sebring International Raceway, marking the culmination of a years-long rise through the IMSA ladder.

One of the key notes in GTP since the class introduction in 2023 has been a push by manufacturers to promote their GT talent into prototypes, a trend Aston Martin has followed. De Angelis is no exception to that.

But where in some cases the GT talent has come from abroad, racing in European or other global championships, De Angelis’ rise has been homegrown throughout various IMSA series for nearly a decade.

It started when the then-16-year-old won his first of an eventual three titles in IMSA’s Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge series, the forerunner to today’s Porsche Carrera Cup North America. De Angelis took GT3 Canada titles in 2017 (Gold class) and 2019 (Platinum class) and added a USA title in 2019 (Platinum class).

He also quietly had his first IMSA prototype appearance in the non-points Michelin IMSA SportsCar Encore at Sebring in 2018, co-driving the winning Ligier Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) entry with another at-the-time under-the-radar star: eventual IndyCar Series race winner Kyle Kirkwood.

A key turning point for De Angelis came at the 2019 Rolex 24 At Daytona, a race remembered largely for guest star appearances from two-time Formula 1 World Champion Fernando Alonso in a Wayne Taylor Racing-entered Cadillac DPi-V.R and two-time IndyCar champion Alex Zanardi in a hand-controlled BMW Team RLL BMW M8 GTE and a deluge of rain.

De Angelis, quietly, captured a podium in his WeatherTech Championship debut in a Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) class Audi R8 LMS GT3, run by Audi Sport Team WRT Speedstar, a Canadian operation.

That was where he met Heart of Racing Team Principal Ian James, and the rest is history. By 2020, the pair were racing together in an Aston Martin Vantage. It seems natural for De Angelis to reflect on it all, which he did at the IMSA-sanctioned Sebring test in February.

“A lot of drivers in WEC and IMSA have come from open wheel backgrounds or European backgrounds. I think I’m one of the few who have done it from random opportunities in my career, largely through the IMSA ladder,” De Angelis explained.

“I’m a big advocate for IMSA. I’m fortunate to have been in my position to have people sponsor me in (Porsche) Cup early on, then did some LMP3 races which went well, and that opened doors to Daytona the first time with WRT in Audi Canada where I met Ian James for the first time. Of course, he’s now the program manager and team principal of The Heart of Racing. He’s given me the opportunity to compete the last six years in GTD .”

The progression began straightaway after his rookie season in 2020 due to that year’s unusual back-loaded calendar from July through November. The team’s first podium achieved at the Charlotte Motor Speedway “Roval” – another rain race, coincidentally – only served to build De Angelis’ confidence.

“It was myself and Ian driving and we were just a one-car program and small team,” he said. “We got a podium at Charlotte in the wet. It was our first podium. We were ecstatic. It’s one of my greatest memories of my career. Then we got another podium in Sebring (second place).

“I’m not overly self-confident, because results would come and fade away, and I’d be humbled again. But looking back… it’s so cool to be in this position now. I need some time to look at it from the outside. Sometimes it’s surreal to realize the position you’re in.”

The 2021 season was a breakout year for De Angelis, winning three times with Gunn en route to third place in that year’s GTD full-season championship and winning that year’s WeatherTech Sprint Cup championship.

De Angelis won the GTD championship solo in 2022, with all cars in GTD PRO and GTD now running to GT3-specifications. He won twice with Maxime Martin, who he raced alongside for most of the season, including on home soil at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in July. De Angelis completed his three-year run of form in 2023 with a runner-up finish in the GTD standings with two more wins, including his first Rolex 24 At Daytona triumph.

Last year saw the end of De Angelis’ GTD tenure, but for good reason. As preparations increased for 2025 with the Valkyrie program, De Angelis got more pro-class experience when promoted into the team’s GTD PRO-class entered second car for two races to cap off the year. He extended his number of consecutive years winning a race to four, with another win at CTMP, and now has eight career IMSA WeatherTech Championship wins.

He also had his first tests in the Valkyrie, building towards 2025. Perhaps the biggest adaptation for him, beyond the car, is the physical strength needed to handle it.

“There’s a lot going on with the buttons, knobs, paddles, switches, as I’m sure a lot of drivers have said that have made the jump!” he laughed. “With every test we go to, (the challenges) slow down and I understand it more. It’s just getting used to different functions, different electronics, driver aids, performance. That’s been the biggest eye-opener.

“The car is physical on the neck. I’ve been working on that from the day they said they’d have a Hypercar program. It’s still not easy. It’ll take some time.”

Like the GTD program, De Angelis is looking at the Valkyrie program as a multi-year progression.

“It goes back to 2020 going in with new program and a new car, let’s try to get some results. You may want trophies and results. But if you follow the stepladder of what to do right… I knew what I needed to do and be positioned for this,” he explained.

“That’s helped me get to this position, and the team as well. In 2020 we started with one car and a couple podiums… then last year was winning massive races and contending for the GTD PRO championship.

“Now it’s a couple GT cars, WEC and the Hypercar program. They’ve ticked the boxes. If we keep that mindset, we’ll be in a good position later this year and next year.”

The Valkyrie is part of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, set for its North American race debut. The green flag at Sebring will fly just after 10 a.m. ET on Saturday, March 15, with live flag-to-flag streaming coverage on Peacock and internationally via YouTube.com/@IMSAOfficial.

VP Racing SportsCar Challenge Adds to IMSA's Eclectic COTA History

IMSA Joins NASCAR Cup Series Weekend on COTA’s National Course

February 24, 2025

By Tony DiZinno

IMSA Wire Service

Entry List (Click Here)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. –The land of barbeque and live music adds another flavor of activity during Circuit of The Americas’ in Austin’s first major race weekend of its 2025 season. The NASCAR Cup Series shifts its weekend racing from the full 3.4-mile, 20-turn road course to the shorter 2.3-mile, 20-turn National course for the first time.

That affects other series making waves at the track this weekend, including IMSA’s VP Racing SportsCar Challenge. Ahead of its second weekend, 25 cars in three VP Challenge classes – Le Mans Prototype 3 (P3), Grand Touring Daytona X (GTDX) and Grand Sport X (GSX) – will take to the shorter course for a pair of 45-minute races on Saturday, March 1.

It marks the first time this IMSA series has visited COTA since 2013, when the formerly named Prototype Lites championship ran a pair of races. However, several other IMSA championships have recently been to Austin.

Last year, the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America and Mustang Challenge raced at COTA as part of the FIA’s World Endurance Championship weekend. Porsche Carrera Cup North America also visited COTA as part of the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix weekend. The WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and Michelin Pilot Challenge have not been to COTA since 2017.

That adds up to an intriguing mix of drivers who have raced at COTA, but usually on the full course, in different series, and possibly in the same type of car but not necessarily the same tire or regulatory specification.

Three drivers entered this weekend have recent IMSA at COTA experience in last year’s Lamborghini Super Trofeo races: Jake Walker, A.J. Muss and Kiko Porto all ran Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo Evo2 cars. Muss had the best results of the quintet, with a pair of podiums in the Pro-Am class.

Adam Adelson, Samantha Tan and Kyle Washington (pictured above, racing Adelson and Tan) are among those have also raced at COTA in other sports car championships. Tan swept her Pro-Am GT3 class races in 2024 at the circuit, co-driving with Neil Verhagen in a BMW M4 GT3.

Adelson is one of three drivers who swept the season-opening 45-minute races at Daytona in January. Driving the No. 24 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R (992), he took home both GTDX wins and spearheads a 10-car GTDX class in COTA. The same nine drivers entered at Daytona make the trip to Austin, joined by new addition Marc Austin, a local driver from Buda, Texas (No. 11 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3).

Overall and in P3, Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsports dominated the Daytona weekend with Valentino Catalano winning both races in his No. 30 Duqueine D08. Gebhardt’s pair of Catalano and Markus Pommer seek to extend their streak against Jonathan Woolridge, who races with championship-winning outfit MLT Motorsports, and three Bronze-rated drivers.

Porto’s track experience also may benefit him in the nine-car GSX class. Driving RAFA Racing’s Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2, Porto won both GSX races in Daytona with a combination of passing, pace and patience as he took a last lap win in race one and then extended a gap to offset a penalty in race two.

Bronze Cup winners at Daytona included Mirco Schultis and Brian Thienes in P3, Washington and Dave Musial in GTDX and Rob Walker and Ian Porter in GSX, with all except Walker back this weekend looking to add to their spoils.

The two races take place on the same day, which adds to the eclectic nature of the weekend. Drivers and teams have two 40-minute practice sessions on Friday at noon and 2 p.m. CT and local time, before qualifying Friday night at 6:30 p.m. CT. Saturday’s first race goes green at 8:40 a.m. CT, and the second caps off the day at 5:00 p.m. CT. Races stream on Peacock in the U.S. and YouTube.com/@IMSAOfficial outside the U.S.

Fast Facts

IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge

Circuit of The Americas – Austin, Texas

February 28-March 1, 2025

Race Days/Times: Saturday, March 1, 9:40 a.m. ET (Race 1) and 6:00 p.m. ET (Race 2)
Peacock Streaming Coverage: LIVE – Flag-to-flag, Saturday, beginning at 9:30 a.m. ET (Race 1) and 5:50 p.m. ET (Race 2); (available outside the U.S. on IMSA.tv and YouTube.com/IMSAOfficial)
Circuit Type: 2.3-mile, 20-turn National Road Course
Classes Competing: Le Mans Prototype 3 (P3), Grand Touring Daytona X (GTDX), Grand Sport X (GSX)
Race Lengths: 45 minutes

VP Racing SportsCar Challenge Track Records

None: New circuit in 2025.

VP Racing SportsCar Challenge Past Winners at COTA

None: Last race for series at COTA was former IMSA Prototype Lites series in 2013, on 3.4-mile, 20-turn Full Road Course.

International Motor Sports Association Lamborghini Super Trofeo series

2025 Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe calendar

11-13 April – Paul Ricard
30 May -1 June – Monza
27-29 June – Spa-Francorchamps
29-31 August – Nürburgring
10-12 October – Barcelona
6-7 November – Misano

2025 Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia calendar

4-6 April – Sydney (Australia)
16-18 May – Shanghai (China)
27-29 June – Fuji (Japan)
18-20 July – Inje (South Korea)
5-7 September – Sepang (Malaysia)
6-7 November – Misano

2025 Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America calendar

12-14 March – Sebring (Florida)
9-11 May – Laguna Seca (California)
19-21 June – Watkins Glen (New York)
1-3 August – Road America (Wisconsin)
18-20 September – Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Indiana)
6-7 November – Misano

2025 Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Finals

8-9 November - Misano

2025 international Motor Sports Association schedule

Event	Date
The Roar Before The 24	Jan 17 11:00
Daytona 24 Hours	Jan 25 13:40
Sebring 12 Hours	* Mar 15
Long Beach	* Apr 12
Laguna Seca	* May 11
Detroit	* May 31
Watkins Glen	* Jun 22
Mosport	* Jul 13
Road America	* Aug 03
Virginia	* Aug 24
Indianapolis	* Sep 21
Petit Le Mans	* Oct 11

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ALL PICTURES ARE PROPERTY OF THE RACING SERIES AND ARE USED FOR EDITORIAL PURPOSES ONLY

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This site is dedicated to my dad " Hoot" who introduced me to the great sport of auto racing............. rest in peace DAD

larry criss....................A true race fan LIKE AN UNCLE TO ME

gary lee.................auto racing broadcast legend and personnel friend

charlie patterson ............my old friend that supported me when mo one else did

Carroll Horton .......................................life long friend and indy car owner

Judy Morris.................... a true race fan

todd shafer..............."a rock n roller" with a love for racing!

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