Sports Car Silly Season

A quick round up of stories

* SRT is pulling its factory program after winning the championship
* Aston Martin Racing plans on entering three cars in the Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup (Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen, and Road Atlanta).
* A new team is joining the prototype category: RG Racing, which will campaign a Riley BMW. Robert Gewirtz is the owner and Shane Lewis and Mark Kvamme are the likely drivers.
* Turner Motorsports and NGT are running multi car teams in Pirelli World Challenge and they may or may not be in IMSA for a full season. Flying Lizard Motorsports is evaluating such a move.
* AIM Autosport is expected to join the GTLM ranks with a Ferrari.
* Vita4one Racing plans on entering the series in some capacity with BMW Z4s.

Can't imagine there being too many LMP2 entrants after the way this season has gone..

Missing quite abit there because here's what I found:

Action Express Racing – Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi will return to the No. 5 Corvette DP in defense of the drivers’ championship, while the Gary Nelson and Elton Sawyer-led team is reportedly expanding to a second, full-season entry under the Whelen Engineering banner, a car that had previously been run by Marsh Racing. (2 cars)

Wayne Taylor Racing – Brothers Ricky and Jordan Taylor are set to return to the Konica Minolta-sponsored Corvette DP, with a relatively unchanged effort. Hopes of fielding a second car have so far failed to materialize. (1 car)

Spirit of Daytona Racing – Plans are in place for Richard Westbrook and Michael Valiante to again be back behind the wheel of the No. 90 Corvette DP. The Troy Flis-led squad is likely to be known as VisitFlorida.com Racing in 2015. (1  car)

Chip Ganassi Racing – GRAND-AM’s most successful team will continue with at least one full-season Riley-Ford DP next year. Although not yet announced, it would seem logical for both Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas to return as drivers. (1 car)

SpeedSource – The lone full factory team in Prototype is currently the only confirmed full-season P2 entry, with its pair of Lola-based Mazda SKYACTIV-D cars set to return and build on its first season of development. No official word has been given on driver lineups, but no major changes are expected. (2 cars)

DeltaWing – The Don Panoz-owned group is set to return, with significant off-season developments planned for the Elan-powered prototype. It’s unclear if a full season is in the cards, and there could be a shakeup in the driver lineup, with Andy Meyrick likely to concentrate on his full-season commitments with Bentley. (1 car)

Michael Shank Racing - Some uncertainty rests over this team, with no confirmed 2015 program as of yet. However, a number of options are being explored, including a return with a Riley-Ford for the Rolex 24 before switching to a Ford EcoBoost-powered P2 car later in the season. A Ligier JS P2 appears to be the leading option should the Ohio-based team go that route. (1 car possible)

Extreme Speed Motorsports – The Scott Sharp-owned team has yet to announce its 2015 program but it appears unlikely to include a full season campaign in the TUDOR Championship. ESM’s new HPD ARX-04bs, however, are expected to contest the Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup rounds, at a minimum, with an unchanged core driver lineup from 2014. (2 cars – partial season)

Starworks Motorsport – Peter Baron’s squad is working to re-enter the P class full-time with a HPD ARX-04b car. An option also exists for a possible return of its Riley DP, but with BMW-based Dinan power. Both Alex Popow and Scott Mayer are among the mix of drivers. (1-2 cars possible)

8Star Motorsports – After a breakout second-half of the PC season, the Enzo Potolicchio-owned team is targeting a move back to the top class with Luis Diaz and a to-be-determined co-driver. Multiple P2 chassis and engine options are being considered, although the HPD ARX-04b is the front-runner. (1 car possible)

OAK Racing - A return for Daytona and Sebring appears likely for its Ligier JS P2 Honda, if not a full-season should the necessary budget materialize. The French squad, which has previously vowed not to race against its customers, recently reversed that philosophy for the all-pro TUDOR Championship P class. Gustavo Yacaman is among the possible drivers. (1 car possible)

Krohn Racing – The first American customer to commit to the Ligier JS P2, Tracy Krohn is set to contest a minimum of the Patron  Endurance Cup races, as well as possible additional events. Nic Jonsson will return as co-driver, with a to-be-announced third pilot for the enduros. (1 car – partial season)

Rahal Letterman Lanigan – With an uncertain future in fielding BMW’s factory entries in GTLM, Bobby Rahal is working to finalize a Riley-Dinan DP program, for either the full or partial season. Bobby’s son Graham is expected to be part of the lineup for the endurance races, should there be no clashes with IndyCar. (1 car possible)

RG Racing – A new Ohio-based group is planning to enter an ex-Michael Shank Racing Riley DP, now fitted with a Dinan powerplant, in the Patron Endurance Cup races. Few details have been revealed at this point. (1 partial season)

RSR Racing – The Paul Gentilozzi-owned squad could step up to the P class with Chris Cumming in a leased Oreca 03 Nissan. However, it’s only be one of the options for the team, which include a return to PC or move to the FIA WEC or ELMS. (1 car possible)



I don't about you guys, but all the crap about there being no P2 teams for next season is so far not holding up.

Dorsey Schroeder lost his job at FOX Sports and won't be continuing on the commentary team. A shame he won't be continuing with TUSC, but RLM pretty much got the ace when they return to TUSC/ALMS next year.

Looks like he'll be joining the Trans-Am Series in some capacity; it's nice to see the revival of that series continue to grow.

RealRacingRoots wrote:Dorsey Schroeder lost his job at FOX Sports and won't be continuing on the commentary team. A shame he won't be continuing with TUSC, but RLM pretty much got the ace when they return to TUSC/ALMS next year.

Looks like he'll be joining the Trans-Am Series in some capacity; it's nice to see the revival of that series continue to grow.

Seriously? I swear it just keeps getting worse over there with Fox Sports 1.

As for Schroeder, is he driving in it or commentating?

So are the Gainsco bunch gonna return next year?

Michael Shank Racing will be back next year and they will run a Ligier JSP2 starting at Sebring (they will run their old Riley/Ford at Daytona). John Pew and Oswaldo Negri are returning, and the team wants to make a run at Le Mans in 2016.

Alta wrote:So are the Gainsco bunch gonna return next year?

Unfortunately not. I believe all that team's equipment has been sold to a new team.

Dempsey Racing is heading off to the World Endurance Championship in 2015. Patrick Dempsey is still expected to run the big races (Daytona, Sebring, etc.) in a partnership with Wright Motorsports. Patrick Long will be Dempsey's co driver in the WEC in an effort that is also involving the Felbmayr Proton team.

ESM is officially running no more than the NAEC rounds.

http://www.racer.com/imsa/item/111035-imsa-esm-adds-naec-rounds-to-busy-2015-schedule

http://sportscar365.com/imsa/tusc/2015-silly-season-update-2-ppc/

1 full time P2 teams and 4 PC...

I seriously forgot ISMA was a thing.

Milan655 wrote:http://sportscar365.com/imsa/tusc/2015-silly-season-update-2-ppc/

1 full time P2 teams and 4 PC...

Actually:

Michael Shank Racing - The longtime DP entrants will switch to a brand-new Ligier JS P2 for 2015 with Ozz Negri and John Pew returning for their ninth consecutive season together. No word has been given on the engine, although Michael Shank previously told Sportscar365 they were under a two-year contract with Ford that began in 2014. (1 car)

http://www.magnusracing.com/home/2014/11/26/magnus-racing-confirms-2015-return-to-tudor-championship-and.html

Magnus Racing is back with their usual lineup of John Potter and Andy Lally.

Word is that Ford is going back to Le Mans with a GTE program run by Chip Ganassi Racing. The basis of their car will be a new GT successor that may be unveiled as soon as the upcoming Detroit Auto Show. Ganassi has already branded his sportscar team as "Ford EcoBoost Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Stabatas". It is expected that the team will have Scott Pruett and Joey Hand as drivers and two more Americans are expected to be signed as drivers. The team will launch in 2016 and run the full TUDOR Series plus Le Mans.


http://autoweek.com/article/sports-cars/new-ford-gt-will-race-le-mans-chip-ganassi-2016

RACECAR wrote:

Milan655 wrote:http://sportscar365.com/imsa/tusc/2015-silly-season-update-2-ppc/

1 full time P2 teams and 4 PC...

Actually:

Michael Shank Racing - The longtime DP entrants will switch to a brand-new Ligier JS P2 for 2015 with Ozz Negri and John Pew returning for their ninth consecutive season together. No word has been given on the engine, although Michael Shank previously told Sportscar365 they were under a two-year contract with Ford that began in 2014. (1 car)

Still, that's a ridiculously low number.

Milan655 wrote:

RACECAR wrote:

Milan655 wrote:http://sportscar365.com/imsa/tusc/2015-silly-season-update-2-ppc/

1 full time P2 teams and 4 PC...

Actually:

Michael Shank Racing - The longtime DP entrants will switch to a brand-new Ligier JS P2 for 2015 with Ozz Negri and John Pew returning for their ninth consecutive season together. No word has been given on the engine, although Michael Shank previously told Sportscar365 they were under a two-year contract with Ford that began in 2014. (1 car)

Still, that's a ridiculously low number.

Everyone and there mother is jumping over to Pirelli World Challenge next year.

Speaking of PWC. 100+ cars expected for COTA.

http://www.motorsport.com/pwc/news/over-100-cars-on-entry-list-for-pwc-season-opener-at-cota

Some Updates on the WEC.
* Nissan has announced its full driver lineup which includes Tsugio Matsuda, Lucas Ordonez, Alex Buncombe, Harry Ticknell, Olivier Pla, Michael Krumm, Jann Mardenborough, Marc Gené, and Max Chilton.
* The mysterious CLM P/101 is back and will be driven by Viantonio Liuzzi, Pierre Kaffer, and Simon Trummer. The veil of secrecy around this thing strikes me as quite bizarre.
* There's a third Porsche for Le Mans, and Nico Hulkenburg will be one of the drivers alongside GT aces Earl Bamber and Nick Tandy.

Nissan have easily one of the best drive line ups this season!

#21 - Matsuda, Ordonez and Al Buncombe
#22 - Tincknell, Pla and Krumm
#23 - Mardenborough, Marc Gene and Chilton

#22 has two of the best LMP2 drivers from last season with Tincknell and Pla, and #23 has a complete line up. When you consider their weakest driver is an ex-F1 driver (Chilton that is, not Gene), sums up a very good team.