A positive overall 2015 season for the Ligier JS P2 in the United States

October 14, 2015 Leave a comment

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Onroak Automotive Press Release – 05.10.2015

A positive overall 2015 season for the Ligier JS P2 in the United States

Despite a very hectic weekend at Road Atlanta which ended in retirement, Onroak Automotive has drawn positive conclusions concerning the performance of the Ligier JS P2 after a rich and constructive season in the Tudor United SportsCar Championship.

The final of the Tudor USCC , the Petit Le Mans, took place this weekend in execrable conditions. The Road Atlanta circuit was flooded by pouring rain throughout the whole event, which drowned all Michael Shank Racing’s team’s hopes.
On Thursday the no. 60 Ligier JS P2-Honda was quickest in first free practice, but during the nighttime session the car had a huge shunt after aquaplaning on the pits straight. The MSR team did an exceptional job backed by DeltaWing and Elan Motorsport to rebuild the no. 60 Ligier JS P2 in time for the warm-up on Saturday morning. The weather was as bad as ever, causing the car to aquaplane a second time. Ozz Negri despite his talent and his experience went off and hit the wall, luckily with less damage than in the previous accident.
As the car had been unable to take part in qualifying it started the race in 13th place behind the 12 DP prototypes and Challenge prototypes that had all set a time during the session. After an excellent start and a fightback to sixth place despite the heavy rain and tricky conditions, the no. 60 Ligier JS P2-Honda again aquaplaned off the circuit in the fourth hour: it was another big accident and it spelled retirement for the team who still finished sixth in the 2015 overall general classification.

The accidents deprived the team of another good result, but luckily John Pew was not injured as he was in the car when the most violent crashes occurred. The solidity of the Ligier JS P2, which was subjected to an extreme test this weekend, was confirmed.

So the final round did not live up to the performances which Michael Shank and his team have demonstrated with the Ligier JS P2 in 2015. Throughout the whole season they kept the Onroak Automotive sports prototype among the front-runners in the Tudor USCC, and it battled with the prototype category leaders like Krohn Racing did on its outing in the Sebring 12 Hours.

Performance of the Ligier JS P2 in the 2015 Tudor USCC in the United States:
– In the lead for more than half the free practice sessions – 18/31, 58%.
– 2 pole positions at Daytona and Sebring.
– 3 top-3 finishes: P2 in Detroit, P3 at Laguna Seca and Mosport.
– 4 fastest laps in the race: Daytona, Sebring, Laguna Seca and Mosport.

In 2014, the Ligier JS P2 made a very promising debut in the USA in the FIA WEC, the Tudor USCC in Austin and the Petit Le Mans with 2 pole positions, 3 fastest laps in the race and 1 top-3 finish.

These results proved the success of the Ligier JS P2 in the United States, not only on the national circuits, but also with the teams that saw its debut in Austin last year. Michael Shank Racing and Krohn Racing both chose the Ligier JS P2 for their move into LM P2 after leaving the prototype and GT categories respectively. Extreme Speed Motorsports, already a regular in the category, decided to replace its former car by the Ligier JS P2 starting in the second round of the Endurance World Championship in which it was making its debut this season.

To meet the needs of the American teams the French constructor has opened a branch in the United States. Onroak Automotive North America is represented by Ethan Bregman, an engineer with over 15 years experience in Professional Motorsport in North America and Europe, and will be the contact and the link between the American teams and the French workshops.

Contact : Ethan Bregman – e.bregman

Overall general classification – Teams – Tudor USCC 2015 / Top 10 :
1- #5 ACTION SPEED EXPRESS RACING – 309pts
2- #90 VISITFLORIDA RACING – 306pts
3- #31 ACTION SPEED EXPRESS RACING – 304pts
4- #01 CHIP GANASSI RACING – 301pts
5- #10 WAYNE TAYLOR RACING – 292pts
6- #60 MICHAEL SHANK RACING – 273pts
7- #07 MAZDA MOTORSPORT – 241pts
8- #0 DELTAWING RACING – 207pts
9- #70 MAZDA MOTORSPORT – 141pts
10- #50 FIFTY PLUS RACING – 49pts

Michael Shank, MSR Team Owner: ” 2015 was a 100% departure from what we have done in the USA for the last 10 years. When we formed our partnership with Onroak we really had no idea what to expect … I am proud to say that Onroak Automotive over delivered in almost every category in racing… Jacques Nicolet and everyone at Onroak have the exact inner drive that makes a truly great organization and At the end of the day that’s what we want from a chassis partner. We cannot wait for 2016!! ”

Jacques Nicolet, Onroak Automotive President: “It’s been a real pleasure to work with as professional and experienced a team as Michael Shanks’ squad. Despite this weekend’s difficulties, what we’ll retain from our first season together is the very active collaboration between our two companies. We’re now looking towards to 2016 with a common goal – victory!”
CONTACT
Anne Bernard
Press & Communication Manager
+33 6 76 84 29 90
a.bernard
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Stevenson Motorsports Nearing First Championship In Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge 2015 Finale at Road Atlanta

September 30, 2015 Leave a comment

Please see attached press release, below is a text-only version.

Stevenson Motorsports Nearing First Championship In

Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge 2015 Finale at Road Atlanta

Two Mazda Teams Separated By One Point Entering ST Finale

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Sept. 29, 2015) – Competing in the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge since 2009, Stevenson Motorsports has been inching closer and closer to winning the Grand Sport (GS) championship. After finishing third in 2012, and second the past two seasons, the team has the elusive title within its grasp heading into the 2015 season finale at Road Atlanta on Friday, Oct. 2.

Andrew Davis and Robin Liddell, drivers of the No. 6 Stevenson Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.R, enter the finale with a 28-point lead. To secure the title, starting driver Davis needs to drive the minimum 45 minutes needed to score points. The team won three consecutive rounds early in the season to build up its lead, and won its fourth race in the most recent event at Austin’s Circuit of The Americas.

“Entering this race, we’ve had a lot less pressure than we’ve had at the last few races,” Davis said. “Rum Bum was coming at us so strong. Now we’ve got a little breathing room, but we still have to produce. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel, we just need to do what we’ve been doing all season. It’s been an amazing year, and I’m very proud of what this team has accomplished.”

Rum Bum Racing took a two-race winning streak into the Texas event, with brothers Matt and Hugh Plumb cutting the Stevenson lead to only 10 points. However, debris through the radiator of the No. 13 Billfish Foundation/Rum Bum Studios Porsche 911 ended a dominant run, resulting in a 14th-place finish. They now trail in the points, 286-258.

Eliminated from title contention despite being third in the points, Brad Jaeger and BJ Zacharias will be looking to give Doran Racing its first victory in the series. The drivers of the No. 14 Nismo GT Academy Nissan 370Z have scored five podium finishes in the last seven races. The team also fields the No. 41 Nissan for Nicolas Hammann and Steve Doherty.

Other GS teams to watch include Multimatic Motorsports’ two-car entry, the No. 15 Ford Shelby GT350R-C of 2014 Road Atlanta winner Billy Johnson and Scott Maxwell, and the No. 158 Shelby of Jade Buford and Austin Cindric; the No. 46 Fall-Line Motorsports IHG Rewards Club/Trim-Tex BMW M3 of 2014 champion Trent Hindman and Ashley Freiberg; and the No. 9 Stevenson Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.R of Matt Bell and Lawson Aschenbach.

CJ Wilson Racing, Freedom Autosport Mazda Teams Separated By One Point Entering ST Finale

CJ Wilson Racing takes a one-point lead atop the Street Tuner (ST) standings entering the Road Atlanta finale. That’s not much security, given that the points lead has changed hands seven times after nine races this season, including one tie.

Chad McCumbee and Stevan McAleer have two victories in the No. 5 ModSpace Mazda MX-5. They have tallied 241 points, one more than Andrew Carbonell, who won one race with Liam Dwyer in the No. 26 Freedom Autosport SemperFiFund.org Mazda MX-5. Dwyer missed one race due to a minor medical issue and is fifth in the standings.

“With the improvements we have made throughout the year, we are going into the race with more confidence than we have ever had,” McCumbee said. “It’s obviously a high tension deal, but it is what it is. We have to go out and execute as we have done over the last few weeks. We need to keep the (No.) 26 car in sight and as long as we are well into the top 10, we’ll see what we need to do on the last lap.”

Defending ST champion Eric Foss is third in the standings with 226 points. To retain his crown, Foss would need to win alongside co-driver Jeff Mosing in the No. 56 Murillo Racing Porsche Cayman, with the CJ Wilson drivers finishing no better than 12th and Carbonell 11th or worse.

Spencer Pumpelly and Luis Rodriguez Jr. are the hottest pairing in the class, winning four races – including the last two – in the No. 17 RS1 Porsche Cayman. They enter the finale with a slight mathematical chance at the title. RS1 will again take a three-car entry into the event.

Compass360 Racing is the defending ST winner, with Kyle Gimple and Ryan Eversley taking last year’s race in a Honda Civic Si. This weekend, Gimple joins Paul Holton in the No. 75 AERO Advanced Paint Technology/Children’s Tumor Foundation Audi S3. Eversley will join Chad Gilsinger in the No. 93 HART Honda Civic Si.

Opening practice at Road America will be on Wednesday at 2:35 p.m. ET, with qualifying at 4:45 p.m. on Thursday. The two-hour, 30-minute race begins at 12:15 p.m. on Friday, and will be streamed live on IMSA.com and on the IMSA mobile app.

Contact:


Nate Siebens

Senior Manager, IMSA Communications

(386) 310-6568

nsiebens

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All Four TUDOR Championship Titles On The Line In Petit Le Mans

September 24, 2015 Leave a comment

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Pruett Repeats At Circuit Of The Americas, Joins Hand To Score 60th Career Victory

September 22, 2015 Leave a comment

Pruett Repeats At Circuit Of The Americas,

Joins Hand To Score 60th Career Victory

CORE autosport Takes Second PC Victory; Braun, Bennett Extend Points Lead

AUSTIN, Texas (Sept. 19, 2015) – “It’s better late than never,” Scott Pruett said when co-driver Joey Hand took over in the No. 01 Ford EcoBoost/Riley after Pruett led the first hour of Saturday’s Lone Star Le Mans at Circuit of The America. Hand went on to win; scoring the team’s first victory of 2015 with only one race remaining in what has been a difficult TUDOR United SportsCar Championship season.

Pruett extended his leading career total to 60 victories in major North American sports car competition – but his first since winning at Circuit of The Americas in 2014. In a dominant effort, Pruett led the opening hour after claiming the TOTAL Pole Award. Hand then led twice during his stint, including the final 19 laps on the 20-turn, 3.4-mile layout.

Hand took the checkered flag 16.910 seconds ahead of Ricky Taylor, who joined his brother, Jordan, in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Corvette DP. Wayne Taylor Racing gambled on a two-tire stop late in the race that briefly put Ricky Taylor in the lead, but Hand needed only four laps to chase him down.

Prototype points leader Richard Westbrook finished third, holding off Ozz Negri in a hectic battle that went all the way to the checkered flag. Entering the race leading by a single point, Westbrook and Michael Valiante – co-drivers of the No. 90 VisitFlorida.com Corvette DP – enter the season-ending Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda at Road Atlanta on Saturday, Oct. 3 with a six-point lead over both Action Express Racing teams, 279-273.

Both Action Express cars were assessed costly penalties late in the event. Dane Cameron received a drive-through penalty in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering/Team Fox Corvette DP started by Eric Curran after contact with Prototype Challenge (PC) driver Renger van der Zande, and came back to finish fifth. Joao Barbosa served a 60-second penalty after contact with GT Daytona (GTD) driver Townsend Bell, and finished sixth in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Corvette DP started by Christian Fittipaldi.

Braun, Bennett Extend PC Lead With Second Victory

Colin Braun and Jon Bennett gave CORE autosport its second Prototype Challenge (PC) victory of the season in the No. 54 Flex-Box/Composite Resources ORECA FLM09, extending their points lead in the process.

Bennett ran in the top five throughout the opening hour before turning the car over to Braun, who took the lead with 56 minutes remaining. He lost to lead to Mikhail Goikhberg on his final stop, but Braun caught the Canadian in the final 30 minutes and pulled away, despite losing his power steering on the No. 54 machine. It was the team’s sixth podium finish, with its other victory at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

Braun took the checkered flag 25.664 seconds ahead of Bruno Junqueira, who joined Chris Cumming in scoring the third consecutive top-two finish for the No. 11 RSR Racing AutoMaxUSA ORECA FLM09. Rounding out the podium was the No. 38 Ric-Man Construction/GO-PUCK/Braille Batteries ORECA FLM09 started by James French, giving the team its second-consecutive podium finish.

Tom Kimber-Smith finished fourth in the No. 52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Cuttwood ORECA FLM09 started by Mike Guasch. Entering the race five points out of the lead, Guasch and Kimber-Smith now trail by 12 points. Unofficially, Bennett and Braun have 289 points, followed by the PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports duo with 277 points, and Cumming and Junqueira with 275.

JDC/Miller Motorsports pitted under the opening caution, putting the team off sequence with the other PC contenders and allowing both Matt McMurry and Goikhberg to lead the race. McMurry, running his 100th career race at age 17, led 13 laps before his pit stop, while Goikhberg led five laps.

NOTES

  • Barbosa’s final-hour 60-second penalty cost the team a lap. It marked the first time that the No. 5 Action Express Racing/Mustang Sampling Corvette DP failed to finish on the lead lap in TUDOR Championship competition dating back to the inaugural event, the 2014 Rolex 24 At Daytona.
  • Ozz Negri led the field on the parade lap in the No. 60 AERO Ligier JS P2/Honda. The car was painted in tribute to the late Justin Wilson, who co-drove with Negri, John Pew and AJ Allmendinger in winning the 2012 Rolex 24 At Daytona for Michael Shank Racing.
  • The race was slowed by only a pair of cautions, both for the No. 61 BAR 1 Motorsports Southwest Funding ORECA FLM09. Don Yount went off 23 minutes into the race, while Ryan Lewis went off with 1:15 remaining.

QUOTES

Scott Pruett – No. 01 Ford EcoBoost/Riley

“The good Lord has blessed me with this incredible career. I’ve had a lot of teammates over the years. Joey fits me really well so far. He grew up across town where I live, and it’s been great. It’s been a tough season, without a doubt. We had some bad luck this year or had strong cars and didn’t capitalize. Coming here, everything came together. Getting win No. 60 is incredible.”

Joey Hand – No. 01 Ford EcoBoost/Riley

“For me it’s a big one, my first win with the team as a full-time guy. I’m so thankful to be a part of this team; it’s a bunch of winners and champions. I knew it would be a good place for me. We struggled right after Daytona. We couldn’t find it. We had a few good races lately but couldn’t capitalize on it. This weekend we showed up and had a lot of confidence. The boys did a great job tuning it in. That’s what it’s all about. We knew we had a fast race car so we tried to get out in front and stay in front. That’s what we do best. When you have a good race car it makes everything a lot easier.”

Colin Braun – No. 54 CORE autosport Flex-Box/Composite Resources ORECA FLM09

“Jon had a really nice opening stint keeping things clean. Then we had a really fast racer. We had good stops, great strategy and nice pace. We’ve been heads down this whole season and that hard work has paid off. We’ve had some races that didn’t go our way, and certainly without power steering isn’t as much fun. John pays me to drive the car as fast as I can, and when you get second or third there isn’t an asterisk that says ‘oh it would have been a win with power steering.’ So it was a great win. It was definitely motivating, leading the race, it gives you a bit of extra juice to get it done.”

Jon Bennett – No. 54 CORE autosport Flex-Box/Composite Resources ORECA FLM09

“Any day you end up wet with champagne is never bad. This leads to Petit well in position for the championship which is when Murphy’s law likes to jump in. There was lots of contact during the start and the restarts. I had to thread the needle a few times to escape from that. I was able to hand Colin a square car and he was able to jump off like a rabbit.”

Contact:

Nate Siebens

Senior Manager, IMSA Communications

(386) 310-6568

nsiebens

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Stevenson Camaro Faces Stiff Challenge From Rum Bum Porsche In Continental Tire Challenge GS Championship Battle

September 15, 2015 Leave a comment

Stevenson Camaro Faces Stiff Challenge From Rum Bum Porsche

In Continental Tire Challenge GS Championship Battle

CJ Wilson Racing Mazda Looks To Regain ST Lead In Hometown Event

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Sept. 15, 2015) – With its once-comfortable lead in the Grand Sport (GS) class reduced to 10 points, Stevenson Motorsports heads to Austin’s Circuit of The Americas looking to regain momentum in Friday’s Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge race.

With only two races remaining, Stevenson drivers Andrew Davis and Robin Liddell lead brothers Matt and Hugh Plumb, 251-241. Davis and Liddell, who co-drive the No. 6 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.R, have finished in the top five in all eight races this season, including three consecutive victories earlier in the campaign.

“We’re just going to have to keep fighting,” Davis said. “We’re looking to be fighting for this championship all the way to the end.”

However, momentum now favors the No. 13 Billfish Foundation/Rum Bum Film & HD Studios/RumBumGear.com Porsche 911. Winners of the season opener at Daytona, the Plumbs are riding a streak of back-to-back victories at Road America and VIRginia International Raceway.

Third in the standings with 214 points is the No. 9 Stevenson Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.R of three-time TOTAL Pole Award winner Matt Bell and Lawson Aschenbach.

Trent Hindman is the defending winner of the event, and will be joined by Ashley Freiberg in the No. 46 HIG Rewards Club/Trim-Tex/Fall-Line BMW M3.

Multimatic Motorsport has recovered from an incident in practice at VIR that forced it to field a backup Ford Mustang Boss 302R. The team has both of its new Ford Shelby GT350R-Cs ready for Texas, the No. 15 for Lime Rock Park winners Scott Maxwell and Billy Johnson, and the No. 158 for Canadian Tire Motorsport Park winners Austin Cindric and Jade Buford.

Doran Racing and Automatic Racing each will have two cars, coming off a wild finish at VIR that saw both teams run out of fuel while leading during the final two laps. Doran has the No. 14 Nismo GT Academy Nissan 370Z of BJ Zacharias and Brad Jaeger, plus the No. 41 Nismo GT Academy Nissan 370Z of Nick McMillen and Nicolas Hammann.

Automatic Racing fields a pair of Aston Martins, the No. 99 Invisible Glass/Rogue Engineering/ Red Glare Records Vantage of Brett Sandberg and Rob Ecklin, and the No. 09 Invisible Glass/Rogue Engineering/BMW Melbourne Vantage of Charles Espenlaub and Charlie Putman.

Mantella Autosport returns to two cars for the event, with the No. 8 Gulf Lubricants/Spyder Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.R joining the No. 80 MBRP/Praxir/The Sport Lab Camaro of Martin Barkey and Kyle Marcelli.

Austin-Based CJ Wilson Racing Looks To Regain ST Lead

CJ Wilson Racing, with headquarters in Austin, will be looking to regain the championship lead in the topsy-turvy Street Tuner (ST) class in its home race. Chad McCumbee and Stevan McAleer have two victories in the No. 5 ModSpace Mazda MX-5, and gave the team its first victory at Circuit of The Americas in 2013. Car owner and Major League Baseball pitcher C.J. Wilson also will field the No. 3 ZoomZoomNation/Motor Oil Matters Mazda MX-5 for Tyler McQuarrie and Marc Miller.

“This is a very important race for us,” McAleer said. “We know there is going to be some serious competition here, particularly our championship rivals, but we are going out with confidence. We won two years ago and we led last year. I personally would be disappointed if we didn’t end up on the podium here. I am not thinking about the championship until the last race at Road Atlanta. We need to do a good job here first before we assess a title.”

Andrew Carbonell regained the lead in the ST standings with a fourth-place finish at VIR in the No. 26 Freedom Autosport SemperFiFund.org Mazda MX-5. He will be rejoined by Liam Dwyer this weekend, with whom he co-drove to victory at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca earlier this year. Carbonell has 212 points, with McAleer and McCumbee three points back at 209.

Jeff Mosing, an Austin resident, has three consecutive podium finishes in the No. 56 Murillo Racing/Mosing Motorcars Mazda MX-5 co-driven by Eric Foss, the defending ST champion. Foss, who lives in Dallas, is 16 points behind Carbonell with 196 points.

Spencer Pumpelly and rookie co-driver Luis Rodriguez Jr. lead the ST class with three victories this season. They won at VIR in the No. 17 RS1 Porsche Cayman, leading the three-car team.

Defending Circuit of The Americas ST winner Kyle Gimple has a new car and co-driver for the event. After winning last year’s race in a Compass360 Racing Honda Civic Si, the team now fields a pair of Audis, including the No. 75 AERO Advanced Paint Technology/Children’s Tumor Foundation Audi S3 for Gimple and Paul Holton.

Rebel Rock Racing returns to the event with three Porsche Caymans, including the No. 08 entry for former NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and XFINITY Series regular Carlos Contreras of San Antonio and Mexico City’s Ruben Pardo.

Opening practice at Circuit of The Americas will be on Wednesday at 2:25 p.m. ET, with qualifying at 2:35 p.m. ET on Thursday. The two-hour, 30-minute race begins at 1:40 p.m. ET on Friday, and will be streamed live on IMSA.com and on the IMSA mobile app.

Contact:


Nate Siebens

Senior Manager, IMSA Communications

(386) 310-6568

nsiebens

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GT Le Mans Heads To Circuit of The Americas With New Points Leader

September 15, 2015 Leave a comment

Please see attached press release, below is a text-only version.

GT Le Mans Heads To Circuit of The Americas With New Points Leader

Nielsen Looks To Extend Lead In GT Daytona Standings At Lone Star Le Mans

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Sept. 14, 2015) – Fresh off a win at VIRginia International Raceway, new GT Le Mans (GTLM) points leader Patrick Pilet heads into the Lone Star Le Mans at Circuit of The Americas with a five-point advantage over second place drivers Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen, 248-243.

Pilet overtook the No. 3 Corvette Racing duo in the standings after capturing his third consecutive GTLM victory at VIR in the No. 911 Porsche North America Porsche 911 RSR with co-driver Nick Tandy. Tandy, who won overall at this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans with Porsche North America teammate Earl Bamber, is hoping to help Pilet edge closer to the GTLM championship in Texas’ version of the endurance classic.

“I can’t wait for the race, mostly because the season is coming to a close and we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but COTA is a great circuit to race on,” said Tandy. “The Esses are amazing in a high-downforce car, but really I prefer the last section with the long Turns 16-18 leading directly into the very tricky Turn 19. You can give up in some parts to be good in the next but you have to try to keep the rhythm and flow up in this section.

“Realistically we need to be around the [Corvette Racing] No. 3 car for the next two events. We can afford to finish behind them both times as long as they don’t win both races. The aim is for a very good run at COTA so that the pressure is eased for the final round.”

Third in the standings are BMW Team RLL drivers Bill Auberlen and Dirk Werner in the No. 25 IHG Rewards Club BMW Z4 GTLM with 240 points, eight points behind Pilet. Giancarlo Fisichella and Pierre Kaffer in Houston-based Risi Competizione’s No. 62 Ferrari F458 Italia, and John Edwards and Lucas Luhr in the No. 24 BMW Team RLL IHG Rewards Club BMW Z4 GTLM are tied for fourth with 233 points.

Bamber and co-driver Joerg Bergmeister are fifth in the GTLM team standings with 225 points in the No. 912 Porsche North America Porsche 911 RSR while Team Falken Tire co-drivers Bryan Sellers and Wolf Henzler are sixth in the points with 214 in the No. 17 Falken Tire Porsche 911 RSR.

Corvette Racing’s No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R drivers Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner had success of their own in June’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, winning the GTE-Pro class with Prototype (P) driver Jordan Taylor. The pair currently sits seventh in the standings with 206 points.

Nielsen Looks To Extend Six-Point GT Daytona Standings Lead

Christina Nielsen extended her GT Daytona (GTD) lead to six points after a second-place finish at VIR, her fourth of the season. Nielsen, who is already looking ahead to Road Atlanta, is hoping to stretch that lead out even further at the Circuit of The Americas with TRG-AMR co-driver Kuno Wittmer.

“Circuit of The Americas is a really cool track, and I think our car is going to be good there. I’m looking forward to it,” said Nielsen. “Of course, I’m really looking to Road Atlanta. It is my favorite track and Petit is my favorite event, so I can’t want to get there.”

The TUDOR Championship season ends with the Petit Le Mans Powered by Mazda, set for Oct. 3 at Road Atlanta. Nielsen is looking to become the first woman in history to win a major international sports car championship.

Second in the points, trailing TRG-AMR’s No. 007 Royal Purple/Orion Energy/LaSalle Solutions/PassTime USA Aston Martin Vantage 232-226, are Scuderia Corsa’s Bill Sweedler and Townsend Bell in the No. 63 Robert Graham/Royal Purple Ferrari 458 Italia. Sweedler and Bell won at the most recent event at VIR, giving Ferrari its first TUDOR Championship win since the series’ inaugural race, the 2014 Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Close on the Ferrari’s heels are Paul Miller Racing drivers Christopher Haase and Dion von Moltke in the No. 48 Castrol EDGE Audi R8 LMS with 224 points. The pair held the top spot in GTD for much of this season before falling behind Nielsen after Road America and Sweedler and Bell following VIR.

The Lone Star State will be well represented in the GTD class with three teams and drivers that call the Circuit of The America’s their home track.

Texan Ben Keating and co-driver Jeroen Bleekemolen are the defending GTD winners at Circuit of The Americas in the No. 33 Riley Motorsports ViperExchange.com Dodge Viper SRT GT3-R and currently sixth in the standings with 209 points. The No. 33 team won most recently at Road America.

A second Texas-based team will field a Viper this weekend – Lone Star Racing’s No. 80 ACS Manufacturing Dodge Viper SRT GT3-R driven by Dan Knox of Pilot Point, Texas, and Marc Goossens, who finished second in the GTLM class at the Texas circuit in last year’s event.

Jason Hart of Flower Mound, Texas, will join Mike Vess in the return of Flying Lizard Motorsports’ TUDOR Championship GTD entry, the No. 45 Vess Energy Group Audi R8 LMS. Flying Lizard’s No. 35 entry finished 13th in the 2014 Lone Star Le Mans. Also competing on Saturday will be Dallas-based Park Place Motorsports No. 73 Park Place Porsche 911 GT America co-driven by Patrick Lindsey and Spencer Pumpelly, who are eighth in the GTD standings with 203 points.

Other GT Daytona contenders include Cooper MacNeil and Leh Keen in the No. 22 Alex Job Racing WeatherTech Porsche 911 GT America, the No. 23 Team Seattle/Alex Job Racing Heart of Racing Porsche 911 GT America for Ian James and Mario Farnbacher, the No. 44 Magnus Racing Flex Box Porsche 911 GT America for Andy Lally and John Potter, the No. 76 Compass360 Racing AERO Advanced Paint Technology/Children’s Tumor Foundation Audi R8 LMS for Ray Mason and Pierre Kleinubing, and the No. 97 Turner Motorsport Alverez & Marsal/IHG Rewards Club BMW Z4 for Michael Marsal and Markus Palttala.

The Lone Star Le Mans, Round 11 of the 2015 TUDOR Championship, will be televised live on FOX Sports 2, beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Sept. 19. The race will be rebroadcast on FS1 on Sunday, Sept. 20, beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET.

Contact:

Nate Siebens

Senior Manager, IMSA Communications

(386) 310-6568

nsiebens

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Two Points Separate Top Three Prototype Teams Heading To Circuit Of The Americas’ Lone Star Le Mans

September 10, 2015 Leave a comment

Two Points Separate Top Three Prototype Teams

Heading To Circuit Of The Americas’ Lone Star Le Mans

Braun, Bennett Hold Five-Point Lead In Defense Of Prototype Challenge Title

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Sept. 10, 2015) – Only two races remain in the 2015 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship season, and the championships in all four classes are still up for grabs entering the Lone Star Le Mans, set for Saturday, Sept. 19 at Austin’s Circuit of The Americas.

Highlighting the title battle is the lead Prototype (P) class, with only two points separating the top-three teams. Michael Valiante and Richard Westbrook, two-time winners in the No. 90 VisitFlorida.com Corvette DP, lead the two Action Express Racing pairings. Defending champions Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi of the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Corvette DP are second, one point behind, 248-247. Another point back with 246 are Eric Curran and Dane Cameron, drivers of the No. 31 Whelen Engineering/Team Fox Corvette DP.

“It would be nicer if we had a bigger gap to second and third but the way it is now it’ll be a fight until the end,” said Valiante, who joined Westbrook with victories at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and Watkins Glen International. “Hopefully, we roll in with a good car like we had at Road America, have a clean race and come away with a win there. We’d like to have a slight gap when we head to Petit Le Mans.”

The TUDOR Championship season ends with the Petit Le Mans Powered by Mazda, set for Oct. 3 at Road Atlanta.

Barbosa and Fittipaldi finished third at Circuit of The Americas in 2014. After winning three races last season, their lone triumph this year was in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida. However, they have finished on the podium a total of five times in the eight races so far this season. Including a second-place result last time out at Road America last month.

“We’ve got an exciting end of the season coming up with three cars separated by only two points,” Fittipaldi said. “Personally, I feel we are the team to beat. The competition is going to be tough. Anyone who wins is going to have to have some luck – the stars have to align a little bit. We’ll give it our best and race as hard as we can.”

Curran and Cameron have finished in the top five in all nine races this season. They earned their first victory of the season in May at Detroit’s Belle Isle Park and added a second victory Road America.

“Eric and I will really look to use Circuit of The Americas as a place where we can move up one spot or maybe jump to the lead in the championship standings,” Cameron said. “It’s the last sprint race of the season so you’ve got to nail everything perfectly because you don’t have time to recover. We’ve had strong runs lately with our Whelen Corvette DP, obviously the win at Road America in our last race, but we were extremely strong finishing second at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park as well.”

Scott Pruett and Joey Hand are fourth in the standings but are 16 points behind the leaders. The last victory for the No. 01 Ford EcoBoost/Riley was in the 2014 Lone Star Le Mans, where Pruett was joined by Memo Rojas. For 2015, Rojas joins Katherine Legge in the No. 0 Claro/TracFone DeltaWing DWC13, coming off a season-best sixth-place finish at Road America.

Other Prototype contenders include John Pew and Ozz Negri in the No. 60 Michael Shank Racing with Curb/Agajanian AERO Ligier JS P2/Honda, brothers Ricky and Jordan Taylor in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Corvette DP, and the two Mazda Motorsports Prototypes, the No. 70 Castrol/ModSpace Mazda for Tristan Nunez and Jonathan Bomarito, and the No. 07 Castrol/ModSpace Mazda for Tom Long and Joel Miller.

Braun, Bennett Hold Five-Point Lead In Bid To Repeat As PC Champions

Colin Braun and Jon Bennett hold a slim five-point lead in their bid to repeat as Prototype Challenge (PC) champions. The drivers of the No. 54 CORE autosport Flex-Box/Composite Resources ORECA FLM09 have finished in the top four in all eight races this season, winning at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

“Circuit of The Americas will be an important race, but we have been there many times before and we’re prepared,” Braun said. “All the races pay the same points, so we just have to focus on improving and working hard.”

Sitting second in the PC standings, trailing 253-248, are Mike Guasch and Tom Kimber-Smith, winners of three races this season in the No. 52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Cuttwood ORECA FLM09. They won the two longest races on the schedule – the Rolex 24 At Daytona and Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida – and the shortest, the two-hour sprint at Lime Rock Park.

Starworks Motorsport will field two cars at Circuit of The Americas. Renger van der Zande, a two-time winner in the No. 8 Martini ORECA FLM09 will co-drive with a driver still to be named. The team’s second entry, the No. 80 machine, will be co-driven by Alex Popow and Mike Hedlund.

Chris Cumming and Bruno Junquiera are two-time winners this season in the No. 11 RSR Racing AutoMaxUSA ORECA FLM09, including the most recent race at Road America. Also on a hot streak are James French and Conor Daly, coming off a second-place finish at Road America. French leads the class as a three-time TOTAL Pole Award winner in the No. 38 Ric-Man Construction/GO-PUCK/Braille Batteries ORECA.

Other PC contenders include Mikhail Goikberg and Matt McMurry in the No. 85 Vroom.com/Red Line Oil/The Amazing Flameless Candle/Name Silo ORECA FLM09, and a pair of entries from BAR1 Motorsports, the No. 16 Top 1 Oil/Jet Suites/Edvisors ORECA FLM09 for Todd Slusher and John Falb, and the No. 61 entry for Don Yount and Ryan Lewis.

The Lone Star Le Mans, Round 11 of the 2015 TUDOR Championship, will be televised live on FOX Sports 2, beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Sept. 19. The race will be rebroadcast on FS1 on Sunday, Sept. 20, beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET.

NOTE: The Lone Star Le Mans preview for the TUDOR Championship GT Le Mans and GT Daytona classes will be distributed on Monday, Sept. 14.

Contact:


Nate Siebens

Senior Manager, IMSA Communications

(386) 310-6568

nsiebens

imsa-p preview cota-rls.pdf

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IMSA Sets Course For Future Of Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge

September 3, 2015 Leave a comment

Please see attached press release, below is a text-only version.

IMSA Sets Course For Future Of Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge

Sanctioning Body Renews Commitment To Series Identity, Cost Containment

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Sept. 3, 2015) – The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) outlined its strategy today for the future direction of the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, with a renewed commitment to the long-running series’ identity and substantial efforts to reduce operating expenses for competitors.

“The IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge is a staple of our event weekends,” said IMSA Managing Director, Racing Operations Simon Hodgson. “We have heard from many long-time competitors and stakeholders in the series, and believe the timing is right for us to re-establish what the Continental Tire Challenge stands for to everybody involved. This series has a legacy of close and relatively cost-effective competition and we plan to honor that legacy by introducing a number of key initiatives.”

Through a Mission Statement distributed to competitors, the Continental Tire Challenge was defined as a “multi-class, multi-driver, endurance road racing series for selected mass-produced automobile makes and models available through the manufacturer’s normal retail channels and individually prepared for competition.”

The series “encourages individual entrepreneurial motorsports organizations to participate in a cost-contained professional racing environment, developing team and driver expertise and automotive hardware, while demonstrating and promoting the performance, quality and reliability of the cars through close competition.”

IMSA plans to be proactive through each stage of construction for Continental Tire Challenge race cars to ensure compliance and understand each car’s performance, components and cost. IMSA will establish baseline performance benchmarks and ensure each car can be sufficiently adjusted for performance enhancement or restriction to facilitate the performance balancing process.

Performance balancing will be administered with a focus on maintaining competitive balance, cost containment and restricted development.

Specific details on cost-containment initiatives and approved vehicles for competition in 2016 will be announced shortly.

Next up for the Continental Tire Challenge will be Round 9 of the 10-race 2015 season at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas on Friday, Sept. 18. The race will be streamed live on IMSA.tv and the IMSA mobile app and will be televised on FOX Sports 1 at 1:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 27.

Contact:
Nate Siebens
Senior Manager, IMSA Communications
(386) 310-6568
nsiebens

IMSA CTSC Future Direction Rls.pdf

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Plumb Brothers Prevail In Wild Finish At VIR, Take Third Victory Of 2015 In Rum Bum Porsche

August 22, 2015 Leave a comment

Plumb Brothers Prevail In Wild Finish At VIR,

Take Third Victory Of 2015 In Rum Bum Porsche

Doran Racing Nissan, Automatic Racing Aston Run Out Of Fuel While Leading
Pumpelly, Rodriguez Take Third ST Victory In RS1 Porsche Cayman
DANVILLE, Va. (Aug. 22, 2015) – As Matt Plumb added to his all-time total as the leading winner in the history of the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, Saturday’s 22nd career triumph at VIRginia International Raceway certainly ranks as one of the strangest.

Running in third position with two laps remaining, Plumb saw his top two competitors run out of fuel on the penultimate lap – giving the No. 13 Billfish Foundation/Rum Bum Film & HD Studios/RumBumGear.com Porsche 911 co-driven by brother Hugh its second-consecutive triumph, and third of the season. It also all allowed the Plumb brothers to close in on the Grand Sport (GS) championship with only two races remaining.

“Our power steering went out late in Hugh’s stint and it wasn’t the greatest situation,” Matt Plumb said. “In the back of my head, I said, ‘If Hugh isn’t complaining, I’d better not complain. The car was very hard to drive, but it’s still a Porsche – it just required about 100 pounds more force to turn the wheel, and it wasn’t the coolest day. The bright side was the car was great. The guys had strategy under control. They knew what we needed to save as far as fuel and gave me that target. We had a lot going out way.”

The final hour featured a thrilling battle between BJ Zacharias in the No. 14 Doran Racing Nismo GT Academy Nissan 370Z, started from the pole by Brad Jaeger, and Brett Sandberg in the No. 99 Automatic Racing Invisible Glass/Rogue Engineering/Red Glare Records Aston Martin Vantage started by Al Carter.

Jaeger suddenly slowed entering the Oak Tree Turn (Turn 11) with a lap and a half remaining – giving the lead to the rapidly closing No. 99 machine. Sandberg headed to the pits – just as the caution and white flags waved for the stopped Nissan of Jaeger. Sandberg drove through the pits hoping to coast through the final lap, only to also run out of fuel after leading twice for 19 total laps.

“I’ve always played it conservative and stopped (for fuel),” said Automatic Racing team owner David Russell, who was looking for his team’s second career victory and first since 2008 at Lime Rock. “Today, we were going all-out for the win – and I have no regrets.”

Doran Racing was looking for its first victory in the series, and had the dominant car. Jaeger won his first TOTAL Pole Award and led twice for 24 of the event’s first 31 laps. Zacharias then led twice for nine laps.

“The Nissan has been fast for four years but hasn’t won yet,” team owner Kevin Doran said. “We could have run faster, but we were conserving fuel all the way. The No. 13 did a better strategy and a better job conserving. I called it early on when I wondered why the Porsche was running back in fifth. Now we know.”

Stevenson Motorsports put both of its Chevrolets on the podium. Lawson Aschenbach finished second in the No. 9 Camaro Z/28.R started by Matt Bell, while Robin Liddell and Andrew Davis took third in the No. 6 Camaro Z/28.R. Unofficially, Davis and Liddell now lead the Plumb brothers by 10 points, 251-241.

“I guess it was better to be lucky than fast,” Davis said. “We were probably the only team to play the ‘save fuel’ strategy. That final yellow [on the final lap] was unfortunate for us, because we were pushing as hard as we could to close the gap [to the No. 13 Porsche] and we might have been able to make it up. But to be on the podium with both cars under these conditions was a great day for Stevenson Motorsports.”

The No. 46 Fall-Line Motorsports IHG Rewards Club/Trim-Tex/Fall-Line BMW M3 of Ashley Freiberg and Trent Hindman was running third when it stopped for a splash of fuel with 10 minutes remaining – only to see the car stall exiting the pits. They went on to finish fourth, followed by the No. 80 Mantella Autosport/MBRP MBRP/Praxair/The Sport Lab Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.R of Martin Barkey and Kyle Marcelli.

Scott Maxwell and Billy Johnson finished fifth in the No. 51 Multimatic Motorsports Ford Performance/Multimatic Ford Mustang Boss 302R after having no practice time in the car. The Mustang had been virtually untouched since it last raced at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in May. When the team’s regular No. 15 Ford Shelby GT350R-C was badly damaged in a practice incident on Friday, the car was transported from Multimatic’s Toronto headquarters to VIR on Friday evening.

Pumpelly, Rodriguez Capture Third ST Victory In RS1 Porsche

One race after losing a heartbreaker in the Street Tuner (ST) class on the final lap with fuel feed issues at Road America, Spencer Pumpelly made it through to the checkered flag on Saturday – with enough gasoline remaining to do a victory doughnut.

It was the third ST victory of the season for Pumpelly and Luis Rodriguez Jr. in the No. 17 RS1 Porsche Cayman – and first career triumph for Pumpelly at his home circuit.

“To finally come here and be able to pull off a win was very special,” said Pumpelly, a native of Mason Neck, Va. “Luis did a great opening stint and RS1 had a great pit stop. It was pretty uneventful in my stint – we really didn’t have anyone to fight once we got clear of the No. 34 Mazda.”

Jeff Mosing and Eric Foss finished second, scoring the third consecutive podium finish for the No. 56 Murillo Racing Porsche Cayman. Justin Piscitell and Christian Szymczak took third in the No. 34 Alara Racing Mazda MX-5.

The ST point lead again changed hands. Andrew Carbonell regained the lead after placing fourth in the No. 26 Freedom Autosport Mazda/SemperFiFund.org Mazda MX-5 started by Tom Long – who stood in for Liam Dwyer. Long then went to also drive Freedom Autosport’s No. 25 Mazda, joining starting driver Britt Casey Jr. in finishing sixth.

Chad McCumbee and Stevan McAleer entered the race with a two-point lead, but placed seventh in the No. 5 ModSpace/Mazda Mazda MX-5 for CJ Wilson Racing. They now unofficially trail Carbonell by two points, 211-209.

Round 9 for the Continental Tire Challenge will be at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas on Friday, Sept. 18.

Contact:
Nate Siebens
Senior Manager, IMSA Communications
(386) 310-6568
nsiebens

imsa-ctsc race vir-rls.pdf

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Stiff Competition Awaits Stevenson Motorsports At Its Home Race

August 20, 2015 Leave a comment

Stiff Competition Awaits Stevenson Motorsports At Its Home Race

Virginia-Based BimmerWorld, Next Level European Seek ST Victory

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Aug. 20, 2015) – Saturday’s Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge race at VIRginia International Raceway will be a homecoming of sorts for the Jacksonville, North Carolina-based Stevenson Motorsports team, which considers VIR its home track.

Co-drivers of the Grand Sport (GS) points-leading team Andrew Davis and Robbin Liddell have three victories this season in the No. 6 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.R but haven’t reached the top spot on the podium in the last three races. Teammates Matt Bell and Lawson Aschenbach are looking to make up for an early exit at Road America in the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.R.

Though, if the team wants to win in front of its home crowd, the drivers will have to navigate some tough competition.

Matt Plumb became the leading winner in Continental Tire Challenge history in the most recent race at Road America, scoring his 21st career victory. He and his brother Hugh also won the 2015 season opener at Daytona in the No. 13 The Billfish Foundation/Rum Bum Film & HD Studios/RumBumGear.comPorsche 911 for Rum Bum Racing.

Doran Racing’s BJ Zacharias and Brad Jaeger are coming off a runner-up finish in at Road America in the No. 14 Nismo GT Academy Nissan 370Z, while Nissan GT Academy drivers Nick McMillen and Nicolas Hammann finished fourth in the team’s No. 41 entry.

“I’m really looking forward to VIR,” Jaeger said. “We had a very competitive car there last year and we ran extremely competitive lap times. The way the team has been working together has been excellent. We’ve produced four podiums in the last five races, and we’d like to continue that streak. The long backstraight at VIR suits our car, and I think we’re going to have a strong finish.”

Multimatic Motorsports has a pair of victories this season with the Ford Shelby GT350R-C, which was introduced midway through the season. Mooresville, North Carolina native Austin Cindric and Jade Buford won at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in the team’s No. 158 entry, while Billy Johnson and Scott Maxwell scored a victory at Lime Rock Park in the No. 15.

Defending GS champion Trent Hindman and co-driver Ashley Freiberg have a pair of podium finishes in the No. 46 IHG Rewards Club/Trim-Tex/Fall-Line BMW M3 for Fall-Line Motorsports, most recently placing third at Road America.

Virginia-Based BimmerWorld, Next Level European Seek ST Victory

Two Virginia-based teams are among the competitors to beat in the Street Tuner (ST) class.

Tyler Cooke, a native of the Charlotte, North Carolina area, is coming off the best finish of the season for Dublin, Virginia-based BimmerWorld Racing, placing fourth at Road America in the No. 81 BMW 328i co-driven by Andrie Hartanto. VIR is located on the Virginia-North Carolina border near Danville, Va.

“Since I’ve lived in North Carolina so long, I’ve considered VIR to be my home track, and it’s the team’s home track, too,” said Cooke, who turned 21 on Tuesday. “I love that track. It’s a difficult place to learn and it takes several visits to master it. It also suits our BMW’s handling. Greg (Liefooghe) and I finished third last year, and I think if we had two more laps we would have won.”

BimmerWorld also fields the No. 84 OPTIMA Batteries BMW 328i for team president James Clay and Jason Briedis.

Next Level European debuted in 2015 as a satellite team to BimmerWorld, with the two teams sharing space in the paddock. Liefooghe and Eric Zimmermann gave the team this victory earlier this season at Sebring in the No. 83 Red Line Oil Porsche Cayman. The team also fields the No. 38 Porsche Cayman for Dan Rogers and Seth Thomas.

Two Mazda teams are ranked one-two in the ST points. Stevan McAleer and Chad McCumbee are two-time winners in CJ Wilson Racing’s No. 5 ModSpace Mazda MX-5. They hold a two-point lead, 185-183, over Liam Dwyer and Andrew Carbonell in the No. 26 Freedom Autosport SemperFiFund.org Mazda MX-5.

However, Dwyer will not compete this weekend at VIR due to a minor medical issue. The team has enlisted TUDOR United SportsCar Championship Mazda Prototype driver Tom Long to substitute for Dwyer in the No. 25 machine alongside Carbonell. The Raleigh, North Carolina racer will start the race in the No. 25 and finish in Freedom Autosport’s No. 26 Mazda MX-5, which will be started by Britt Casey Jr. Dwyer is expected back in the cockpit of the No. 25 machine next month at Circuit of The Americas.

Sarah Cattaneo and Owen Trinkler used their best finish of the season – second at Road America – to take third in the ST standings, co-driving the No. 44 CRG-I Do Borrow Cruise America/Thor Motorcoach Honda Civic Si. They have finished in the top five in four of the last five races.

Virginia native Spencer Pumpelly leads the three-car RS1 entry. Pumpelly and rookie Luis Rodriguez Jr. have two victories in the No. 17 RS1 Porsche Cayman, but suffered a heartbreaking last-lap defeat at Road America when their fuel feed failed while leading in the final turn. That misfortune gave the Road America victory to Chad Gilsinger and Ryan Eversley. This weekend, Gilsinger will be joined by Kevin Boehm in the No. 93 HART Honda Civic Si.

Jeff Mosing and Eric Foss are the defending ST winners at VIR, taking momentum into the event with back-to-back podium finishes in the No. 56 Murillo Racing Porsche Cayman.

Opening practice at VIR will be on Friday at 9:40 a.m. ET, with qualifying at 5:55 p.m. ET. The two-hour, 30-minute race begins at 1:25 p.m. ET on Saturday, and will be streamed live on IMSA.com and on the IMSA mobile app.

Contact:


Nate Siebens

Senior Manager, IMSA Communications

(386) 310-6568

nsiebens

imsa-ctsc vir-rls.pdf

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