IMSA Prototype Challenge Presented by Mazda teams and drivers alike had rave reviews this week after the series turned its first laps at Daytona International Speedway.

The single-day test served as a prelude to the Prototype Challenge’s inaugural race at Daytona, which will take place on Jan. 6, 2018 as part of the annual Roar Before The Rolex 24.

“This is the first time I have run here, so this weekend is eye opening for me,” said Jim Garrett, who piloted the No. 42 P1 Motorsports LMP3 at the test.

“The new car is a heck of a lot of fun and being able to get some laps in and have feedback from [co-driver] Robby (Foley III) and some of the other guys has just been everything that I have needed to get me up to speed.”

A total of five Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) closed-cockpit prototypes turned laps at the test, along with an additional six Mazda Prototype Challenge (MPC) class open-cockpit prototypes, with more expected when the series returns for its season-opener at Daytona in January. .

The two classes again will share the track in 2018, with the series shifting from its longtime sprint race format of two 45-minute races per event weekend to a single 1-hour, 45-minute endurance race.

Veteran IMSA competitor Corey Lewis has experience at Daytona in a variety of cars, most recently competing in the Rolex 24 At Daytona for Change Racing, but was blown away by the performance of his No. 17 P1 Motorsports LMP3.

“It’s like being in a fighter jet compared to a street car,” he said. “It’s so cool to be here in the car we’re in, in the Prototype. It’s so much different than what we’re used to…it’s very much an adrenaline rush.”

Lewis is also a fan of the new endurance format in Prototype Challenge which allows teams to run a single or two-driver combination with a required minimum-time pit stop.

“I think it really suits the car and I think that’s what the series needs as it is kind of the feeder into the WeatherTech Championship,” he said.

“You get the feel for what the WeatherTech show is like and having experience in that series and now bringing up the drivers and teams, I think it is a real good thing for the series overall that IMSA put together.”

The symphony of sports car sounds once again will be heard over the next two days at Daytona International Speedway with a two-day test including the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge and IMSA Prototype Challenge Presented by Mazda.

The WeatherTech Championship, which has 18 entries across its three classes, will have four on-track sessions spread out over two days of testing. The entry list includes 10 Prototype (P) cars, five GT Le Mans (GTLM) entries and three GT Daytona (GTD) race cars with a primary aim of gathering data on new-for-2018 race cars or cars that have undergone some evolution since the end of the 2017 season.

The Prototype class will include both Acura Team Penske Daytona Prototype international (DPi) entries: the No. 6 Acura ARX-05 shared by Juan Pablo Montoya, Dane Cameron and Simon Pagenaud and the No. 7 entry for Helio Castroneves, Graham Rahal and 2017 WeatherTech Championship Prototype champion Ricky Taylor.

The other half of the 2017 championship-winning driver lineup, and the 2017 Prototype champion team, also will participate in the test. Jordan Taylor, who won the season title alongside his older brother, will welcome his new co-driver, Renger van der Zande, to the cockpit of the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R for Wayne Taylor Racing.

Fresh off last week’s driver lineup announcement and new-for-2018 livery unveiling, Mazda Team Joest will break cover with its pair of Mazda RT24-P DPi race cars. Jonathan Bomarito and Harry Tincknell are slated to share the No. 55 Mazda, with Oliver Jarvis and Rene Rast ticketed for the No. 77 machine.

Tequila Patrón ESM, which closed out the 2017 season with a victory at Motul Petit Le Mans, will have one Nissan DPi at the test, the No. 2 machine to be shared by Scott Sharp and Ryan Dalziel. However, one of the team’s other full-season drivers for 2018 will be in another car at this test, as Pipo Derani will share the Gibson V8-powered No. 9 Ligier LM P2 with Will Owen for constructor Onroak Automotive.

In January’s Rolex 24 At Daytona, Owen will be part of the United Autosports lineup that also will include Formula 1 World Champion Fernando Alonso. Including the aforementioned Onroak entry, the test will include a total of four LM P2 machines.

JDC-Miller Motorsports, which ran among the frontrunners in many 2017 WeatherTech Championship events, will be present with its No. 85 ORECA LM P2. Incumbent JDC-Miller driver Stephen Simpson will be joined by Simon Trummer – who was introduced last week as the team’s first driver for its second entry in 2018 – and Robert Alon, who raced a Lexus RC F GT3 last season for 3GT Racing in the GTD class.

Another group moving from GTD to Prototype in 2018 is CORE autosport, which will have Jon Bennett and Colin Braun aboard its No. 54 ORECA LM P2 machine. CORE is a multiple championship-winning team in the Prototype Challenge (PC) class that moved to GTD for the 2017 season, and is returning to its Prototype roots next season.

Another long-time team from the PC class – which concluded its WeatherTech Championship run in 2017 – is BAR1 Motorsports, which is fielding the No. 20 Multimatic/Riley LM P2 Prototype in the test for a trio of drivers that includes Don Yount, Tomy Drissi and Gustavo Yacaman.

In the GTLM class, the new BMW M8 GTLM will make its public debut for BMW Team RLL. John Edwards and team newcomer Connor De Philippi, who was introduced last week as one of the team’s full-time drivers for the 2018 season, will share the No. 25 machine. 

The GTLM field also will include the full 2017 Rolex 24 At Daytona-winning driver lineup of Joey Hand, Dirk Mueller and Sebastien Bourdais in the No. 66 Ford GT as part of a two-car entry from Ford Chip Ganassi Racing. In the team’s No. 67 Ford GT will be Ryan Briscoe, Richard Westbrook and Ernie Francis Jr.

The only driver listed for the lone GTLM Ferrari at the test - the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE - is Toni Vilander. Patrick Pilet and Laurens Vanthoor will share the lone Porsche – the No. 912 Porsche GT Team 911 RSR.

In the GTD class, Jack Hawksworth will handle the driving responsibilities in the No. 15 3GT Racing Lexus RC F GT3. Joerg Bergmeister and Michael de Quesada will co-drive the No. 28 Porsche GT3 R for the 2017 Rolex 24 At Daytona GTD class-winning Alegra Motorsports. Rounding out the GTD entry is Jeroen Bleekemolen in the No. 33 Mercedes-AMG GT3 for Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsports.
The IMSA Prototype Challenge series, which will host its inaugural race at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, Jan. 6, will have a pair of one-hour sessions on Tuesday. The entry list features five LM P3 machines and six open-cockpit Mazda Prototype Challenge (MPC) race cars. The race during the Roar will be one hour and 45 minutes in length, kicking off the series’ new-for-2018 endurance racing format.

The Continental Tire Challenge will follow a similar testing plan on Wednesday, with a pair of two, one-hour sessions as well. Five GS cars – including new Mercedes-AMG, Audi and BMW race cars – and seven cars from the new-for-2018 TCR class have been entered. The Continental Tire Challenge also will participate in the three-day Roar Before The Rolex 24 At Daytona test on Jan. 5-7 ahead of its four-hour BMW Endurance Challenge season-opener at Daytona on Friday, Jan. 26.

IMSA Prototype Challenge teams and drivers alike had rave reviews this week after the series turned its first laps at Daytona International Speedway.

The single-day test served as a prelude to the Prototype Challenge’s inaugural race at Daytona, which will take place on Jan. 6, 2018 as part of the annual Roar Before The Rolex 24.

“This is the first time I have run here, so this weekend is eye opening for me,” said Jim Garrett, who piloted the No. 42 P1 Motorsports LMP3 at the test.

“The new car is a heck of a lot of fun and being able to get some laps in and have feedback from [co-driver] Robby (Foley III) and some of the other guys has just been everything that I have needed to get me up to speed.”

A total of five Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) closed-cockpit prototypes turned laps at the test, along with an additional six Mazda Prototype Challenge (MPC) class open-cockpit prototypes, with more expected when the series returns for its season-opener at Daytona in January."

"The two classes again will share the track in 2018, with the series shifting from its longtime sprint race format of two 45-minute races per event weekend to a single 1-hour, 45-minute endurance race.

Veteran IMSA competitor Corey Lewis has experience at Daytona in a variety of cars, most recently competing in the Rolex 24 At Daytona for Change Racing, but was blown away by the performance of his No. 17 P1 Motorsports LMP3.

“It’s like being in a fighter jet compared to a street car,” he said. “It’s so cool to be here in the car we’re in, in the Prototype. It’s so much different than what we’re used to…it’s very much an adrenaline rush.”

Lewis is also a fan of the new endurance format in Prototype Challenge which allows teams to run a single or two-driver combination with a required minimum-time pit stop.

“I think it really suits the car and I think that’s what the series needs as it is kind of the feeder into the WeatherTech Championship,” he said.

“You get the feel for what the WeatherTech show is like and having experience in that series and now bringing up the drivers and teams, I think it is a real good thing for the series overall that IMSA put together.”

Confirming a key component of the team’s continuation of a two-car IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA  program in 2018.

Moorespeed announced today that Will Hardeman will be back with the team for a fourth-consecutive season next year for a Platinum Cup Championship campaign in the No. 19 CAG/Moorespeed Porsche GT3 Cup.

Hardeman’s return follows a successful 2017 IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA season for Moorespeed that saw the Austin-based team score runner-up honors in the Platinum Cup Team Championship.

The second-place team championship finish came from a solid run of 12 top-three results in the 16-race 2017 IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup season, highlighted by at least one podium showing in each of the season’s eight doubleheader race weekends.

Hardeman’s highlights in Moorespeed’s stellar run of 2017 podiums included second-place finishes at Barber Motorsports Park in April and Watkins Glen International in late June.

Moorespeed President David Moore confirmed Hardeman’s return after two successful days of testing earlier this week at Motorsports Ranch in Houston.

“Will had a fantastic two days in perfect weather at our ‘other home track,’ MSR Houston,” Moore said. “Monday was low key, no pressure in case we needed to shake a little rust off, but it was smooth with zero issues. So we had a solid performance and I’m really proud of how well our team worked together, even after almost a two month break.”

Hardeman had no problem literally getting back up to speed in what was his and Moorespeed’s first time back at the track since this year’s season finale at Road Atlanta in early October.

“The MSR Houston test for us was low pressure and productive, which made for a really enjoyable time with the team,” Hardeman said.

“I showed up with low expectations after two months of zero driving and easily exceeded them at MSR in both driving and team communication, which always feels good. Although I’m enjoying the break and time with my wife Anna and our daughter Lily, we definitely have our eye on the 2018 Porsche GT3 Cup season."

"We have everything it takes to win races, and we are so close. Next year we just need to be more rock solid on the execution of putting the entire race weekend together and race wins will happen.”

Moorespeed is working hard to confirm its second 2018 IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA entry.

“We have two winners we are talking with currently,” Moore said. “It’s ‘silly season,’ and you never know who you are going to have until the last minute it seems."

"It’s a little challenging as we want to be working with all of our drivers now to make sure they have the very best preparation for the championship. We have great weather down here in Texas most of the winter, it was 80 degrees and sunny at our test this week, and that’s where we can get a leg up on the competition if we get our team nailed down early."

"Last year was great with two very strong drivers, this season could potentially be even stronger if everything falls into place.”

Moore runs the Moorespeed racing team with General Manager Price Cobb, the 1990 24 Hours of Le Mans-winning co-driver who was a key strategic and coaching resource in 2017’s successful season. They both will welcome back another key part of the Moorespeed coaching and strategic team in 2018.

“I’m pleased to say that my good friend Earl Bamber will be back helping me and Price coach this season again,” Moore said. “So, I can’t wait for 2018.”