The IMSA Prototype Challenge Presented by Mazda completed a two-day test Wednesday at Sebring International Raceway in preparation for the series’ return to the storied circuit March 14-16.

Among the teams taking part in a trio of practice sessions was the Eurosport Racing team which campaigned the test’s lone pair of Mazda Prototype Challenge (MPC) entries, the No. 24 for Dr. Tim George and the No. 34 for Jon Brownson.

With the IMSA Prototype Challenge Presented by Mazda debuting a new one hour, 45-minute endurance racing format this season, the team utilized this week’s test as an opportunity to implement lessons learned from the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway in January.

“Right now, I’m driving by myself so we’re trying to make the car comfortable enough to last an hour and 45 minutes with just me in the car,” George said. “We’re trying to set up the car where it’s quick, yet it and can last, both the car and for me to make sure we don’t tire out, get fatigued and make mistakes.”

Eurosport Racing is no stranger to the IMSA Prototype Challenge Presented by Mazda, with the Colorado-based team a series mainstay and championship-winning program since 2007. Still, a shift in 2018 from the series’ longtime sprint format has undoubtedly been an adjustment for even the most veteran drivers and teams.

A big change, but a welcomed change by George and the Eurosport Racing team.

“The new rules for the endurance races are great, I enjoy it a lot,” said George. “It gives you a chance to think through things differently with strategy. It also gives you a chance if you blow it…in a sprint race if you make a mistake you don’t get a chance to come back.”

The endurance format, George added, also prepares aspiring drivers and teams for a potential move to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

“It’s good to have that endurance style format for the drivers and teams, they really get into that mentality that it’s not a sprint and you have to be more strategic,” he said. “I love to see two classes as well because that’s even more preparation for the WeatherTech Championship.”

Continental Tire Challenge Floridians Express Anticipation Over Hometown Race at Sebring

The IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge features a handful drivers who make their homes in the state of Florida, making Sebring International Raceway – site of next month’s Alan Jay Automotive Network 120 – a “home race” of sorts for them.

Ahead of the race, scheduled for Friday, March 16, more than a dozen cars participated in the two-day, IMSA-sanctioned test at Sebring, including some local drivers who logged testing miles on the track that was converted from a World War II air base.

“I grew up in Tallahassee and I live in Orlando now, so Sebring has been my home track since day one,” said Paul Holton, driver of the No. 76 Compass Racing McLaren GT4. “I’ve spent a lot of time down here and really enjoy the place. It’s a nice, quaint little town not far from Orlando so it’s a quick, easy drive down for me.”

The track is also about two hours from Palm Beach Gardens where Ramin Abdolvahabi lives. A neurosurgeon, he currently drives the No. 09 Automatic Racing Aston Martin Vantage.

“I haven’t been here for two years, so coming back is like coming home,” said Abdolvahabi. “It’s a fantastic track and it’s one of the iconic tracks in the world so being at Sebring – a small town, my hometown, welcoming – it’s fantastic.

“I went on the track a couple of times yesterday and it’s just like wearing an old shoe, it just fits and it’s fantastic. Hopefully, the race will go well and the weather will hold, so anyone who’s out there, come and see us!”

And for the local teams, being at home offers added incentive to perform well in front of the hometown crowd.

“We’re going to stuff about 14 people into a house so yes, I’m going to have friends and relatives,” said Alan Brynjolfsson, team owner and driver of the No. 7 VOLT Racing Ford Mustang GT4. Brynjolfsson calls nearby Tampa home. “Sebring is kind of our home track, so we have a lot of confidence here and feel at our home track we should perform really well, so we always look forward to Sebring.”

Raso Pilots Porsches Instead of Airliners This Week at Sebring

One of the pleasant nuances of sports car racing is the fact that several drivers make their living doing something other than driving race cars. It’s not uncommon to find doctors, lawyers or executives battling it out on the racetrack.

One driver with a particularly interesting “day job” is Frank Raso, who was testing the No. 10 Topp Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car this week at Sebring.

“I’m an airline pilot for a major airline,” Raso said. “I’ve been flying for almost 30 years, and it’s allowed me, with all my time off and things like that to do this and fall back into racing again. I messed with it a little bit when I was younger, but it was, of course, expensive, so I got away from it for a while. I decided I wanted to get back into it in kind of my last couple of years before I get too old.”

The 54-year-old competed last year in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama Gold Cup class, and was gearing up this week for another Gold Cup run in 2018. His best results last year were fourth-place outings on four different occasions.

“I didn’t race the full season last year because of work constraints,” Raso said. “It’s the same thing with this year, I won’t be able to do the whole season because of the work constraints and getting time off. I use my vacation weeks to actually go race or trade trips around and things like that.”

He’s got a solid team behind him and coaching from top drivers such as past IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge champions Eric Foss and Ryan Eversley. He also is able to draw from his own experiences as a pilot, which offers some similarities to driving race cars.

“Flying an airliner or flying any airplane, we have checklists, but everything is kind of done in order,” Raso said. “It’s almost in a robot fashion type of a thing where you do this, you do this, you do this and you have to make sure you hit all your marks and fly the airplane with precision.

“So, when you get in these Cup cars, with no antilock brakes, no traction control and no driver assist items, you have to make sure you hit your marks, when you’re accelerating, when you’re turning in. You have to be alert. It keeps your wits about you. The car can step out at any time. They’re a very difficult car to drive, but they’re a lot of fun.”

Newcomer Welham Brings Fresh Perspective to Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama

Among the 10 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama drivers testing at Sebring International Raceway the last two days were a handful of newcomers to the series in 2018, including Scott Welham, who was testing the No. 61 Kelly-Moss Road and Race Porsche 911 GT3 Cup machine in the Platinum Cup class.

The test provided an initial taste of professional racing for Welham, who is making the jump from the amateur ranks this season.

“I’m actually a Viper guy,” Welham said Wednesday morning prior to the third and final Porsche GT3 Cup session of the Sebring test. “I’ve been racing since about 2003 in a Viper. So, Vipers are front-engine, high-torque, and you go to this and it is more of a mid-engine, lower torque. I’m having an adjustment on actually having to roll through the corners, versus going on/off, binary, with the Viper. The transition is trying to learn the different car and the techniques and everything else.”

He credits the highly professional Kelly-Moss Road and Race team with helping make it as smooth a transition as possible. It’s been an eye-opening experience for the Louisville, Kentucky resident, whose previous experiences have largely been at the amateur level or working with much smaller operations than Kelly-Moss, which won last year’s Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA title with driver Jake Eidson.

“Here, you’ve got somebody that actually does coaching, data acquisition, track management – these are all separate people – plant manager, owner, a car-setup guy, you’ve got someone that bills you – which isn’t always a good thing, but you know, you just have that huge, huge support group that enables you to focus on driving,” Welham said. “The other one at the amateur level is you always get these guys that do the turning the wrench and the driving.

“I got out of that eventually, but that was the progression you seem to go into. I think you’ve got to make the call on what you want to do. If you want to be a good driver, you need something like this to support you.”

Welham also is looking forward to the high-profile events that populate the 2018 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA schedule, beginning with next month’s doubleheader as part of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts race-week festivities.

“It’s a great attraction,” Welham said. “I mean, it’s just fantastic. You see it on TV, you watch it all the time and it’s like, ‘OK, do I have the ability to go that next level? Can I do it?’

“This year’s going to be a total test of me. I don’t have expectations of winning anything at this point, but if I have a three-year plan, and ultimately, hopefully, at the end of the third year I can actually be pretty good, that’s what I would like to do.”

Two Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach winners—Helio Castroneves and Juan Pablo Montoya— will be inducted on Thursday, April 12, at 11:00 am into the Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame, a City of Long Beach and Grand Prix Association of Long Beach joint project. 

The public is invited to attend the 13th annual Walk of Fame induction ceremony, which will be held on South Pine Avenue in front of the Convention Center as part of the festivities surrounding the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Admission to the ceremony is free. 

“We look forward to welcoming Helio Castroneves and Juan Pablo Montoya back to Long Beach to honor them for all of their achievements in motorsports. They are well-deserving honorees,” said Mayor Robert Garcia. 

Castroneves, from Sao Paulo, Brazil, won in an Indy car at Long Beach in 2001, and captured the 1997 Indy Lights race at Long Beach as well. 

A three-time Indianapolis 500 winner (2001, ‘02, ‘09), Castroneves has logged 30 Indy car race victories. The popular driver, who gained substantial non-racing fame by winning season five of the popular television show, “Dancing With The Stars,” has switched series in 2018, co-driving Acura Team Penske’s #7 Prototype entry in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series with last season’s Prototype co-champion, Ricky Taylor. 

Montoya won the 1999 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach en route to capturing the 1999 CART FedEx Series championship, and finished third at Long Beach in 2015.

The Bogota, Colombia native won the Indy 500 in 2000 and 2015, with 15 Indy car victories and seven Formula One race wins on his resume. 

Montoya is co-driving - with Dane Cameron - the Team Penske #6 Acura Prototype in the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. 

“It is entirely appropriate that we recognize these two racing legends here at Long Beach this year,” said Jim Michaelian, president and CEO of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach. “They have excelled in their performances both here and around the world and this year return to Long Beach both driving sports cars for Team Penske.” 

The Walk of Fame medallions include renditions of the racers' Long Beach-winning cars, as well as their major achievements in motorsports

Next week at Sebring International Raceway, the 2018 season begins for both the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama and the Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge.

Both series are part of Porsche’s 21 one-make Cup Challenge series worldwide, with every driver competing in 45-minute sprint races aboard Porsche’s iconic 911 GT3 Cup race cars. The first race of the season is slated for Thursday, March 15 at 4:25 p.m. ET with the second on Friday morning at 11:25 a.m. ET. Both races will be streamed live on IMSA.com with IMSA Radio commentary.

And one driver, 17-year-old Roman De Angelis, will be competing in both races at the same time. The Canadian youngster from Belle River, Ontario is entered in both the No. 1 Kelly Moss Road and Race machine in the GT3 Cup USA championship, as well as the No. 78 Mark Motors Racing entry in GT3 Cup Canada.

Mind you, De Angelis isn’t driving two different cars. That would be impossible. He’ll drive one car in both races and will earn points toward both championships.

Last year, De Angelis won the GT3 Cup Challenge Canada Gold Cup championship for cars from model years 2014-16, and finished third in the GT3 Cup Challenge USA Gold Cup standings. This year, he’s in the Platinum Cup class for 2017 and 2018 models in both series.

“I think we have a pretty good shot at winning the American championship,” said De Angelis during a test at Sebring last month. “It’s a really good team, and I think that, with their help, I should be able to become a better driver and at least fight for the championship.

“In Canada, I’m with Mark Motors Racing for my second year, also in the Platinum category. I’m going to be teammates with (2017 Canada Platinum Cup runner-up) Zach Robichon, who’s obviously a very, very talented driver, so it’s going to be pretty competitive up there. I think the same thing, we have a pretty good shot at winning. With Zach’s data and how much he’s going to help me, it’s going to be a tight year, but we’re going to push our hardest and see if we can win.”

He knows it’ll be a “tight year” in both championships, with a stacked field of competitors. Next week’s USA field features a total of 26 entries – 16 of them Platinum Cup machines – in addition to the nine Canadian entries, all of them in Platinum Cup.

“I think Sebring is going to be the hardest event, in all honesty, because you’re going to have Zach down here and Remo (Ruscitti, another GT3 Cup Challenge Canada competitor) is also a very good driver,” De Angelis said. “I think this year also (in GT3 Cup Challenge USA) we’ll have Trenton Estep, who’s a very good driver.”

Estep finished third in the 2017 Platinum Cup standings in GT3 Cup Challenge USA with a pair of victories. He’s entered in the No. 3 JDX Racing entry.

“It’ll be his second year in Platinum, so he’s got a little bit more time in the car, and he’s definitely going to be somebody that’s going to be hard to beat,” De Angelis said. “(2017 IMSA Hurley Haywood GT3 Cup Scholarship recipient) Max Root is another good driver, and (Anthony) Imperato (who drives the No. 91 Wright Motorsports Platinum Cup machine), all those guys are going to be up there. They have a lot of experience, so they’re going to be – definitely – people who we’re going to have to watch out for. I don’t think it’s going to be easy, but it’s going to be fun.”

De Angelis started his 2018 season with a bit more fun, taking part in the IMSA Prototype Challenge Presented by Mazda season opener at Daytona International Speedway in early January as part of the Roar Before the Rolex 24 weekend.

In fact, he did more than take part. He won the one-hour, 45-minute race, which was De Angelis’ longest continuous driving stint ever in a race car.

“I definitely learned a lot, endurance-wise, like how to manage tires and that kind of stuff,” he said. “Obviously, you can’t just be on the limit 100 percent of the time for that whole hour and 45, because there’s going to be no tires under the car by the end.

“The consistency, definitely, is something I learned. How to manage tires, how to control tires when they overhead, all that kind of stuff is something that, for sure, will help me this year, especially in a shorter sprint race where you’re pushing hard the whole time.

“You can sometimes get a little ahead of yourself and overcook the tires, which is common. I think that definitely put something in my head that I didn’t have last year.”

That IMSA Prototype Challenge Presented by Mazda race at Daytona was a one-off for De Angelis, who has plenty of other racing ahead of him this season in both the U.S. and Canada. But it was a good eye-opener as he continues to build his racing career.

“I think IMSA does a really good job with the development series, not only promoting them, but promoting the drivers and teams as well,” he said. “I think not only doing the Porsche Cup, but also the LM P3 race that I did, I got a lot of exposure from manufacturers there, Ligier, Onroak and all those guys.

“I’m hoping it pays off in the end. From what I know now, I think the development series are really advanced and it’s definitely something that’s a good stairway to the WeatherTech (Championship).”

And that’s where De Angelis ultimately wants to race.

“Yeah, for sure,” he said. “WeatherTech is basically the end of the ladder, so hopefully I get there.”

If he continues to develop and perform as he’s already shown, he may get there sooner rather than later.

A recently announced joint entry between Charles Wicht Racing and Performance Tech Motorsports has solidified its lineup for the 2018 IMSA Prototype Challenge Presented by Mazda season and it includes a name familiar to IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship fans – Pato O’Ward.

O’Ward will join Leo Lamelas in the No. 7 Ligier JS P3 and will make his series debut at Sebring International Raceway, where he also will compete in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts for Performance Tech Motorsports.

Lamelas started the IMSA Prototype Challenge Presented by Mazda season at the Roar Before the Rolex 24 with Charles Wicht sharing driving duties. Lamelas and Wicht finished seventh in the first ever endurance event for the series.

While O’Ward has no shortage of experience with endurance racing as a frequent competitor in the WeatherTech Championship, he has minimal experience in an LM P3 having only tested the car.

"This is a great fit to have Pato in the car with Leo," said Performance Tech Motorsports team principal Brent O’Neill said. "These kids are both fast. The goal was to put a winning lineup together and I think we did just that. I think Pato having a lot of experience in Prototypes now will help Leo and give him something to work off outside of the car. Pato has tested the car before, and he knows Sebring, so I don't see him having any issues. Leo seems to be a steady driver. I expect them to do really well."

"I really think we have a winning lineup here," said Charles Wicht. "Leo did a phenomenal job at Daytona so I knew we had to push to find the best driver to pair with him. Luckily that person is right under our tent now. This is a benefit of being teamed up with Performance Tech. I'm really excited to get to work at Sebring; I know these guys are going to do a great job. I don't know that anyone will be surprised by their speed, but I think they'll impress a lot of people."