Mazda Motorsports has announced the team of drivers that will pilot the two Mazda RT24-P race cars in the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with Mazda Team Joest.
Racing under the Daytona Prototype international (DPi) rules package, this is the first season for the combination of Mazda and Joest Racing, joining the third-winningest manufacturer in IMSA racing history with the team that has won 15 times at Le Mans.
Competing for the championship in the 10-race season will be long-time Mazda drivers Jonathan Bomarito and Tristan Nuñez, both Americans, who will be joined by British racers Oliver Jarvis and Harry Tincknell, who both join Mazda for the first time. For the four longest endurance races, the quartet of drivers will be supplemented by IndyCar racer Spencer Pigot and 2017 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) touring car champion René Rast.
The driver combinations for each car have not been set, as the team continues a busy testing schedule ahead of the season-opening 24 at Daytona in late January.
“Mazda has had a driver development program since 2007,” explained John Doonan, director of Mazda Motorsports in North America.
“So, it’s a big part of our Mazda Prototype program to feature drivers that have come up through the Mazda ranks, whether that’s in sports cars like Tristan Nuñez, or the open-wheel side of things with Bomarito and Pigot. We’re thrilled that those superb young men are back with us again in 2018.
“Working with Joest, we were also able to secure fast, winning drivers from their recent history, which makes Jarvis and Rast a good fit, as is Tincknell, who has been successful in both GT and Prototype cars,” said Doonan.
“We ask a lot of our drivers outside the car as well, so it’s great to add drivers who will fit the chemistry of what we hope to achieve as a team.”