Team Penske announced today two of the four drivers that will compete full time for the team in the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, racing the cars of the recently-announced Acura Daytona Prototype International (DPi) program.

Legendary IndyCar Series driver Juan Pablo Montoya will team up with sports car champion Dane Cameron to pilot one of the team’s two ARX-05 entries. 

Team Penske and Acura Motorsports will announce its other two full-time drivers, as well as additional drivers for the endurance races, at a later date.

The official unveiling of the new ARX-05 race car will take place on Friday as part of Monterey Car Week in California, while the full team will make its competition debut with the new Acura prototype sports cars at the 2018 season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona in January. 

“We worked together with our partners at Acura Motorsports and Honda Performance Development (HPD) to bring together drivers that we believe will help develop our program and compete for race wins right out of the gate while also serving as great ambassadors for their brands,” said Roger Penske.

“Having Juan and Dane join our program brings together two drivers that have extensive sports car racing experience in the prototype class and have already won at the top levels of the sport. This represents a great beginning to our program for 2018.”

Montoya is one of the most accomplished competitors in racing. Few drivers in motorsports history can match the credentials of the fiercely-competitive Colombian.

He is the only driver to win an INDYCAR championship, the Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Hours of Daytona, all in his first attempt. He is also a former winner of one of the most prestigious races in the world – Formula 1’s Monaco Grand Prix.

Montoya and legendary racers Mario Andretti and Dan Gurney are the only drivers that can boast wins in Formula 1, INDYCAR and NASCAR.

In addition, Montoya has won two Indianapolis 500s – including the 2015 race with Team Penske, the 24 Hours of Daytona three times and he earned seven Formula 1 victories in his career. Montoya is currently helping to test and develop the new INDYCAR aero kit that will debut in 2018 and he will also test the new ARX-05 in preparation for next season.

“I have really enjoyed working with Roger and Team Penske over the last four years,” said Montoya.

“When Roger asked if I’d like to be part of starting this new sports car operation with Acura, it was an easy decision. I’ve always loved racing sports cars. It’s definitely a challenge and it’s going to be a lot of fun to develop a new car with Acura."

"I’m excited to start the testing of the ARX-05 next week. Team Penske started its winning tradition in sports cars and it’s going to be cool to be a part of a new chapter with the team.” He added

Cameron comes from a racing family and brings a winning sports car track record to Team Penske starting next season. The son of longtime winning racing engineer Rick Cameron, Dane is a two-time and reigning IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar series champion. He currently competes in the series prototype class for Action Express Racing and he’s earned one win (at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park) and four podium finishes so far in 2017.

Over the course of the last three seasons behind the wheel of the Action Express prototype, Cameron has produced five class victories and he captured the 2016 series title.

With 12 career sports car wins across Grand-Am, American Le Mans and the WeatherTech Sports Car Championship, Cameron also won the 2014 IMSA GTD championship driving for Turner Motorsports.

“Getting a chance to race for Team Penske is like a dream come true for a driver,” said Cameron. “To see all of the effort and resources that Acura Motorsports is putting into this new program to develop and win with the ARX-05, it’s really impressive."

"I’m so excited for the opportunity to become part of the team and work with a guy who has done all the things Juan has done. It’s going to be an awesome experience to add my name to the list of drivers that have driven for Team Penske. I’m looking forward to a busy off season and coming out of the gates strong at Daytona.”

The Acura ARX-05 [Acura Racing eXperimental, generation 5] is the latest in a line of endurance prototypes to be fielded by the company dating back to 1991, just five years after the 1986 launch of the Acura brand. 

Based on the very successful ORECA 07 chassis, the new ARX-05 prototype features Acura-specific bodywork and utilizes the race-proven, production-based Acura AR35TT twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 engine.  

The multi-year program will be administered by Honda Performance Development, the racing arm for both Acura Motorsports and Honda Racing in North America. 

When the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship returns to competition on the weekend of Aug. 25-27 for the Michelin GT Challenge at VIRginia International Raceway, a previous winner of the event will be making a return of its own.

Risi Competizione, which has not competed in the WeatherTech Championship since the Advance Auto Parts Sportscar Showdown at Circuit of The Americas on May 6 in the team’s home state of Texas, will field its popular No. 62 Ferrari 488 GTE for co-drivers Giancarlo Fisichella and Toni Vilander. Fisichella and the Risi team won at VIR in 2014 with Pierre Kaffer then part of the driver lineup.

Fisichella, Vilander and the team will compete in all remaining rounds of the 2017 WeatherTech Championship according to team owner Giuseppe Risi.

“I’m very glad to be returning to IMSA competition with Risi Competizione in the U.S.,” said Vilander, who hails from Finland.

“Although both Giancarlo and I have been continuing to race internationally, it’s not the same as racing in the U.S. and with Giuseppe and the guys at the Risi Competizione team. It’s a special team and we are glad to be back.”

As he completes his first full season with Tequila Patrón ESM in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Luis Felipe “Pipo” Derani has officially signed the contract to return with the prototype team for the 2018 season.

“We are super excited to announce that Pipo will be back for a third year with Tequila Patrón ESM next season,” said Team Owner Scott Sharp. “On and off the track, Pipo has been exemplary and become part of the ESM family as he shows his talent again and again! We are working hard on all fronts for our 2018 program and Pipo will spearhead that attack!”

“I am really happy to confirm I will continue to race for Tequila Patrón ESM next season in what I am sure it will be a super competitive IMSA WeatherTech championship,” said Derani. “All of us at Tequila Patron ESM share a big desire to win and this team spirit is the fuel we need to continue to perform at the highest level possible at every track we go.”

Derani first joined Tequila Patrón ESM for the 2016 Rolex 24 at Daytona, and became a key member in the team effort to take the overall win with Ed Brown, Scott Sharp, and Johannes van Overbeek. The group repeated the win at the following round, the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by “Fresh from Florida.” A late race surge by Derani brought the young Brazilian additional notice, bringing the Tequila Patrón ESM banner again to victory circle.

Most recently Derani celebrated another prototype win with the Tequila Patrón ESM squad, winning Rod America’s Road Race Showcase with co-driver Johannes van Overbeek, breaking Cadillac’s dominating streak of the DPi program. The win brought Tequila Patrón ESM and Nissan NISMO their first victory of the DPi development program after a difficult season filled with the usual teething issues a new program brings.

“Having a good car next year will not be enough to win races and the championship but with a strong human relationship I am sure we can fly high,” said Derani. That's why I am delighted to continue working with ESM. We will continue to push the boundaries in what's left of this year's championship in order to make sure we are the most prepared team once we hit the track at Daytona.”

The team’s current contract with Nissan NISMO is set to continue through 2018, as a partnership between Tequila Patrón ESM, Nissan NISMO, and Onroak Automotive. Derani is the first driver announcement of the four driver lineup, with the rest expected to be announced in the coming months.

“I would like to thank Scott and Ed for their trust, and the entire team for their tireless job this year in order to bring our Nissan DPi to victory lane after a difficult start to our season,” concluded Derani. “I am sure this is just the beginning and I can't wait for 2018!”

The race for class championship honors in the IMSA WeatherTech Championship is heating up as the 2017 season begins to wind down.

The closest battle can be found in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class, where No. 3 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R co-drivers Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen currently hold an eight-point lead over last weekend’s GTLM winners at the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase at Road America, No. 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT teammates Joey Hand and Dirk Mueller.

Garcia and Magnussen have 239 points, while Hand and Mueller have 231 and No. 25 BMW Team RLL BMW M6 GTLM co-drivers Bill Auberlen and Alexander Sims are just one additional point back with 230 markers. A second Ford GT, the No. 67 entry for Richard Westbrook and Ryan Briscoe is relatively close as well, trailing the leader by just 14 points.

The GTLM manufacturer battle, however, has a different leader and is a much closer race. Ford leads with 254 points, one ahead of Chevrolet’s 253 markers.

Defending GT Daytona (GTD) champions Alessandro Balzan and Christina Nielsen – who co-drive the No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3 – continue to benefit from outstanding consistency to lead the standings by 15 points, 254-239, over No. 33 Riley Motorsports-Team AMG Mercedes-AMG GT3 co-drivers Ben Keating and Jeroen Bleekemolen.

Ferrari – which has only one full-time entry in the GTD class – also leads the manufacturer standings by one point, 264-263, over Mercedes-AMG, with Porsche seven points back at 257.

The Prototype class battle, which had tightened up somewhat recently, has been stretched to a 26-point advantage, 258-232, for No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R co-drivers Ricky and Jordan Taylor over two-time Prototype class champions Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi.

The Taylor brothers, who opened the season with five consecutive victories and returned to the podium last weekend with a second-place run at Road America, will clinch the 2017 title if they depart the next Prototype event – the Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on Sept. 24 – with a lead of 37 points or greater.

In the Prototype manufacturer standings, Cadillac has a 24-point lead, 277-253, over Nissan, which picked up its first WeatherTech Championship victory of the Daytona Prototype international (DPi) era last Sunday at Road America with No. 22 Tequila Patrón ESM co-drivers Pipo Derani and Johannes van Overbeek.