Entry List: WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Roar Before the 24

Over the past few weeks, there has been a lot of discussion about which teams will attempt the Rolex 24 in 2018.  The mandatory Roar Before the 24 test sessions in early January give viewers a look at who will be there.  As of Wednesday, there are 50 teams entered for the three-day test.

On paper, it is a stacked 50-car entry.  However, based on the comments previously made by IMSA officials that hinted at the race being “oversubscribed,” it is a little disappointing.  Of note, IMSA has set the maximum field size for the Rolex 24 at Daytona at 60.

As expected, there has been a lot of growth in the Prototype class.  Last year, only 12 Prototypes competed in the Roar and the race itself.  In 2018, there will be 20.  The entry list itself clears up a number of questions.

For Tequila Patron ESM, the list shows that Olivier Pla has been assigned to the No. 2, while Nicolas Lapierre has been assigned to the No. 22.  Previously, the endurance racers had not been assigned cars.  Joel Miller is the only driver listed in BAR1 Motorsports’ No. 20 Riley Mk. 30-Gibson.  He’ll bring his knowledge of the Riley Mk. 30 (which the Mazda RT24-P is based on) to the team.

Performance Tech Motorsports has not officially announced their driver lineup as of yet, but James French and Kyle Masson are listed as drivers for the Roar.  Both have experience with the team.

AFS/PR1-Mathiasen Motorsports has added Nick Boulle to their team for the test.  He has two previous starts with the team, most recently at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park back in July.  That race ended with Boulle’s teammate, David Ostella, flipping the car in the final minutes after sliding into the tires.

JDC-Miller MotorSports has a couple of additions.  Austin Cindric has been added to the No. 85 “Banana Boat.”  Meanwhile, Gustavo Menezes has been added to the No. 99 GAINSCO “Red Dragon.”

The GT Le Mans class has nine entries with no European teams making the trip.  Most of the changes of note have already been announced.  Nick Tandy returning to the No. 911 and Earl Bamber to the No. 912 was announced in November.  However, the assignments for BMW’s endurance drivers were revealed in full here.  Nicky Catsburg and Augusto Farfus will drive the No. 24 while Philipp Eng joins Bill Auberlen in the No. 25.

For Risi Competizione, they only have Alessandro Pier Guidi listed as a driver for the No. 62 Ferrari at the moment.  That could change.

In GT Daytona, there are 21 teams entered with a couple of surprises.  One, Risi Competizione has entered a Ferrari 488 GT3 in the class with the all-Mexican lineup of Santiago Creel, Martin Fuentes and Ricardo Perez de Lara.  Creel and Perez de Lara drove together for The Racers Group in the Rolex 24 at Daytona back in January, while Fuentes has spent the past couple of years racing in Pirelli World Challenge.

Spirit of Race is back with a Ferrari 488 GT3 of their own with the lineup of Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy, Mathias Lauda and Daniel Serra.  On paper, the lineup sounds solid.  In practice, the idea of this group of drivers racing a Ferrari is unusual.  All four drivers raced for Aston Martin this year in the FIA World Endurance Championship.  Dalla Lana, Lamy and Lauda shared a car and won the Endurance Trophy for LMGTE Am Drivers.

In the Audi camp, Magnus Racing’s return to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship appears to be official (although the team has not produced a press release indicating it as of yet).  The No. 44 Audi is entered with Andy Lally, team owner John Potter, Andrew Davis and Markus Winkelhock driving.  They’re joined by Montaplast by Land-Motorsport.  They return two of their drivers (Christopher Mies and 18-year old Sheldon van der Linde) from their class victory at Road Atlanta in October.  Joining them are Kelvin van der Linde (Sheldon’s older brother) and Jeffrey Schmidt.

Scuderia Corsa has added Gunnar Jeannette to the No. 63 Ferrari, while Tim Pappas will drive Park Place Motorsports’ No. 73 Porsche.  Finally, Jens Klingmann will play it alone in the No. 96 BMW for Turner Motorsport.  It should be noted that Klingmann was the sole driver at the Roar in 2017 for the team.

In addition to Spirit of Race, there are three more European teams entered.  Manthey Racing is back with their Porsche 911 GT3 R with the same driver lineup (minus Reinhold Renger) as 2017 led by Matteo Cairoli.  GRT Grasser Racing Team has also entered two Lamborghini Huracan GT3s.

2018 WeatherTech Championship Roar Before the 24 Entry List

Teams will have seven on-track sessions starting Friday, Jan. 5 and running through Sunday, Jan. 7.  Session No. 6 will be crucial because it will set garage and pit assignments for the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

About the author

Phil Allaway

Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the site's FREE e-mail newsletter that publishes Monday-Friday and occasionally on weekends. He keeps TV broadcasters honest with weekly editions of Couch Potato Tuesday and serves as the site's Sports Car racing editor.

Outside of Frontstretch, Phil is the press officer for Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. He covers all the action on the high-banked dirt track from regular DIRTcar Modified racing to occasional visits from touring series such as the Super DIRTcar Series.

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