Pratt Miller Motorsports announced Friday morning (Nov. 15) that Pietro Fittipaldi and James Roe will drive the team’s new ORECA 07-Gibson in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s LMP2 class in 2025. This will be a parallel operation to the factory-supported GTD Pro team.
“Joining the winningest professional sports car team in the U.S. is an honor,” Fittipaldi stated. “I’m eager for the journey ahead and contributing to Pratt Miller Motorsports’ continued success.”
Fittipaldi comes to the team after racing full-time in 2024 for Team RLL in the NTT IndyCar Series. Unfortunately, the year was a struggle for him as he finished 19th in points with his best finishes being a pair of 13ths at St. Petersburg and Detroit.
Fittipaldi has four career WeatherTech starts, all in the LMP2 class. His best finish was a fourth in this year’s Rolex 24 at Daytona for Inter Europol by PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports. That ride was a last-minute deal after Clement Novalak was unable to go.
“It’s a privilege to become part of the winning legacy at Pratt Miller Motorsports,” Roe stated. “I look forward to contributing to the team’s tradition of excellence, especially in this inaugural year for the LMP2 program.”
Roe comes to the team from Firestone Indy NXT, where he raced this year for Andretti Global. In 14 races, Roe had two podiums, five top-five finishes and a pole at Iowa en route to a sixth-place finish in points. This ride will be an additional ride for Roe as he will return to Andretti Global for a second Indy NXT season.
Roe does have sports car racing experience in series in Europe such as International GT Open. However, the Rolex 24 at Daytona will be his first IMSA start.
“We’re excited to deepen our involvement in IMSA by launching an LMP2 program,” said Brandon Widmer, vice president of Pratt Miller Motorsports. “This expansion reflects our commitment to innovation and performance. Over this past season, we have been laying the groundwork to build a comprehensive motorsports platform that maximizes our partners’ return on their investment with us. With Pietro Fittipaldi’s extensive experience and championships across multiple racing formats and James Roe’s ascension through the American open-wheel ranks, we’re confident these drivers bring the skill and determination needed to make our LMP2 debut a success. We expect to announce a bronze-rated driver and a fourth endurance driver in the very near future, further strengthening our team for the upcoming season.”
It was already known that Pratt Miller Motorsports would be fielding an LMP2 car in 2025 as they were announced as a full-season entry during the State of the Sport address at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta back on Oct. 10. At that time, the team was revealed as having the No. 73.
Pratt Miller Motorsports is well-known today for running the formerly full factory Chevrolet Corvettes all the way back to 1999. However, before that, they were known for prototype development.
Their first vehicle that they built was the Intrepid RM-1, a vehicle designed by Bob and Bill Riley in 1990. This car raced in IMSA starting in 1991 and was very quick on tight circuits. Design elements from the RM-1 (most notably the nose) carried over to the open-cockpit Riley & Scott Mk. III that was raced starting in 1995.
Pratt & Miller was also responsible for the construction of Daytona Prototypes such as the Corvette DP in the early 2010s.
The team did not announce endurance drivers Friday. They will be revealed at a later date.
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.