This weekend, IMSA returns to action for the first time in nearly a month. For GTD Pro teams, it’s closer to two months.
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship TireRack.com Monterey SportsCar Championship
For Sunday’s TireRack.com Monterey SportsCar Championship, there are 36 teams entered. In the GTP class, there are 11 teams entered. These are the same 11 teams that raced in Long Beach last month.
This is also the first conflict weekend with the FIA World Endurance Championship, which races Saturday at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. There are a number of drivers that are full-time in both series, leading to decisions that have to be made.
For Action Express Racing, Earl Bamber has chosen to race in Spa for Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA. As a result, endurance driver Frederik Vesti has stepped in to drive alongside Jack Aitken.
In GTD Pro, there are 10 teams entered. This is down from 11 that were entered in the last GTD Pro race at Sebring in March. The only team that is not entered is Proton Competition, which is racing their Porsche part-time.
Ben Barnicoat is still out due to his mountain biking injury from earlier this year. His sub from Long Beach, Kyle Kirkwood, is busy with Saturday’s NTT IndyCar Series Sonsio Grand Prix. As a result, Marvin Kirchhoefer will drive alongside Aaron Telitz.
Kirchhoefer comes to Vasser Sullivan after running full-time last year for Pfaff Motorsports in their McLaren 720S GT3. Sharing with Oliver Jarvis, the duo finished seventh in GTD Pro points with two second-place finishes. Kirchhoefer was also part of the winning GTD squad for Andrew Wojteczko Autosport in the Rolex 24 at Daytona back in January.
There are 15 teams entered in the GTD class, down one car from Long Beach. The No. 89 Lexus from Vasser Sullivan and the race-winning No. 177 from AO Racing are not entered as they were one-off entries with no GTD Pro class in play.
Triarsi Competizione is running two cars this weekend. Joining the full-time No. 021 is the No. 023 with Riccardo Agostini and Onofrio Triarsi. This team usually only runs the Michelin Endurance Cup races.
The Heart of Racing announced last week that Darren Turner will drive the No. 27 Aston Martin in place of Tom Gamble. Gamble will be racing the Valkyrie at Spa this weekend.
At DXDT Racing, the team announced last Wednesday that Robert Wickens will be joined by Alec Udell for the remaining four sprint races this season. Udell is far from an unknown quantity to the team as he shared their Pro car in GT World Challenge America powered by AWS last season with Tommy Milner. The two had seven overall wins and eight class wins in nine starts. They only missed out on the championship because the team didn’t have the car at the start of the season.
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship TireRack.com Monterey SportsCar Championship Entry List
The TireRack.com Monterey SportsCar Championship is scheduled to go green at 3:10 p.m. ET Sunday afternoon. Coverage will air live on NBC starting at 3 p.m. ET.
IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca 120
For Saturday’s third race of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season, there are 40 teams entered. This is equal to the entry for Sebring and up three cars from last year.
In the Grand Sport class, there are 24 teams entered, down one from Sebring. Those that are not entered are CarBahn Motorsports with Peregrine Racing’s second entry from Sebring, 89x Motorsports and BGB Motorsports.
In addition, Hattori Motorsports is not entered with their Supra. Since the last round of the championship, team owner Shigeaki Hattori died in a car accident in Mooresville, N.C.
Czabok-Simpson Motorsports has expanded to three cars due to IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge not racing this weekend. The team has added the No. 3 Porsche for Nikita Lastochkin and Chase Jones in addition to their full-time Nos. 2 and 67.
AR Motorsports has entered a Porsche for Thomas Merrill and David Hampton. Merrill is currently full-time in Pirelli GT4 America SprintX and had a strong run in the recent Lonestar Enduro at Circuit of the Americas.
Kingpin Racing and Panam Motorsports, which raced at Daytona back in January, return to the championship this weekend. CDR Valkyrie is back with their Porsche as well.
The TCR class has 16 teams entered, up from 15 at Sebring. Rockwell Autosport Development is back with their Audi. It will be shared by Bruno Colombo and Eric Rockwell.
The Speed Syndicate/Rumcastle entry has a TBD driver alongside Luke Rumburg. That seat was occupied by Johnny Mauro in Sebring.
Road Shagger Racing is back after missing the first two rounds. Team owner Gavin Ernstone will continue to drive alongside teammate/longtime driver coach Jon Morley.
IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca 120 Entry List
The WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca 120 is scheduled to go green at 3:45 p.m. ET Saturday. The race will stream live on both the IMSA Official YouTube channel and on Peacock.
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.