Rolex 24 At Daytona LMP2 Teams lineup
As it stands so far, the LMP2 grid is almost completed. We hereby summarize the announcements made by the 10 entries that will compete at Daytona as well as for the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship*. We also clarify the drivers competing in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup** or solely in the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
The 2022 renewals.
Let us first review the teams and lineups of the ones who completed last year's championship following their 2022 Championship ranking.
📷 © Luc Warnotte: John Farano at the wheel of #8 Tower Motorsport ORECA LMP2 07 after the 6 hours of The Glen 2022 qualifications.
After 3 years in ELMS driving RLR Msport LMP3 (2017 - 2019) with a championship win in 2018, the Canadian gentlemen driver (Director of Tower Events and Tower Scaffold Services Inc.) John Farano created his own team: Tower Motorsport. After two seasons (4th in 2020 and 3rd in 2021) Farano won the 2022 LMP2 IMSA Championship. As his then-teammate Louis Deletraz will run for Wayne Taylor Racing in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup, Jan Farano had to renew his lineup.
Newgarden, the two-time IndyCar Series champion, and New Zealander McLaughlin, who won three Australian Supercars championships before joining the Penske IndyCar program in 2021, where he won four races and finished fourth in the standings this season, were named as John Farano co-drivers for the #8 Tower Motorsports for the Rolex 24.
Indy NXT driver Kyffin Simpson, who raced with Gradient Racing in Motul Petit Le Mans, bringing his #66 Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 to GTD class victory and raced in the Indy NXT series under the HMD banner while also being a Chip Ganassi Development driver, will be the fourth driver.
No further announcement has been made for the full season but Louis Deletraz, who was key in Farano’s win for the 2022 championship, clearly stated to us he would love to run the sprint races of the IMSA WeatherTech Championship with Tower Motorsport.
📷 © Luc Warnotte: #52 PR1 Mathiesen Motorsport ORECA LMP2 07 at Rolex 24 At Daytona 2022.: Ben Keating, for the IMEC, Nico Lapierre joins for Daytona
#52 PR1 Mathiesen Motorsport ORECA LMP2 07 ended second of the LMP2 class in the IMSA WeatherTech Championship with Ben Keating, Scott Huffaker and Mikael Jensen driving for the Michelin Endurance races and Josh Pierson or Patrick Kelly driving the rest of the IMSA season.
At Daytona, Ben Keating will still run the #52 Oreca LMP2 together with Nicolas Lapierre (as in 2022) as well asAlex Quinn (single-seater driver) and Paul Loup Chatin who won the European Le Mans Series LMP2 class title in 2014 and 2019 and the LMP2 class of the Rolex 24 At Daytona 2021 with Era Motorsport.
No further announcement has been made by the team for the rest of the season lineup.
📷 © Luc Warnotte: Dwight Merriman, Kyle Tilley and Ryan Dalziel ended third of LMP2 class with #18 Era Motorsport ORECA LMP2 07 at the 12 Hours of Sebring 2022.
The Rolex 24 At Daytona 2021 LMP2 class winners Dwight Merriman and Ryan Dalziel will drive #18 Era Motorsport ORECA LMP2 07 for the full season after ending second in the LMP2 drivers and third in the LMP2 teams IMSA Championships.
IMEC rounds: Christian Rasmussen. Rolex 24: Oliver Jarvis.
📷 © Luc Warnotte: Dennis Anderson, Anders Fjordbach and Fabio Scherer with #20 High Class Racing ORECA LMP2 07 ended 4th of LMP2 class at Motul Petit Le Mans 2022.
Full season: Dennis Anderson and Ed Jones
IMEC rounds: Anders Fjordbach. Rolex 24: Raffaele Marciello.
A top 5 2022 LMP2 class absentee.
📷 © Luc Warnotte: S. Thomas, J. Pierson, J. Bomarito with #11 PR1 Mathiesen Motorsport ORECA LMP2 07 ended 4th at 12 Hours of Sebring 2022 as well as for the whole Teams championship.
The newcomers.
#04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA LMP2 07: Entered for IMEC rounds only with Ben Hanley, George Kurtz and Matt McMurry, along with Esteban Gutierrez for Rolex 24.
📷 © Luc Warnotte: #31 TDS Racing x Vaillante at 4 Hours of Portimao and 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. The team ended 4th overall in the EUROPEAN LE MANS SERIES TROPHY - LMP2 PRO AM TEAMS.
TDS Racing is a French company specializing in the business sector of engineering and automotive engineering. The team will align two ORECA LMP2 07 at Road Atlanta.
#11 TDS Racing ORECA LMP2 07 driven by Steven Thomas, Mikkel Jensen and Scott Huffaker for the LMP2 championship (IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup + Mid Ohio and Road America). Rinus Veekay will be the fourth driver at Daytona.
#35 TDS Racing ORECA LMP2 07: Giedo van der Garde, Josh Pierson and Francois Heriau will contest the full IMSA Championship. Job van Uitert joins for Daytona.
#51 Rick Ware Racing ORECA LMP2 07: Driver Line-up TBC, the entry is set to be a full-season effort.
#55 Proton Racing ORECA LMP2 07: TBC – Likely to be a bridging program until delivery of the team’s Porsche 963 GTP car.
📷 © Luc Warnotte: #88 AF Corse ORECA LMP2 07 at 4 Hours of Portimao and 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.
AF Corse ended 9th the 2022 EUROPEAN LE MANS SERIES TROPHY - LMP2 TEAMS with Gentlemen driver François Perrodo, Alessio Rovera and Nicklas Nielsen.
Francois Perrodo aims to drive the #88 AF Corse ORECA LMP2 07 the Michelin Endurance Challenge with teammates to be communicated.
Writer’s notes:
* Weathertech Sportscar Championship for LMP2 is a seven-race championship with 3 sprints (Laguna Seca, Road America and Indianapolis Motor Speedway) and the 4 IMSA Michelin Endurance races**.
**IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup is a four-race competition encompassing the marquee endurance races on the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship schedule: Rolex 24 At Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring, 6 Hours of The Glen, and Motul Petit Le Mans. Car Racing Reporter will be on site to report those four races.
Related articles
📷 © Luc Warnotte: Andretti Autosport and Wayne Taylor Racing announced a new, long-term partnership here.
📷 © Luc Warnotte: : Louis Deletraz explains how John Farano impressed him a lot here.
📷 © Luc Warnotte: : Mikkel Jensen, Ben Keating and Scott Huffaker repeat last year victory in LMP2 at Sebring here.
