21-25 January, 2015, Daytona Beach, Florida USADoug Fehan©2015, Michael L. LevittLAT Photo USA for IMSA

WeatherTech Championship Notebook: Fehan Leaving Corvette Racing Program

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – After a quarter century as program manager of the successful Corvette Racing sports car effort, Doug Fehan is stepping away.

He leaves a program that collected 14 IMSA team championships as well as 13 manufacturer and driver titles in a 22-year-span under his guidance.

“Doug’s contributions to Corvette Racing go far beyond the unparalleled successes on the racetrack,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice President, Performance and Motorsports. “He developed strong relationships between Corvette Racing and the Corvette engineering, design, powertrain and marketing teams, and a variety of corporate sponsors, along with the various series and sanctioning bodies in which Corvette Racing competed.

“Doug’s passion and enthusiasm created an incredible connection with race fans around the world. Any fan who met Doug will never forget him.”

Starting with GM Racing in 1988, Fehan worked on a number of motorsports programs including the Chevrolet Beretta Trans-Am, Chevrolet Intrepid GTP and Oldsmobile’s World Sports Car efforts before he was named program manager of Corvette Racing in 1996. Fehan and the Chevrolet Motorsports team worked for two-plus years on the development of the Corvette C5-R race car, which served to market the hugely popular Corvette C5 production car.

The C5-R debuted at the Rolex 24 At Daytona in 1999 and produced a podium finish in the GT2 class. In the following years, Fehan worked with the team to develop and race three additional generations of racing Corvettes: the C6.R, C7.R and the mid-engine C8.R, which made its competition debut this year. Along the way, the Corvettes have collected 113 race victories including 12 at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts, eight in the Motul Petit Le Mans and three at the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Corvette swept the GT Le Mans (GTLM) championships this year, taking home the driver, team and manufacturer crowns. A replacement for Fehan will be named at a later date.

PR1/Mathiasen Names LMP2 Lineup for Rolex 24

PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports, the two-time defending IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship champion in the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class, has announced its driver lineup for the 2021 Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Ben Keating, Mikkel Jensen, Scott Huffaker and Nicolas Lapierre were named to pilot the No. 52 ORECA 07 LMP2 in January’s twice-around-the-clock classic. The versatile Keating drove for the team in this year’s Rolex 24 when the No. 52 finished second in class. Huffaker was a co-driver in the No. 52 at the three later endurance races, collecting wins in the TireRack.com Grand Prix at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in September and the season-ending Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts last month.

“As we all learn more about the different programs and teams coming to this year’s (Rolex) 24, I can’t help but feeling like it will be off the charts in terms of depth in the P2 category,” said Bobby Oergel, team principal at PR1/Mathiasen. “Adding to that, I feel so fortunate to have Ben, Mikkel, Scott and Nicolas all together in our No. 52 PR1/Mathiasen car this year. These guys are all amazing in the cockpit.

“Last year at this event, Ben was so very strong for our team and I am sure that will be the same once again this year. Scott was with us for the endurance events later in last year’s program, where he did a superb job in all aspects and continues to prove he is a true young gun, for sure. We only know Mikkel and Nicolas from having to compete against them in years past, and for sure I am relieved to have them in-house for this year’s (Rolex) 24, as both of them are really tough to compete against.”

Keating, who has 13 career IMSA wins including the 2015 Rolex 24 in the GT Daytona (GTD) class, will again pull double duty at the 2021 race on the Daytona International Speedway road course. The 49-year-old is also slated to drive a GTD entry for TF Sport, but he’s thrilled to return for another shot at victory in the No. 52 that will sport a new livery design showcasing the colors of primary sponsor Wynn’s.

“I am extremely excited to be coming back to the Rolex 24 At Daytona again in 2021 with PR1,” Keating said. “We had a great race last year, but I want to make the top step on the podium in January. After winning the IMSA LMP2 championship for the last few years in a row, we know for sure that PR1 knows how to win. And, I am super excited about the driver lineup we have in this car. Clearly, we are in it to ‘Wynn’ it.”

Jensen, the 2019 European Le Mans Series champion in Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3), will be making his Rolex 24 debut. The 25-year-old Dane was on the winning LMP2 team at this year’s Motul Petit Le Mans driving for Tower Motorsport by Starworks. The veteran Lapierre is a two-time overall winner at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and four-time LMP2 champion at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“It’s a big pleasure to come back in Daytona with a great team and a super-strong lineup,” Lapierre said. “The LMP2 field will be super competitive in 2021 and it will be for sure a tough battle to go on the top step of the podium. The package PR1 has put together will certainly be one of the best ones in our category.”

Riley Motorsports Tabs Drivers for 2021 LMP3 Entry

74 Riley

Riley Motorsports announced its driver lineup for its 2021 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship entry in the new Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) class. Gar Robinson and Felipe Fraga will drive the No. 74 Ligier JS P320 in all seven races, with Oliver Askew and Scott Andrews joining them for the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Robinson drove Riley Motorsports’ GT Daytona (GTD) entry this year, finishing eighth in the class with co-driver Lawson Aschenbach. It was Robinson’s first full season of WeatherTech Championship competition.

Fraga has driven for Riley in WeatherTech Championship GTD endurance events the past two years, including the Motul Petit Le Mans in 2019, when he ran out of fuel while leading on the final lap.

Andrews drove an LMP3 for JDC Motorsports this season in the IMSA Prototype Challenge, winning two races with co-driver Gerry Kraut and finishing fifth in the standings despite missing one race. Askew just completed his rookie season in the IndyCar Series, after climbing the junior open-wheel ladder by winning championships in the USF2000 and Indy Lights series.