GRS Autosport Plans Full-Season Prototype Challenge Entry
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – CB Motorsports will make its IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge debut in the BMW Endurance Challenge at Daytona International Speedway on Jan. 29, part of Rolex 24 At Daytona race week activities. Drivers Caleb Bacon, Mark Kvamme and Trenton Estep will be behind the wheel of the No. 81 Hyundai Veloster N TCR for the four-hour endurance event.
Kvamme and Estep are slated as the full-season pairing for the Touring Car (TCR) class campaign in the No. 81 Hyundai. The team is looking to add a second car later in the season.
“I am looking forward to returning to Daytona International Speedway for the start of the season with CB Motorsports,” said Kvamme, who has made nine previous Daytona starts in Prototype and GT cars. “While I have driven an assortment of cars at Daytona, the Hyundai Veloster N TCR will be a new and exciting challenge. The IMPC TCR class has some of the closest racing in IMSA, and I got a taste of that with a few outings in 2019.
“Returning to the TCR field with Caleb and Trenton as my teammates is an exciting opportunity. They are talented drivers that I get to work with. Together, we have a great chance to fight our way to a podium and open the season on a high note.”
Estep is the 2018 IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama champion who will make his Pilot Challenge debut with CB Motorsports.
“I know my co-driver Mark Kvamme well and we work well together,” Estep said. “I’m excited to be alongside him and to start working with Caleb as well. Mark has become a mentor of mine on and off the track, and our journey in Michelin Pilot Challenge is a new chapter for us both.”
Bacon is the grandson of Al Bacon, a four-time GTU class winner at the Rolex 24 At Daytona (1989, 1991, 1992 and 1993) behind the wheel of a Mazda RX-7. The younger Bacon will turn 16 just before the Daytona race when he makes his Pilot Challenge debut.
“I’m really excited to be joining IMSA,” said Bacon. “I know that the Michelin Pilot Challenge series is very competitive, but with my knowledge of the Hyundai Veloster from SRO I’m hoping that I will be able to adapt quickly.”
Pilot Challenge teams can test during the Roar Before the Rolex 24 from Jan. 22-24 at Daytona. Race week for the series opens with practice on Jan. 27, with qualifying the following day and the four-hour BMW Endurance Challenge starting at 1:35 p.m. ET Friday, Jan. 29.
GRS Autosport Back for Season-Long Prototype Challenge Effort
GRS Autosport plans a full-time return to the IMSA Prototype Challenge in 2021, following a 2020 season cut short due to pandemic-related travel difficulties for Canadian drivers George Staikos and Danny Kok.
Staikos and Kok will drive a Norma M30 Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) prepared once again by Conquest Racing, which has a lengthy history in both sports car and IndyCar racing. The duo finished 14th in their lone 2020 race last January at Daytona International Speedway.
“I am happy to be able to confirm our commitment to the series by partnering with Eric Bachelart of Conquest Racing,” Staikos said. “I am also pleased to announce the continued support of Staikos Homes, Ontario’s premier home builders, and GMS Excavating.”
Kok said he’s looking for improvement as the team embarks on the full season in 2021.
“I have been racing with George for several years and this is really his first full season of racing,” Kok said. “He has come such a long way in such a short period of time, and I look forward to racing with him in this exciting venture.”
The six-race Prototype Challenge season kicks off Saturday, Jan. 23 with the Scouts of America 145 at Daytona International Speedway, part of the Roar Before the Rolex 24 weekend. The green flag waves at 12:50 p.m. ET.