#18: Era Motorsport ORECA LMP2 07, LMP2: Paul-Loup Chatin, Ryan Dalziel, Kyle Tilley, Dwight Merriman

Up To Speed

January 22, 2021

2021 Changes Detailed, Driver Lineups Confirmed as Roar Gets Under Way

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – As the 2021 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season prepares to unfold, fans will notice changes in a few key areas – the number of classes competing, the championship points structure and how those points are earned.

The series has added a fifth class, Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3), to run alongside Daytona Prototype international (DPi), Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), GT Le Mans (GTLM) and GT Daytona (GTD) this season. LMP3 offers entrants the chance to run WeatherTech Championship events using the newest generation of the platform (or an updated previous version) that has most recently competed in the IMSA Prototype Challenge development series.

The Prototype Challenge continues in 2021, allowing for this year only both the new- and old-generation cars to race. Some teams, in fact, are doubling up by entering LMP3s in both WeatherTech Championship and Prototype Challenge events. The WeatherTech Championship LMP3 schedule consists of six points-paying races plus the Rolex 24 At Daytona that counts toward only the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup.

The championship points structure in all WeatherTech Championship classes has been revised, multiplying by 10 the number of points earned in a race result from last season. Where a class win paid 35 points in 2020, it now rewards the winner with 350 points. Second place is now worth 320 points and increments down to 10 points for 30th place and lower in a class.

In addition, drivers and teams will now earn points in qualifying at a rate of 10 percent of the race points available. A pole winner, therefore, picks up 35 championship points, second qualifier gets 32 and so on.

For the season-opening Rolex 24, qualifying points will be earned based on the results of Sunday’s Motul Pole Award 100, a 100-minute race at Daytona International Speedway where each team must use two drivers. The remainder of the races this season will revert to the traditional qualifying format, although the session for the LMP2, LMP3 and GTD classes will be broken into two segments. Am drivers will drive in the first segment that decides race starting position. Pro drivers will be in the cars for the second segment, where qualifying points are earned. The DPi and GTLM classes will continue with a single qualifying session.

“The introduction of qualifying points will bring even more excitement to our event weekends and the season championship,” IMSA President John Doonan said when the plan was unveiled. “With points on the line, we expect teams will go all out in qualifying as well as the races to earn as many points as possible. Qualifying points also will reward a team’s performance throughout an entire weekend.”

In the lead-up to this weekend’s Roar Before the Rolex 24, a bevy of teams released details of driver lineups for the season and/or the Rolex 24 and more. They include:

  • Building on the momentum of two podium finishes to close the 2020 season, Tower Motorsport announced its lineup for its No. 8 ORECA LMP2 07 entry for this year. It includes John Farano, who co-piloted the car to a class win last season at the Motul Petit Le Mans and second-place finish in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts. Joining Farano as fulltime drivers this season is Gabriel Aubry. Tim Buret and Matthieu Vaxiviere have been added for the Rolex 24 At Daytona. “There is always so much excitement surrounding the 24 Hours of Daytona, and I believe this year’s event will bring more excitement than ever, with more than 40 of the most competitive and talented LMP2 drivers coming from all over the world, all competing for the coveted Rolex watch,” Farano said. “I could not be happier to be reunited with Gabriel Aubry and Matthieu Vaxiviere, whom I have had the great pleasure to work with in the past, and to welcome Timothe Buret, who we have great confidence in rounding out our talented 24-hour lineup.”
  • Era Motorsport will run a special livery on its No. 18 ORECA LMP2 07 entry for the Roar and the Rolex 24, inspired by a contest entry submitted by a 6-year-old Canadian named Owen, whose father has been bringing him to races since the child was 3. The car’s livery features all three primary colors, transitioning from a blue nose to a yellow middle body and red rear. On the side of the car’s body, Owen added a lightning bolt. “It was so great to see so many interesting designs from so many sports car fans and aspiring designers,” team owner Kyle Tilley said. “…In the end, we reviewed all the images, and we knew the Owen’s drawing was the winner. He clearly loves racing, and we hope this gives him an experience he’ll never forget.”
  • Vasser Sullivan Racing completed its 2021 WeatherTech Championship driver lineup by naming Kyle Kirkwood as its driver for the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup races in the No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3. Kirkwood, 22, debuted with the GTD team last year at the Motul Petit Le Mans and the season-ending Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts. He will co-drive with Jack Hawksworth and Aaron Telitz in the four endurance events. Oliver Gavin joins them for the Rolex 24 At Daytona. “I’m ecstatic to come back to Vasser Sullivan in a Lexus RC F GT3 for the endurance rounds of the 2021 season,” Kirkwood said. “The team is constantly excelling and this year everyone has made extreme strides to make sure we have a successful season.”
  • Muehlner Motorsports America, based minutes away from Daytona International Speedway in DeLand, Fla., is pulling double duty to start the 2021 season, with an LMP3 entry for German drivers Moritz Kranz and Laurents Hoerr in this weekend’s IMSA Prototype Challenge and next week’s Rolex 24 At Daytona. The duo will drive the No. 21 Duqueine M30-D08 in the Scouts of America 145 that kicks of the Prototype Challenge season on Saturday. They’ll be in the No. 6 Duqueine for the Roar Before the Rolex 24 this weekend and the Rolex 24 on Jan. 30-31. Their co-drivers for the Rolex 24 have yet to be named.
  • Motorsports In Action has paired Spencer Pigot and Sheena Monk to drive its No. 3 J.G. Wentworth McLaren 570S GT4 for the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season. Pigot, who has made 14 career IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship starts, will make his Pilot Challenge debut. Monk teamed with Corey Lewis last year in the No. 3, finishing ninth in the Grand Sport (GS) class. “I will definitely have a lot to learn when we get to Daytona,” Pigot said, “but Sheena is a proven race winner so I know her experience and speed will help me get acclimated to the car. Luckily, we will have a lot of track time during the Roar test to get prepared for our first race.”
  • CarBahn with Peregrine Racing is back in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge with a rotating driver lineup for the No. 93 Audi R8 GT4 EVO. Mark Siegel and his 16-year-old son Nolan Siegel, Sameer Gandhi, Tom Dyer and Tyler McQuarrie will split duties in the car. Nolan Siegel, McQuarrie and Dyer will share the car for the Roar Before the Rolex 24 test this weekend and for the BMW Endurance Challenge race that opens the season on Jan. 29. McQuarrie was a two-time GS race winner last season, on his way to finishing second in the championship with Jeff Westphal.
  • Veterans Ryan Eversley and Greg Strelzoff will co-drive the No. 94 Atlanta Speedwerks Honda Civic FK7 TCR in the 2021 Pilot Challenge season. Eversley finished seventh in the Touring Car (TCR) standings last season with a season-best finish of second at Mid-Ohio. Strelzoff returns to the series for the first time since 2016, when he finished sixth in what was then the Street Tuner class.