Hodenius, Roe to Share No. 80 Mercedes-AMG GT3
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Lone Star Racing, one of the longer standing IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup entries, is expanding and growing to a full-time program in Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) for the 2027 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.
The pairing of young Dutch rising star Lin Hodenius and experienced sports car and open-wheel Irish driver James Roe will share the team’s No. 80 Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the full 2027 season.
The Dan Knox-founded and A.J. Petersen-led Texas-based operation has been part of the sports car fabric since 2014, with full Michelin Endurance Cup programs completed in the last three years as part of its 29 total WeatherTech Championship starts.
“We’re super excited to jump off our first full season in the WeatherTech Championship,” Petersen said. “We started in 2016 doing GTD sprint rounds in IMSA and continued in ’17 and ‘19. We came back in ’24 with endurance in ’24, ’25 and ’26. To put it together for a full season effort is what we’ve been working towards for years. Working to do with proper partners, and we’re looking forward for years to come. It’s a solid foundation we’ve assembled.”
Its 2024 campaign included a debut at the Rolex 24 At Daytona with a solid eighth-place finish in GTD, followed by the team’s first and thus far only Motul Pole Award achieved by Scott Andrews at the season-ending Motul Petit Le Mans. A ninth place marked its best 2025 result.
But in 2026, the team started to achieve results on a more regular basis with the trio of Andrews, Hodenius and Roe. In all five Michelin Endurance Cup races, Lone Star finished in the top 10 as they went sixth, fourth, 10th, sixth and fourth at the Rolex 24, the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix at Road America and Motul Petit Le Mans. The trio ended with a revised lineup at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta this year, with longtime Mercedes-AMG GT ace Luca Stolz alongside Hodenius and Roe.
“I think it came about because of good finishes in ’26,” Petersen said. “It’s all the credit to the team, top to bottom. Been good to have the season we’ve had. Mercedes-AMG manufactures a great car, and it’s another good opportunity with a proven platform.”
Lone Star’s results at Sebring and Watkins Glen, in particular, helped contribute to Mercedes-AMG winning the GTD manufacturer championship on rare off days for three-time GTD champs Winward Racing.
“Winward kicked into high gear at end of the season and came out with the championships,” Petersen noted. “But we had great days at Sebring and Road Atlanta. Petit (Le Mans) was bad luck with P2 traffic that kept us off the podium. We’re happy to keep pushing.”
Hodenius is one of Mercedes-AMG’s junior drivers in its factory program. He has an F4 open-wheel background before he shifted to sports cars and has been deployed by Mercedes-AMG across both IMSA and the FIA World Endurance Championship with regularity.
“I am very excited of course to continue with Lone Star Racing after our first full year together and kind of a half season in 2025,” Hodenius said. “We showed really good progress this year and we definitely hope to achieve more in 2027 in the full season. I think it is a good opportunity for me to grow and the team as well as one unit really. I am really excited for all of that. I really love working with the team, A.J. Petersen really goes the extra mile for the team, with the car and with the team members themselves. It really creates this nice atmosphere where everybody wants to win.”
Roe, a single seater veteran, has amassed two years of IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup experience in two classes. He’s spread his wings and found success in several sports car series. In IMSA, he raced with Pratt Miller Motorsports in LMP2 in most 2025 endurance rounds and shifted to GTD this year where he found success with Lone Star Racing and the Mercedes-AMG Motorsport family.
“This is a huge opportunity, and I couldn’t be more excited to contest the full IMSA season with Lone Star Racing and Mercedes-AMG,” Roe said. “We ended last year knowing there was a lot more we could accomplish together, so having the opportunity to return, build consistency and compete at every round is incredibly motivating for me as a driver. We proved we could fight at the front in 2026, and our goal for 2027 is to turn that pace and potential into podium finishes throughout the season. I’m very thankful to Topcon, Topcon Solutions Store and Ring Power CAT for their continued support and belief in my career. We’re ready to get to work!”
Roe added of his fuller switch into sports car racing, “Obviously, a full season commitment is great. We had the five races spread over the season and having this core group together will build momentum. It’s all thanks to a great group of partners and a great brand in Mercedes-AMG to make all this happen.”
Also of note, Knox, Petersen and Roe will be at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, at the Red Line Oil booth #22933, this week on Wednesday.