Hinchcliffe, Mayer in Returning Starworks Honda DP

Starworks Motorsport will bring back its Honda-powered Riley Daytona Prototype this weekend with a Mayer and “the Mayor.”

IndyCar star James Hinchcliffe, sometimes known as the “Mayor of Hinchtown”, will join Scott Mayer in Starworks’ No. 78 DP at Road America this weekend for the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase.

It marks Hinchcliffe’s first TUDOR United SportsCar Championship start since the Rolex 24 at Daytona, then in a SpeedSource Mazda P2 car, and the car’s first since its initial rollout at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

“I’m really excited to be at Road America this weekend with Starworks and HPD,” Hinchcliffe said. “I don’t have a ton of time in the DP cars, but I know Road America well and I’m sure, with a team like Starworks, they will get me up to speed quick. Already having a relationship with HPD makes this an even cooler proposition and should help make the transition easier. More than anything I’m just happy to be in a car on an off weekend!”

Mayer actually enters the weekend as a defending race winner, having triumphed overall in last year’s GRAND-AM Rolex Series race at Road America then co-driving a Starworks BMW Riley with Brendon Hartley.

Since Sebring, Starworks has made the aero upgrades to its No. 78 chassis as well as the necessary engine changes to the 3.5L, twin-turbocharged Honda. The team tested at Road Atlanta last week.

“Obviously we are all immensely happy about the return of the No. 78 Starworks HPD Riley,” said Starworks team principal Peter Baron. “The project was no small undertaking. We were hoping to make an earlier return, but the amount of engineering and detail that went into the redesign took a bit longer than anticipated.

“Both HPD and Riley invested a tremendous amount of resources into an initial design that was discussed with the series, but not approved in the end. That cost us a little over a month. But the good news is we have a reliable solution and we are back on track and have a chance to defend our win last year at Road America with Scott!”

The extra Starworks entry brings the Prototype class field up to 13 cars – it and the returning DeltaWing join the 11 cars that raced at Indianapolis.