PR1 Shuffles Lineup, Jeannette, Montecalvo Join for Season

Photo: Drew Gibson/Ram

PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports announced Wednesday a revised driver lineup for the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship and season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Gunnar Jeannette and Frankie Montecalvo have been confirmed as full-season drivers for the Bobby Oergel-led squad, with 2013 Prototype Challenge champion Mike Guasch now slated to contest the Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup races with the team.

The trio will be joined by David Cheng for the Rolex 24. Luis Diaz, Tomy Drissi and James Kovacic, who were all previously announced for the season-opener, are no longer slated to drive for PR1/Mathiasen in the twice-around-the-clock endurance classic.

Bayshore-backed drivers Jeannette and Montecalvo are fresh off a season in the European Le Mans Series with Ram Racing and will now put their focus towards winning the competitive PC title in 2014.

“We’ve had a lot of success in Europe, and the experience I gained at Le Mans in the World Endurance Championship and the European Le Mans Series was invaluable,” Montecalvo said. “With all of the energy and attention surrounding the inaugural season of the new united series, returning to the States was an easy decision.”

Jeannette, who won the 2011 PC drivers’ championship, it marks a return to the spec prototype class in what helped define his career in America.

“We’ve also been away from the PC class for a few years, and we’ll have to learn the tires and aero changes as well,” Jeannette said. “Couple those issues with the fact that this will be ran under the new competition regulations, a full field of entrants, and a 24-hour grind around a notoriously difficult circuit and the realities of the challenges ahead of us quickly add up!”

Guasch, meanwhile, has altered his schedule to focus entirely on the NAEC, which includes the rounds at Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen and Petit Le Mans.

“We had a great test during the Roar, really focusing on race pace, pit stops, and just dialing in the program for the 24,” he said. “It was tremendous to have won the season opener at Sebring last year, and I left the test at Daytona confident that we will once again be fighting for the win right away.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John