IMSA News & Notes, 4.15

Photo: John Thawley/BAR1

***TUDOR United SportsCar Championship teams are en route to California for this weekend’s Tequila Patron Sports Car Showcase at Long Beach, which will see Prototype and GT Le Mans cars in action. Click Here for the latest entry list. Track action begins on Friday.

***BAR1 Motorsports team principal Brian Alder told Sportscar365 he has one Prototype Challenge car set and a second car likely for the PC class next round at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The team ran two cars at Daytona but scaled back to one at Sebring, with Tom Papadopoulos unavailable on a prior business commitment.

***The Greaves Motorsport Gibson 015S Nissan that’s testing this week at NCM Motorsports Park has no current plans to race in the U.S., team manager Jacob Greaves told Sportscar365. Nissan GT Academy Europe winner Gaëtan Paletou has been among the drivers to turn laps at the Kentucky circuit alongside the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO LMP1 car.

***This past year’s Nissan GT Academy USA winner Nic Hammann has confirmed he’ll be racing in the Watkins Glen, Lime Rock, Road America, Circuit of the Americas and Road Atlanta rounds of the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge season in a Nissan 370Z with Doran Racing. The Watkins Glen round will mark his series debut.

***With IMSA’s Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA and Prototype Lites racing at NOLA Motorsports Park this past weekend, a number of IMSA drivers were on hand even though they weren’t driving. Jan Heylen, Bryan Sellers, Colin Braun, Andrew Davis and Sean Rayhall were among the drivers coaching others in either category.

***TRG-AMR hosts a partnership summit today at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga, Calif. The unique half-day B2B panel discussion, emceed by FOX Sports’ Bob Varsha, will explore the convergence of motorsports, technology, marketing and sales networking. Panelists include Aston Martin Racing team principal John Gaw, IMSA President and COO Scott Atherton and representatives from Yahoo!, Electronic Arts and more.

Tony DiZinno contributed to this report

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