KMW, TMR Sets Alfa TCR Lineup for Daytona

Photo: KMW/TMR

KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering has finalized its driver lineup this month’s IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season-opener at Daytona, with Alex Popow and Alex Papadopulos set to drive the team’s second Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR.

It follows confirmation of Roy Block and Tim Lewis Jr. as full-season co-drivers in the No. 5 Alfa Romeo.

The two-car effort, run as a joint operation between Louis Milone of TMR and the Kevin Wheeler-led KMW organization, will give Alfa its IMSA debut, with the Italian brand becoming the fifth different manufacturer eligible for TCR competition in Pilot Challenge.

“This is a historic season for so many reasons,” Milone said. “To start with 2019 marks IMSA’s 50th anniversary, but to match that it also puts a stamp on 30 years of business partnership for Kevin Wheeler and myself.

“Add to that the fact that we are bringing the Italian Manufacturer Alfa Romeo to professional endurance racing in America, I cannot imagine a more exciting season than the one ahead of us.

“We also have to thank good friend and partner Tim Munday of BAM! Motorsports for starting the ball rolling on this project that was a year in the making.”

Munday will be with the team throughout the year as a technical partner.

KMW/TMR has completed extensive pre-season mileage with the Romeo Ferraris-built machines, with more than 600 miles racked up between tests at Road Atlanta, Sebring, Palm Beach International Raceway and most recently, an outing at Michelin’s On-Track Opportunity at Daytona last month.

“It is fair to say that not many TCR teams have completed so many miles on the new Michelin tires for 2019,” Wheeler said. “That should certainly allow us to hit the ground running when the transporter doors open in a few weeks.”

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