Roar Before 24 CTSC Weekend Notebook

***One notable departure occurred during the Roar test itself. Halfway through the day on Saturday, former series champions Rum Bum Racing team left the track after only completing limited running with its No. 13 Porsche 997. The team is yet to announce its plans for 2015 in full.

***Rebel Rock Racing added a host of drivers to its GS and ST cars this weekend in exploration for the BMW Performance 200 later this month. Andy Lally, Cameron Lawrence and Robert Stout gained some time and laps in the team’s No. 08 Porsche 997 GS car, while James Vance, Ramin Abdolvahabi, Jim Jonsin and Erik Valdez were split between the Nos. 87 and 88 Porsche Caymans in ST. Jonsin and Valdez are confirmed for later this month with further lineups still to be determined.

***Eric Foss once again relied on Murillo Racing “supersub” Justin Piscitell to drive with him this weekend in the No. 56 Porsche Cayman with Jeff Mosing unavailable on a family commitment. The 2014 ST class champion, Foss topped the ST timesheets in several sessions.

***Some of the new teams impressed during testing over the three days. Zero Zero Motorsports (No. 00 Ford Mustang Boss 302R) and Strategic Wealth Racing with Goldcrest Motorsports (No. 36 Porsche Cayman) led GS and ST in Sunday morning’s session, and other teams such as Next Level European (the Bimmerworld/BGB partnership effort) and TLSS Motorsports (new BMW M3 team) had productive weekends of running.

***Austin Cindric tested with Multimatic Motorsports this weekend. The 16-year-old son of Team Penske president Tim Cindric has not fully confirmed his 2015 plans as yet, but has experience with the Ford Mustang Boss 302R platform.

***On another Multimatic-related note, Ian James is not expected to return to the team for the 2015 season, with the Phoenix-based Englishman instead opting to focus solely on his TUDOR Championship commitments with Team Seattle/Alex Job Racing.

***Alara Racing flew the flag as the lone Mazda MX-5 testing this weekend, but unfortunately not for long. The team had an engine issue Friday morning, which sidelined them for the remainder of the weekend. Kenton Koch, the 2014 Mazda MX-5 Cup champion, was scheduled to test with them and will instead focus on another IMSA series this year.

***Although not here this weekend, it is expected that the HART Racing Team, which ran two Civic Sis for most of 2014 before missing the last several rounds, will return for the BMW Performance 200 itself.

***The 30 cars entered this weekend are not a huge amount, and a field of perhaps double that is possible for the BMW Performance 200. Factoring in cars, teams and drivers not here, a rough estimate of entries for the CTSC race should be in the 54 or 55 to 60-car ballpark.

***This weekend’s Roar test features approximately 2,500 tires from Continental Tire split between the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge and TUDOR Championship, and also covering both slick and rain tires. Approximately 10,000, if not more, are expected for the Rolex 24 week.

GARAGE GALLERY

View a brief selection of Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge teams in their garages. (Photos: Tony DiZinno)