2017 IMSA Silly Season Update 2: GT Le Mans

Photo: Rick Dole/IMSA

In the second Silly Season update for the top production-based class, Sportscar365 explores the confirmed and likely entries for the GT Le Mans category in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2017.

Confirmed Full-Season (8 cars):

Corvette Racing –  The Pratt & Miller squad return with its pair of championship-winning Corvette C7.Rs next year, with the unchanged full-season lineup of Tommy Milner/Oliver Gavin and Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia. Mike Rockenfeller and Marcel Fassler have also been retained for Daytona and Sebring, in a largely intact program. (2 cars)

Ford Chip Ganassi Racing – Ford will return for the second of its now-planned four-year program with the Ford GT. No major changes are expected within the operation, with all four season-long drivers Joey Hand/Dirk Mueller and Richard Westbrook/Ryan Briscoe returning, and four cars set to take on the Rolex 24. Full driver lineups for the endurance races have yet to be announced. (2 cars)

Porsche North America – The CORE autosport-run operation will debut Porsche’s new mid-engined 911 RSR next year, with a heavily revised lineup of Laurens Vanthoor, Kevin Estre, Patrick Pilet and Dirk Werner. Richard Lietz and Fred Makowiecki complete the lineups for Daytona. (2 cars)

BMW Team RLL – BMW’s lineup has also featured a major shakeup, with Werner and Lucas Luhr gone and replaced by Martin Tomczyk and Alexander Sims alongside the returning John Edwards and Bill Auberlen. Nicky Catsburg and Kuno Wittmer have been confirmed as drivers for the Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup races, with Augusto Farfus and Bruno Spengler completing the eight-driver lineup for Daytona. (2 cars)

Likely Entry:

Risi Competizione – Although not yet fully confirmed, the Giuseppe Risi-owned squad has laid out plans of returning, although the extent of the program has yet to be determined. Giancarlo Fisichella and Toni Vilander are expected to return as drivers, although a full-season program for the Houston-based squad has not yet been confirmed. (1 car likely)

Status Unknown:

Scuderia Corsa – After taking part in a partial season campaign, the status of the Giacomo Mattioli-led team in the GTLM class is unclear. The team, however, is likely to enter up to two GTE-spec cars in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with its second auto-invite having recently been confirmed via IMSA.

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