8Star Finalizing P2 Options for 2014

Photo: John Dagys

8tar Motorsports is set to green light a P2 program for next year’s TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, once the regulations for the ACO-spec prototypes are defined.

According to team owner Enzo Potolicchio, who spoke with Sportscar365, the decision on which P2 car to go with has already been made but not yet announced.

The 2012 FIA WEC LMP2 champion had been in discussions with both ORECA and Morgan constructor OnRoak Automotive for chassis in both the TUDOR Championship and WEC for next year.

“The P2 car is just waiting to be delivered from Europe,” Potolicchio said. “We asked them to hold off for the next two weeks to see the final rules. As soon as we give them the green light, the car can be here in a couple of days. It’s all ready to go.”

Potolicchio said it’s still possible for the P2 car to be ready for the first set of pre-season tests at Sebring and Daytona in November, depending on the time frame for the Prototype class regulation’s release.

It’s believed an initial rulebook could come as early as the end of this month.

“We just need to wait for the rules,” Potolicchio said. “We don’t want to waste our budget on having two cars and all of the spares. It’s expensive. Right now, we’re only going by rumors. Nothing’s finalized. We want to make a smart decision whenever it comes.”

In addition to their P2 prospects, 8Star is likely to field at least one Corvette DP and an Oreca FLM09 Prototype Challenge car in the TUDOR Championship next year. Potolicchio said a second PC car is also being considered, depending on the level of customer interest.

The team will debut its PC entry in next weekend’s Petit Le Mans for Ozz Negri and Sean Rayhall.

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