AIM’s GTLM Plans Fall Though, Exploring GTD Options for 2015

Photo: John Dagys

While having been poised for a move to the GT Le Mans ranks, AIM Autosport has refocused its efforts on returning to the GT Daytona class in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship in 2015, although now in a race to secure funding for a defense of its Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup title.

The Canadian squad, led by Ian Willis and Andrew Bordin, have found themselves in a similar situation to last year, after a deal to run Bill Sweedler’s Ferrari F458 Italia in the new Pro-Am-recognized GTLM ranks has fallen through.

With Sweedler’s to-be-announced TUDOR Championship program unlikely to be with AIM at this point, it’s left Willis looking to again put the pieces together for a GTD effort, with the team currently evaluating options for the entire season or a Patron Endurance Cup-only program.

“I’ve reached out and talked to some other drivers, particularly about NAEC,” Willis told Sportscar365. “To be ready for Daytona, we’d need to get something in place soon.

“We had a lot of success this year and it’s clearly been through the strength of our team and the knowledge of the car.

“We’ve already proven to be able to build a championship-winning program on short notice.”

AIM, which joined the TUDOR Championship at Sebring following the withdrawal of Rolex 24 class winners Level 5 Motorsports, proved to be one of the most consistent teams this year, collecting eight top-10 finishes out of ten starts.

It included podiums at the Twelve Hours of Sebring and Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, which, along with the points carried over from Level 5’s Daytona class win, secured the inaugural Patron Endurance Cup.

While it remains the team’s primary objective to return to the TUDOR Championship, ideally with a full-season program, Willis said he’s also exploring options in Pirelli World Challenge for its GT3-based contender as well.

He said a decision would have to be made by the end of the month in order to be ready for January’s season-opening Rolex 24.

Despite not likely to field his GTD entry next year, Willis said he’s hopeful of potentially still working with Sweedler on his proposed GTE-Am program around the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

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