Altzman: Enduros With Myers Riley “Best of All Worlds”

Photo: Brandon Badraoui/IMSA

Jenson Altzman said his IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup effort with Myers Riley Motorsports is the “best of all worlds” as the Ford Racing Junior Team driver broadens his GT3 horizons while racing with a team that holds “a lot of history with Ford.”

The 23-year-old, who made his WeatherTech SportsCar Championship debut in a five-race sprint race program in Gradient Racing’s Ford Mustang GT3 this year, will shift his focus to the long-distance races, beginning with his debut in January’s Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Altzman will share the GTD class Mustang GT3 EVO in the Florida endurance classic with Felipe Fraga, Sheena Monk and ex-Formula 1 and IndyCar driver Romain Grosjean.

“It’s been a goal for a long time,” Altzman told Sportscar365 of the chance to race in the enduros. “Getting to roll out the new Ford Mustang GT3 EVO package will certainly be something that we’re looking forward to taking advantage of that.

“It’s been awesome joining Riley and the 3 Dog [Garage] family have been just so welcoming.

“I’m really excited to not only be doing such big races that hold a lot of history but also doing them with a team that holds a lot of history and a lot of history with Ford.

“It’s kind of the best of all worlds. I couldn’t really be happier than the position I’m in.”

Altzman said the opportunity to drive for the Bill Riley-run organization came from an “out of the blue” phone call earlier this year.

“We started talking at the end of last season,” he explained. “I think at VIR was actually the first time we actually started talking.

“That was just first talk and then it sat for a while and all of a sudden it was like, ‘Hey, here’s what we’ve got. Can we make something work?’

“Obviously I would have loved to have done the full season but being able to join a team like Riley with such experience, getting to drive people like Romain, Felipe and even Sheena, we’re going to have a strong lineup for the 24.

“I think I’ll be able to learn a lot through the other four races this year.”

After scoring a career-best GTD class finish of fifth in the Michelin GT Challenge at Virginia International Raceway alongside co-driver Robert Megennis, Altzman said he’s looking to build on his first GT3 experience from this past season.

“That was for sure a big help,” he said. “I can’t think Andris [Laivins] and all of Gradient enough for having me and kind of taking a chance on me in my first time in a GT3 car, letting me go run around Long Beach. That was kind of crazy!

“It was super helpful and it will just give me a lot of confidence rolling into this.

“Doing the 24 for the first time is going to be kind of crazy, in what will only be my sixth GT3 race. But I feel like I’ve learned a lot with Andris and those guys over there.

“I’ve got the confidence rolling in and we’ve done a lot of simulator work developing the EVO kit, deciding which path was best on some of the parts and which direction we wanted to go.

“We’ve got a lot of tools to work with as well.”

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