Castroneves Poised to Replace Pla for Petit Le Mans

Photo: Mike Levitt/IMSA

Olivier Pla’s future at Meyer Shank Racing is unclear amid a likely driver change for the team in next month’s Motul Petit Le Mans.

Sportscar365 has learned that four-time Indianapolis 500 winner and reigning IMSA DPi champion Helio Castroneves has been tipped to make his DPi debut with the Ohio-based team in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season finale in place of the Frenchman.

According to IMSA documents, Castroneves is listed to test the No. 60 Acura ARX-05 alongside full-season driver Dane Cameron and Michelin Endurance Cup pilot Juan Pablo Montoya on Oct. 13 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in preparation for the ten-hour enduro.

Team co-owner Mike Shank declined to comment when reached by Sportscar365.

Castroneves, who has been re-signed by MSR for a full-season NTT IndyCar Series campaign in 2022, won this year’s Indianapolis 500 with the team and is understood to be in the mix for its endurance seat in the Acura DPi next year.

The potential move comes amid a challenging first season of DPi competition for the team and Pla, who most recently crashed out of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Sportscar365 understands that Pla’s performance had been under scrutiny in recent races, which could have led to the change.

Should Pla not be retained by the team in 2022, it would likely result in an all-new full-season driver lineup next year, with Cameron reportedly off to Porsche Penske Motorsport to begin development of its LMDh program ahead of its race debut in 2023.

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