CTMP Thursday Notebook

Photo: John Dagys

***Only a single Mazda SKYACTIV prototype will take part in this weekend’s Mobil 1 Sportscar Grand Prix, with the decision having been made to again keep its gasoline-powered car parked. Tom Long and Joel Miller will pilot the diesel-powered No. 07 car.

***With the withdrawal of the second Mazda, it has resulted in a 23-car grid for this weekend’s race, spread between the Prototype, Prototype Challenge and GT Le Mans categories.

***Sean Rayhall and John Falb have been confirmed in the No. 16 BAR1 Motorsports Oreca FLM09. It will mark Rayhall’s first TUDOR Championship start of the season and Falb’s second after his series debut at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

***A half-dozen teams took part in a single-day test here on Tuesday, including Wayne Taylor Racing, VisitFlorida.com Racing, SpeedSource, CORE autosport, Porsche North America and Risi Competizione.

***Chip Ganassi Racing’s Riley-Ford DP has been given an aero break by IMSA, with the car now able to run a 1/4th-inch wicker on the front wheel arch, as well as having more flexibility in its rear wing position. No aero configuration changes have been made to other Prototype class cars.

***Conor Daly returns to Performance Tech for the second consecutive race, and for third time this season, pairing with Detroit pole-sitter James French. Daly will serve a dual role this weekend, as the 23-year-old fills in for the team’s driver coach Jonatan Jorge in Cooper Tires Prototype Lites.

***Matt McMurry will be pulling double duty for the second straight weekend as he takes part in both TUDOR Championship and Prototype Lites races. While having driven for BAR1 Motorsports at Watkins Glen, the 17-year-old makes his Prototype Challenge debut with JDC/Miller Motorsports, the same team he drives for in Lites.

***Compass360 Racing has its Audi R8 LMS on display this weekend (pictured above). The car, fresh off a successful test at Road America last week, will debut in the next TUDOR Championship race at Lime Rock Park with Pierre Kleinubing and Ray Mason.

***Corvette Racing has continued to use Larbre Competition’s Corvette C7.R chassis this weekend, as Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia seek back-to-back wins at CTMP. The pairing are expected to return to their normal chassis for the next GTLM round at Road America, with the Larbre car being shipped back to France later this month.

***ECS Tuning has acquired Turner Motorsport’s automotive performance parts and accessories business.  It’s understood the team’s programs, in both the TUDOR Championship and World Challenge, are unaffected by the acquisition.

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