Daytona Tuesday Notebook

Photo: John Dagys

***As first revealed by Sportscar365, Starworks Motorsport’s No. 7 Riley-Dinan BMW DP is sporting Martini colors this weekend alongside its season-long No. 8 Prototype Challenge entry. Audi factory driver Filipe Albuquerque is a late addition to the the team’s PC  lineup, who replaces Enrique Bernoldi.

***Albuquerque, who makes his PC debut, claimed GT class honors in the Rolex 24 in 2013 at the wheel of an Alex Job Racing-prepared Audi R8 LMS.

***Nelson Canache Jr. will reunite with Spencer Pumpelly as a late add to Park Place Motorsports’ No. 73 Porsche 911 GT America. Canache replaces David Ducote, who tested with the team at the Roar Before the Rolex 24.

***Pumpelly, meanwhile, has been confirmed for a full season in the Park Place Porsche alongside Patrick Lindsey.

***BAR1 Motorsports has added Ivo Breukers and Shelby Blackstock to its No. 61 PC class entry alongside Martin Plowman and Marc Drumwright. Plowman is also listed in the sister No. 16 car, which features Johnny Mowlem, Tom Papadopoulos, Tomy Drissi, Brian Alder and as of Tuesday, sporting a new blue-and-white SpongeBob SquarePants Movie livery.

***IMSA will meet with manufacturers tomorrow to explain what’s understood to be a revised Balance of Performance procedure for 2015. A number of manufacturers, particularly those in the GT Le Mans class, had voiced concerns over the system last year.

***Prior to arriving at Daytona, the No. 1 Tequila Patron ESM HPD ARX-04b completed a shakedown at Sebring, completing just over 30 laps with the second all-new chassis. All six of the team’s drivers cycled through the No. 2 car at the Roar.

***The brand-new HPDs are slightly over the IMSA-mandated 940 kg minimum weight, but a Honda spokesperson confirmed it will be undergoing weight reduction measures for Sebring. Michael Shank confirmed his Ligier JS P2 Honda is also slightly overweight, although the Krohn Ligier-Judd received a 40 kg weight break from IMSA following the Roar and is expected to run close to 900 kg for the race.

***Both the No. 73 Park Place Porsche and No. 16 BAR1 PC car are among those with new liveries compared to the Roar. The DeltaWing and Tequila Patron ESM prototypes had its liveries unveiled earlier this week; the No. 58 Dempsey/Wright Motorsports Porsche, which appeared in a black livery today, is the team’s spare car, with its primary chassis at a dealer event tonight.

***AF Corse’s No. 51 Ferrari F458 Italia has been repaired after its accident at the Roar, while the other No. 50 Fifty Plus Racing Riley-Dinan BMW DP was not unloaded but is understood to also have been repaired after its airborne accident at the test.

***Payday lending companies affiliated with Scott Tucker have settled charges with the Federal Trade Commission, having agreed to pay $21 million in penalties and waive $285 million in charges against customers, following a suit brought against AMG Services and MNE Services in 2012. Tucker is the reigning Rolex 24 class winner with his Level 5 Motorsports team.

Tony DiZinno contributed to this report

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