IMSA Confirms 41 Full-Season Entries

IMSA has confirmed a list of 41 full-season entries for the balance of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season, including a number of additional entries that were either targeted for the Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup only or not at the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

The breakdown of entries is 8 Prototype, 7 Prototype Challenge, 10 GT Le Mans and 16 GT Daytona cars, a 26-15 split in favor of GT cars.

ENTRY LIST: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

Prototype has eight cars with no changes from the projected full field, and Prototype Challenge has seven cars. It’s understood the potential exists that the DeltaWing, which competed at Long Beach but not Detroit last year, may not run either or both street course races this year.

The only difference in PC compared to the Rolex 24 is BAR1 Motorsports has only has one full-season car listed, instead of the two it had at Daytona.

The GT Le Mans grid grows by one from the expected nine up to 10, with the addition of the Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GTE. It also gives Ferrari a second car beyond its one expected full-season entry from Risi Competizione.

Scuderia Corsa had previously announced a Patron Endurance Cup-only program, but with Memo Rojas not having a confirmed ride for the full season in North America and having driven for the team at Daytona, he could find this as a landing place beyond his role with Greaves Motorsport in the European Le Mans Series.

GT Daytona also grows from its projected 14 cars up to 16 cars, with the confirmation of the F Performance Racing Lexus RC F GT3 and the addition of another full-season Lamborghini Huracán GT3, entered by Dream Racing Competition.

The Lexus, set to be driven by Scott Pruett and Sage Karam, is targeting a Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca debut following a significant testing program.

Dream Racing, whose CEO is ex-Formula 1 driver Enrico Bertaggia, appeared on the STR entry for Lamborghini Dallas last year in the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo North America championship, with Cedric Sbirrazzuoli as one of the drivers.

With Sbirrazzuoli listed as one of four Lamborghini Junior drivers designated to compete within the WeatherTech Championship this year (Corey Lewis, Richard Antinucci and Edoardo Piscopo are the others), he’d make sense as one of the drivers for this car.

“IMSA is proud to offer such a strong field of world-class race cars from some of the greatest and most admired automobile manufacturers for the full 2016 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship,” said IMSA CEO Ed Bennett.

“The commitments we have received show strength and continuity for IMSA and our promoter partners. We are grateful to our race teams, manufacturers and all of our stakeholders for this ringing endorsement of IMSA and the WeatherTech Championship.”