Inception Aiming for Petit After Forgoing Other GTD Rounds

Inception Racing is set to return to IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship action at Motul Petit Le Mans after opting out of the remaining GTD sprint rounds, according to team manager Bas Leinders.

The Optimum Motorsport-run outfit, which is funded by American entrepreneur Brendan Iribe, initially planned to contest all GTD races except Detroit with its McLaren 720S GT3.

But Leinders explained that a decision was taken earlier in summer to forgo the remaining sprints, with the team focusing on the FIA World Endurance Championship, Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup and Petit Le Mans.

Inception did not join the GTD field at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and Lime Rock Park, and is absent from this weekend’s event at Road America.

It will also skip the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR, which rounds out the WeatherTech Sprint Cup, before returning to IMSA action at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta for the ten-hour Petit Le Mans enduro.

“At the moment we are not doing that,” Leinders told Sportscar365 when asked about the rest of Inception’s WeatherTech Sprint Cup program.

“At the end, I think it’s a little bit too busy together with WEC, where we have Fuji and Bahrain as well.

“The plan is to do the full IMSA Sprint Cup again next year [alongside] another program, but just with one rather than all three.

“It is quite easy to get excited and make a list of all the races you want to do.

“At one point we have to be realistic. As a team, we can make it all work. It’s not an issue. We have enough cars, equipment and people to facilitate all that.

“But even drivers need some time to rest. Professional drivers who drive a lot even struggle sometimes.”

Leinders said that Inception’s ambitious plan to do both Petit Le Mans and the GTWC Europe Endurance Cup finale at Barcelona on the same weekend remains in place.

The team is still figuring out how exactly it will juggle its drivers, with Iribe and his driver coach Ollie Millroy expected to compete in both events.

Frederik Schandorff is their co-driver in the Endurance Cup’s Gold category, while Jordan Pepper has also been involved on the IMSA front this season.

“We haven’t worked all the plan out yet, but we still have time,” Leinders stated.

“[Iribe] doesn’t need to be there for the end of Petit Le Mans. Once his minimum stint driving time is done, he will go.”

Leinders added that the general strategy at Inception is about achieving a suitable balance for Iribe, who has not shied away from committing to multiple championships since making his international GT racing debut in 2020.

The 42-year-old has raced full-time in IMSA, WEC, GTWC Europe, GTWC America, GT America, the Asian Le Mans Series and International GT Open over the last three seasons, and has also briefly appeared in British GT and Michelin Le Mans Cup.

“Brendan is not a professional driver; he’s an amateur driver who enjoys racing very much and decided to do a lot of racing from the beginning to get as much experience as possible,” said Leinders.

“It’s about finding the right balance. That is one of the reasons why we cut back a little bit, but it’s still a lot of racing.”