Lazzaro Joins CORE in PC Title Bid

Photo: IMSA

CORE autosport has shaken up its regular endurance driver lineup, in a bid for its fifth consecutive Prototype Challenge teams’ championship in this weekend’s TUDOR United SportsCar Championship season-ending Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda.

Sports car racing veteran Anthony Lazzaro will join the championship-leading pairing of Colin Braun and Jon Bennett in the team’s Oreca FLM09 for the ten-hour, title-deciding race.

Lazzaro replaces fellow Silver-rated driver James Gue, who had been part of CORE’s lineup for the NAEC races since 2014.

“I’ve watched CORE since its inception,” Lazzaro said. “I’ve watched Jon drive an IMSA Lites car for a number of years.

“I’ve known Colin since he was a little kid and we drove together at Sebring in 2011 and I’ve known Colin’s father forever.

“For me, it’s a very comfortable environment as far as driving and engineering and so forth.

“It’s an honor to be involved with the team and certainly with our driver lineup it should be a lot of fun.”

CORE heads into weekend with a 12-point gap over PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports’ Tom Kimber-Smith and Mike Guasch, who will be rejoined by Andrew Palmer. The trio collected class wins at the Rolex 24 at Daytona and Twelve Hours of Sebring.

“It is difficult to ignore the points situation going into the last event of the season,” CORE team owner/driver Bennett said.

“While the incoming point totals may shape some race decisions from our strategists in pit lane, from the cockpit, Colin and I prefer the same approach we have employed all season: go win the race!

“Certainly, winning two weeks ago at COTA has brought a welcome confidence boost to our team and valuable points leverage for our quest for the TUDOR Championship.”

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