OAK Racing Confirms No TUSC Entry in 2015

Photo: John Dagys

OAK Racing will not compete in the 2015 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship as the French squad focuses on customer support of its Ligier JS P2 car in North America next year.

Team owner Jacques Nicolet confirmed to Sportscar365 that it currently has no plans to field an entry for any TUDOR Championship race next year, due to its policy of not racing against customers.

A pair of Ligiers, built and developed by OAK’s manufacturing arm, Onroak Automotive, have been sold to Michael Shank Racing and Krohn Racing, respectively.

Krohn, which recently took delivery of its Judd-powered prototype, will debut in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, while Shank’s car is expected to join the Prototype class field beginning at the Twelve Hours of Sebring.

Nicolet said a program for Daytona-only was evaluated but has since been ruled out.

“I think the fact that we had been in the U.S. all this year, with the Morgan first and then the Ligier at the end, it proves that we are very involved,” Nicolet told Sportscar365.

“We were able to have a very complicated life because it was hard [between] the manufacturing [company] and also for the team, to race in the States, to do WEC and Asian Le Mans Series at the same time.

“I think people like IMSA understand our involvement. For me, I’m very proud that they’ve played a very good game with us. For me, it was better than I expected.

“They did the best job they could do in these conditions. [IMSA] succeeded in finding the best compromise [in BoP]. It’s why I really want to help our customers continue. I think it’s only the beginning.”

OAK’s Ligier-Honda, which competed in the final two rounds of the season, has remained in Florida. Nicolet said there are evaluating a number of options for that chassis.

Due to OAK’s refocus towards customer support, it results in neither of the 2014 P2-winning squads returning for a full season and only three P2 cars confirmed for the entire TUDOR Championship next year.

Nicolet, however, said there could be a potential for additional Ligiers later in the year.

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