Connect with us

WeatherTech Championship

O’Gara Motorsport Ceases Operations

O’Gara Motorsport ceases operations in WeatherTech, Lamborghini ST…

Photo: Jamey Price/Lamborghini

Photo: Jamey Price/Lamborghini

One of IMSA’s newest teams is no more, with O’Gara Motorsport having ceased operations in both the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo North America series, effective immediately.

Multiple sources have confirmed to Sportscar365 that the Tom O’Gara-owned organization has pulled the plug on its motorsports programs, reportedly due to financial restructuring within O’Gara’s other business ventures.

Phone calls and emails to team representatives were not returned after multiple attempts prior to the publishing of this article.

O’Gara, the 2015 Lamborghini ST championship-winning team, had made its WeatherTech Championship debut in last month’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, fielding a Lamborghini Huracan GT3 for Richard Antinucci, Edoardo Piscopo and defending GT Daytona class champions Bill Sweedler and Townsend Bell.

It’s understood Bell and Sweedler, who were slated for a full-season effort in the O’Gara entry, are working on alternative plans to keep the No. 11 Lamborghini on the grid, but fielded by a different team. Plans are expected to be finalized this week.

The pairing faced a very similar situation two years ago, following the withdrawal of Level 5 Motorsports after the season-opener at Daytona.

As previously reported, O’Gara had plans to field a second Huracan GT3 mid-season, with up to four Huracan LP 620-2 Super Trofeos planned for the popular IMSA-sanctioned single-make championship.

The development came on the week of the full-season WeatherTech Championship entry list being released, which still listed O’Gara entered, but with an additional, unrelated new Huracan GTD entry from Dream Racing Competition.

Even without the O’Gara entry, Lamborghini still has a strong presence in the WeatherTech Championship, with at least four Huracan GT3s expected for the full season and up to seven for next month’s Twelve Hours of Sebring.

Grids in Lamborghini ST are also expected to rise for its fourth season, which begins at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in April.

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

12 Comments
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

More in WeatherTech Championship