Starworks Announces Full-Season, Endurance Lineups

Starworks Motorsport will field two full-season entries in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in Prototype Challenge, with various lineups depending on the type of event.

Renger van der Zande and Alex Popow will run the full season in the No. 8 Oreca FLM09. They’re joined by Jack Hawksworth and Chris Cumming for the Rolex 24 at Daytona as previously announced.

Meanwhile David Heinemeier Hansson will join van der Zande and Popow at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans.

Mark Kvamme, meanwhile, will be the only full-season driver in the team’s No. 88 Oreca FLM09. For sprint races, Ashley Freiberg will compete alongside Kvamme; she is set for the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup races with Turner Motorsport in one of its BMW M6 GT3s.

Sean Johnston and Maro Engel will join the team in the Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup races, and Felix Rosenqvist will join as fourth driver in the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

The lineups, while different at times throughout the year, will provide enough stability throughout the course of the year, said team principal Peter Baron.

“We’re confident 2016 will be a strong year for Starworks,” Baron said. “For the first time since the new integrated series, we have been able to get our programs sorted for the season with two cars before the holidays.

“This has allowed us to plan and prepare for the upcoming season, which has been a weakness of ours for the last two seasons.

“We have fantastic lineups all year in both cars, and have made massive improvements with the team in the off season. With all that we have accomplished in the winter months, I strongly feel we are now the team to beat in 2016.”

Beyond the driver lineup, the team has strengthened its staff. Tom Brown, previously an engineer from CORE Autosport has joined the Starworks ranks, along with Kent Holden, who had previously been the crew chief at Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates since the team’s inception.

Both cars will also have new liveries, which will be revealed this week at the Roar Before the Rolex 24 test.

Lineup Breakdowns

***Rolex 24 at Daytona: 8-van der Zande/Popow/Cumming/Hawksworth, 88-Kvamme/Johnston/Engel/Rosenqvist

***Twelve Hours of Sebring, Petit Le Mans: 8-van der Zande/Popow/DHH, 88-Kvamme/Johnston/Engel

***Watkins Glen: 8-van der Zande/Popow/TBA, 88-Kvamme/Johnston/Engel

***Sprint races: 8-van der Zande/Popow, 88-Kvamme/Freiberg