Matt McMurry Named Dyson Development Driver

While having yet to confirm plans of a 2014 program, Dyson Racing announced Monday the formation of a new junior development program, naming Matt McMurry as its first driver.

The 16-year-old Skip Barber and US F2000 graduate will be embarking on his first full season of IMSA Prototype Lites competition, while also working towards becoming the youngest-ever starter in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

McMurry, the son of former Dyson Racing driver Chris, joined Tom Kimber-Smith and Chris Dyson for a two-day test at Carolina Motorsports Park last weekend in Greaves Motorsport’s Zytek Z11SN Nissan LMP2 car.

It came following a successful debut in Performance Tech’s Oreca FLM09 Prototype Challenge car just a few weeks earlier at Palm Beach International Raceway.

“What impresses me the most about Matt is not how good he is for a driver his age,”said Dyson VP and Sporting Director Chris Dyson. “It’s just how flat good he is.

“I watched him drive last week in testing and I came away with the sense that he has enough talent that if he plays his card right, there’s no limit to how much he can accomplish.

“In the car and working with the team running the test, Matt showed an unbelievable degree of maturity. All of us at Dyson Racing are happy to welcome him to our Junior Development Program, and we are excited to see him grow with us.”

The second-generation driver’s next step in the Dyson development program will be a test in Greaves’ Zytek-Nissan at the official European Le Mans Series pre-season test at Paul Ricard early next month.

Both Kimber-Smith and Chris Dyson are already confirmed for a full-season ELMS and Le Mans program with the British squad, with their mandatory Bronze/Silver-rated driver yet to be announced.

“This is a very exciting opportunity for me, and I’m honored to be Dyson Racing’s first Junior Development Program team member,” said McMurry,

“Sports car racing is an international sport and to have the chance to compete in Europe and learn from guys like Tom, who’s won the LMP2 class twice at Le Mans, and Chris, who’s twice been the IMSA American Le Mans Series driver champion, it’s just such a great thing.”

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