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U.S. Entries Double for 24H COTA

Nearly a dozen U.S. teams set to take part in second annual 24H COTA USA event…

Photo: 24H Series/Fryba Photography

U.S. entries for next month’s second running of the 24 Hours of COTA have doubled compared to last year’s inaugural event, with more than ten North American-based teams set to take part in the 24H Series powered by Hankook season finale.

An updated entry list for the Nov. 16-18 race currently features 43 cars, including several high-profile American teams and the highly anticipated North American debut of James Glickenhaus’ SCG 003C.

The American team will compete on home soil for the first time with its pair of SCG 003s, which are already Stateside, with one car set to be entered by LightSpeed Racing alongside the works Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus operation.

It will mark the car’s first outing in Creventic’s 24H Series since Mugello 2016.

The SCG 003s will be joined by fellow American squad Gradient Racing in the A6 class, with the Austin-based team, formerly known as CJ Wilson Racing, set to enter its Acura NSX GT3.

Marc Miller and Till Bechtolsheimer, who drove the car in selected IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship races this year, are expected to be among the lineup in the Acura, which will make its 24H Series debut.

Newly crowned IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokoham champions JDX Racing is set to enter a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car for an all-American lineup featuring 2018 Platinum Cup champion Trenton Estep and longtime Porsche ace Andrew Davis.

RHC Jorgensen/Strom will have one of its BMW M4 GT4s on the grid, led by team co-owners Daren Jorgensen and Brett Strom and joined by Jon Miller, Karl Wittmer and Gerald McLeod, with Classic BMW set to enter both a GT4-spec and BMW M235i Racing Cup entries. 

Mike Vess and Jason Hart will be among the driving force in the team’s BMW GT4. 

A Mercedes-AMG GT4 car is set to be on the grid from RENNtech Motorsports for Chapman, Wayne and David Ducote, plus Paul Barnhardt Jr. and Gustavo Yacaman, while the American-German Winward Racing/HTP Motorsport squad will return with Russel Ward and Indy Dontje on the driving strength.

Top Americans to Fight for Overall Race Honors

In addition to entries from Alfa TCR USA (Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR) Freem USA (Porsche 911 GT3 Cup) and the Porsche Broker (Porsche 911 GT3 Cup), several leading American drivers are set to do battle for overall race honors in European-entered cars.

Newly crowned 24H Series GT European champions Charles Espenlaub, Joe Foster and Charlie Putman will be at the wheel of Prosport Performance’s Mercedes-AMG GT3, while Ben Keating will return with Jeroen Bleekemolen, Luca Stolz and Abdulaziz Al Faisal in one of Black Falcon’s Mercedes after scoring a podium finish last year.

Additionally, Bret Curtis and Scott Heckert will be at the wheel of a second Black Falcon entry.

Of note, Team Panoz Racing’s PWC driver trio of Ian James, Preston Calvert and Mathew Keegan are set to share driving duties of a Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR entered by Brookspeed, with 24H Series regulars Seth Thomas and Jim Briody also entered in TCR and SP3 machinery, respectively.

While final preparations are underway for this year’s race and last-minute entries still possible, several teams have already begun planning for the 2019 event, which is scheduled for Nov. 15-17, as part of the 24H Series ‘Champions of the Continents’.

It will also feature a six-hour Proto Series race on Nov. 15. 

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

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