News & Notes Roundup, 11.4

Photo: Sonic Tools

***Audi Sport customer racing is set to expand production of its new Audi R8 LMS to a total of 50 cars for 2016. The German manufacturer already has no fewer than 24 confirmed orders, according to customer sport boss Romolo Liebchen, who confirmed that a dozen of the new cars will compete in next year’s Audi R8 LMS Cup.

***Ryan Dalziel will not return to EFFORT Racing for the 2016 Pirelli World Challenge season. Dalziel, who finished third in the GT championship with two wins and ten podium finishes, helped clinch both the team and manufacturers’ titles. Dalziel told Sportscar365 that he’s actively seeking new opportunities in PWC.

***It’s unclear who Dalziel’s replacement at EFFORT will be next year, although the team has announced it will run two new Porsche 911 GT3 Rs.

***Judd will offer a 4.2-liter version of its BMW-based LMP2 powerplant to teams competing in the WeatherTech Championship next year. It follows Honda’s likely move to an enlarged 3.5-liter version of its V6 turbo engine to meet the higher power demands of IMSA.

***Deadlines for both IMSA Premium and Standard entries for next year’s WeatherTech Championship were on Friday. It’s unclear if IMSA will release a full-season entry list, as it did for 2014, or instead wait for the event entry list for the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona.

***This month’s IMSA Daytona Test will see a good representation of GT3 machinery, with the new Audi R8 LMS, Lamborghini Huracan GT3, BMW M6 GT3, Mercedes-AMG GT3, McLaren 650S GT3 and Cadillac ATS-V.R all expected to be present. New GTLM cars, including the BMW M6 GTLM, are also expected to test, although it’s understood neither GTE or GT3-spec Porsches will be present.

***Eddie Cheever III got his first taste of a Daytona Prototype Wednesday, as the second-generation driver turned laps in the No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP in a test at Virginia International Raceway. Cheever, who competed in this year’s NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, was coached by Dane Cameron.

***While Action Express has confirmed its full-season driver lineups, it has yet to reveal its third driver for its No. 5 Corvette DP entry. Sebastien Bourdais, who took part in the NAEC races this year, is reporidely off to the Ford GT program in a similar capacity.

***Ryan Dalziel is raffling off a number of items, including his World Challenge race helmet, to benefit the Rett Syndrome. Click Here for more information.

***A number of IMSA cars are on display this week at SEMA, including the No. 31 Action Express Corvette DP, No. 22 WeatherTech Porsche 911 GT3 R, the Le Mans GTE-Pro class-winning Corvette C7.R, No. 73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT America and No. 64 Sonic Tools-sponsored Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 Italia GT3.

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