Panoz Planning Second Avezzano GT Entry for VIR

Photo: Brian Cleary/BCPix.com

Team Panoz Racing will double its efforts beginning with the next Pirelli World Challenge GTS round at Virginia International Raceway, with plans to debut a second Panoz Avezzano GT.

“We’ll definitely have a second car at VIR,” team manager Tom Milner told Sportscar365. “The chassis is ready as soon as we get back.

“Knock on wood nothing happens here and we’ll be able to do some testing with the car.”

The Georgia-based squad, largely made up of crew from the now-defunct DeltaWing project, is giving the the new GT4-based car its competition debut this weekend’s season-opening round at St. Pete, with Ian James at the wheel.

With limited run time with the car so far, totaling less than two hours prior to unloading on Wednesday, Milner said it made the most sense to initially focus efforts on a single car.

“Why make the same mistake twice?” he said. “Because of the timeframe, we said let’s get one car and do the best we can.

“I think it was a good decision because we barely got ready [for St. Pete]. They were working until Tuesday morning when the trucks left.”

Milner said they’ve yet to announce the driver for the second car although said they’ll likely be opting for a GT racing veteran.

“Obviously we have various people,” he said. “Frankly, I would rather have someone that’s not blindly fast but someone that’s experienced, like Ian.”

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