Duqueine LMP3 entries from Fast MD Racing and K2R are set to boost the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship entry at the season finale, Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta on 13 November.
2020 IMSA Prototype Challenge Championship winning pair Naveen Rao and Matt Bell (pictured below) will be joined by 2021 Michelin Le Mans Cup race winner Josh Skelton in an entry from K2R, this Rao’s first IMSA race of the year after stepping back from racing since the Asian Le Mans Series where he raced with Racing Team India in LMP2, to concentrate on a new business enterprise.
The team have been testing the car this week.
Also set to field a Duqueine is Fast MD Racing, the team set to debut in IMSA’s premier Championship ahead of a planned full-season in 2022 in LMP3.
“It has been a huge undertaking and many months of work, but we are finally prepared to return to the IMSA paddock and compete in the IMSA WeatherTech program,” explained Team Principal and Technical Director Remi Lanteigne. “We have left no stone unturned and spared no expense to bring this program to life. While Road Atlanta is an ambitious approach for us with 2022 the ultimate goal, it marks our commitment to have the best program in the LMP3 paddock.”
The team tested their new D08 with a two-day shakedown at the Duqueine factory test track followed by a two-day test at Paul Ricard.
Fast MD Racing’s James Vance was one of the drivers participating in the shakedown along with up and coming Danish hotshoe Malthe Jakobsen who could be set to race with the team at Road Atlanta.
“Switching back to prototype with a program that I have helped build is an incredible feeling. The team has been working so hard behind the scenes and it is exciting to start seeing the fruits of our labour,” added James Vance, who will be one of the drivers in the new LMP3 program.
“The LMP3 class is growing at an exponential rate and the fact that we can capitalize on this in the top sports car championship whilst showcasing the Fast MD brand to the top of the sports world is an incredible opportunity. There is still a lot to do so the team atmosphere is very much of the mindset that we have to keep plugging away and bit by bit we will get there.”
Following the test, the car was shipped to the United States and will be immediately trackside at Road Atlanta for a further test.
