DragonSpeed is set to make a surprise return to GT racing in September, with a Ferrari 296 GT3 for the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis.
The American team, which has been competing in LMP2 competition for the past eight years, returns to its roots as a GT team for the six-hour Michelin Endurance Cup race. The new Ferrari will sport the team’s familiar 10Star livery, with team stalwart Henrik Hedman the first confirmed driver for the team’s GTD class effort.
Prior to its focus on prototype racing, the Elton Julian-run team ran Porsche, Ferrari, and Audi equipment before turning to full-time pro racing in 2013. 2014 saw DragonSpeed and Hedman finish second in the SCCA World Challenge GTA class in a Ferrari 458, taking the same car to Europe in 2015 for a partial SRO series season.
“I’m so looking forward to this challenge. GT3 is something we’ve been aiming for since its establishment as the top GT class, and thanks to Henrik we’ll be joining the fray ahead of schedule,” said Julian.
“No one can underestimate the competition at this level and it will be a steep learning curve. Returning to the Ferrari fold fills me with personal nostalgia going back to my days driving the 333 SP in the 1990s, and allows us to align our team with what we see as the category’s best car and greatest brand.”
Another element of the team’s new project in GT racing is the involvement of Henrik’s 17-year-old son, William, whose burgeoning interest in the sport will see him test alongside his father starting in late 2024.
Hedman will take the Bronze seat in the number 81 Ferrari 296 – bedecked in a dynamically updated version of his familiar 10Star livery – with the two other drivers for Indianapolis to be determined.
“Having achieved my first racing success in Ferrari Challenge, I’m delighted to be returning to my racing roots in the company with DragonSpeed,” Henrik Hedman added. “I’m also looking forward to introducing another Hedman to the sport as part of our new journey with the Ferrari 296.”
Image courtesy of DragonSpeed
