Team DSC has arrived at Circuit of the Americas, just outside the heart of Texas’ state capitol in Austin. It was very warm and sunny in the morning, and in the afternoon – broken up by a brief rain shower, foreboding of potential rain and thunderstorms this weekend.
Of course, this weekend will be the first time that the FIA World Endurance Championship has raced at COTA since 2020. A lot has changed since then in such a short amount of time, both for COTA and the WEC.
Here are just some of the bits we’ve gathered as the teams begin to set up for this weekend’s Lone Star Le Mans.
JOTA ‘Mighty 38’ wearing Mobil 1 special livery
The #38 Hertz Team JOTA Porsche 963 is carrying a special livery this weekend, with additional splashes of black from Mobil 1 to celebrate the brand’s 50th anniversary.
Similar gold and black Mobil 1 anniversary specials have appeared in multiple championships this year. At the Sebring 12 Hours, Chip Ganassi Racing, Pratt Miller Motorsports, and Vasser Sullivan Racing all ran variations of the special livery.
Mobil 1 gold and black has also featured in NASCAR via Stewart-Haas Racing and 23XI Racing, the Supercars Championship via Walkinshaw Andretti United, and IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge via Smooge Racing and KellyMoss.
In contrast, the #12 car will wear its regular colours with its white nose and sidepods.
Keating’s homecoming
The not-so-regular name and face that’s driving this weekend is two-time Le Mans class winner Ben Keating, getting to race in his home state of Texas for the first time since 2020 – the last Lone Star Le Mans before this year’s, in fact.
He’s in the #88 Ford Mustang GT3 this weekend – taking the place that had been occupied by Giorgio Roda until Saõ Paulo.
Born near Houston in the town of Tomball, a graduate of Texas A&M University in College Station, and now based out of Victoria – Keating has won his class at Circuit of the Americas once in the American Le Mans Series (2013), three times in IMSA (2014, 2015, 2017) and once in the 24H Series (2019).
“I can’t wait for my first race with the Mustang GT3, especially given that it’s in the USA. It’ll no doubt be an outstanding experience,” Keating said ahead of this weekend.
It’ll be Keating’s first time driving a Ford in WEC since his entry into the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans, fielding the infamous Wynns-liveried Ford GTE.
Lamborghini Super Trofeo, Mustang Challenge supports
The support races this weekend come courtesy of Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America and the new Mustang Challenge series.
43 cars are here for Lamborghini Super Trofeo, backed by regular IMSA squads like Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti and Forte Racing, along with evergreen North American sports car racing squad Flying Lizard Motorsports – and more than a few familiar drivers up and down each class.
Mustang Challenge features a famous face among the 27-car entry list this weekend: Frankie Muniz, the actor most famous for his roles in the television sitcom Malcolm in the Middle and films such as Deuces Wild and Agent Cody Banks, during his teenage years.
Muniz is currently carving out his second attempt at a racing career in his late 30s, this time as a Ford Performance driver primarily focused on stock cars. He was fourth in the ARCA Menards Series standings last season and this year he’s splitting time between ARCA, NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the Craftsman Truck Series.
Muniz will drive the #3 Spark Performance Mustang against the likes of championship leader Tyler Maxson, and Sam Paley, who swept the most recent race meeting at Road America.
Once his racing is done on Sunday morning, Muniz will wave the green flag for the WEC main event that afternoon.
Conway eager to ‘maximise the weekends’ in support of title campaign
Mike Conway’s recovery from his cycling accident that put him out of this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans has gone well, leaving him with “the odd ache and pain” but nothing more.
While Conway can’t win a share of this year’s Hypercar World Endurance Drivers’ Championship, his co-drivers Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries can, both of whom arrived in America after productive outings in the Super Formula Championship at Motegi – a first for De Vries.
But right now, the championship isn’t the #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing team’s sole focus. “Honestly, it’s kind of just, get on with things and just see how it is. It’s always about maximising the weekend – so obviously, have a shot at the pole, try and get an extra point there, and then fight it out in the race and get maximum points – that’s kind of all we can do ’til the end,” remarked Conway.
“I don’t think we’re really thinking about the championship all the time. We know it’s there in the background, but either way, you’re trying to maximise the weekends as much as possible.”
Kobayashi and De Vries are 22 points behind the Porsche Penske championship-leading trio of Kevin Estre, Andre Lotterer, and Laurens Vanthoor.
