Pratt Miller Motorsports’ expansion to LMP2 racing was a surprise to some when IMSA revealed its 2025 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship entry list and the firm’s new LMP2 entry was included.
And while the first two races have been tough, Pratt Miller Motorsports Programme Manager, Marc Maurini, has said that he wants this new endeavor to be the start of a top-tier prototype programme in the near future.
Speaking with DSC at Sebring, Maurini said: “We’re definitely going to be in prototype racing long-term. The aspirations to be in the top class are always there. But we’re really happy with where we are in LMP2 right now.
“We’re looking for success here before we try to make a step up. But making a step up is something that’s on the horizon.”
This isn’t Pratt Miller’s first go-round in prototype racing as an engineering firm. Though they’re best known for their work with General Motors and Corvette Racing, Pratt Miller also constructed the Chevrolet Intrepid GTP that began racing in IMSA in 1991. They also designed bodywork for the early-2010s Corvette Daytona Prototypes during the later years of Grand-Am and eventually into the era of the unified IMSA series.
And the groundwork for Pratt Miller’s LMP2 debut was laid down almost a year before their first race in the category at Daytona. “We spoke with John Doonan as early as March 2024, but by the time we were actually guaranteed an entry, it was mid-September. That’s when we could really get plans in motion – obviously, until you have a grid spot, it’s tough to commit to transporters, trucks, trailers, cars, all the equipment. It happened pretty quick.
“We went from pulling the trigger in mid-September when we got the entry, to being at our first track test in early November – so we had a couple sleepless weeks,” Maurini said.
Operating alongside the two-car, factory Corvette Racing team in GTD PRO, Pratt Miller Motorsports’ LMP2 team was built without pulling a massive amount of human resources away from the Corvette team, rather than from other parts of the company. “In total, this programme has brought over three people from Corvette. The rest have been external hires, internal recruits, some people who have been within motorsports at other areas of Pratt Miller who are here on this programme,” Maurini clarified.
“We’ve had a pretty strong focus to make sure that Corvette is not hindered at all. That’s our very important programme for us. We need to keep that going and be successful – so this is intended to be stand-alone, and that’s how we’ve built it.”
“Really, we only have one person who we brought on with LMP2 experience – so we’re learning as we go, but we’re learning at a pretty quick pace,” he added.
Going from the Chief Engineer of Chevrolet’s IndyCar race operations as a Pratt Miller engineer, to leading the Corvette Racing programme, and now to being the director of all Race Operations at Pratt Miller – Maurini’s been accustomed to success at the job but is under no illusions of how tough IMSA’s LMP2 class is this year. “The field is incredibly competitive,” he said. “For us, we’re looking to win races and win championships. But we understand that there’s a healthy respect for the competitors who’ve been in this field and what they’ve done.
“We’ve certainly paid our dues and are well-respected in the GT field, but for us, we’re looking to show people that we can race prototype cars as well. It’s a little bit of a learning curve for us. The objectives are obviously to be successful – but there’s some trepidation there, and some understanding that it’s going to take time.”
Pratt Miller’s first race at Daytona was spoiled when Bronze driver Chris Cumming was swept up in a multi-car crash, but the team worked tirelessly to repair the car and finish the race. An oil leak preceded the #73 ORECA 07’s retirement at Sebring.
And now with LMP2 on a three-month layoff from IMSA competition before it returns at Long Beach, Pratt Miller Motorsports sits at the bottom of the LMP2 Teams’ Championship, not where a team with their amount of success and experience hopes to be.
But in time, Maurini wants to build this operation into something that, using the same processes that built the Corvette Racing dynasty over the last quarter-century, is capable of running at the front of LMP2 – and eventually, operating a premier class prototype programme in a category like IMSA GTP.
“There’s definitely some unique characteristics to prototype racing versus GT – but we’ve operated at a GT constructor level, so we understand the ins and outs of how to build race cars, and get the most out of them to operate a team at a GTE World Championship, nine-time Le Mans-winning level,” Maurini exclaims. “For us, there’s learning a new car, but it’s also the same fundamentals and the same processes that we have in GT racing that we’re bringing across.
If and when Pratt Miller gets the call to run a top-tier prototype, Maurini says: “I think we will be prepared. We have the right people. But we will get there when the time is right. We need to build as we go, and right now our focus is on LMP2 and to make sure we get the most of this programme.”
Images © Jack Webster / Dailysportscar.com
