Three LMP2 teams held due to technical infringement
IMSA issued a statement this morning after three ORECA 07-Gibson LMP2s were parked for the first 60 minutes of Test Session 3 this morning.
“Cars 8 (Tower Motorsports), 18 (Era Motorsport), and 73 (Pratt Miller Motorsports) were issued a stop plus 60 minutes for technical non-compliance, specifically relating to car configuration outside the approved homologation per Article 22.7. The three cars were found with unapproved sensors.
“IMSA requires all cars to run only the components, systems, and configurations that are explicitly approved for both the class and the individual homologations. Anything outside of that, regardless of function, is considered non-compliant.
“The penalty is being applied as a session-time loss to restore sporting equity and ensure all cars operate within the same technical framework.”
Ross Chastain explores the Roar
One of the first guests that Team DSC encountered today was Ross Chastain, NASCAR Cup Series star and 2022 title challenger.
The “Melon Man” toured Action Express Racing’s hauler, garage, and pit box today as a guest, leveraging Chastain’s connection as a Chevrolet NASCAR driver with sister GM brand Cadillac.
“It’s incredible,” said Chastain. “I’ve seen it, but getting out here on the pit box and seeing all the conversations going on, there was a red flag out on track for a stalled car, and there was a quick driver chang,e and the driver was ready ahead of time, which I could take some cues from. The depth of the team and seeing it and asking Connor (Zilisch), probably some silly questions, but it’s just some stuff that I never learned. It was just cool to learn about.
“We could be in this very pit stall for the Daytona 500 next month, and it doesn’t compare at all to this, which is good in our respective series.”
Chastain also told DSC that he would enjoy racing in the Rolex 24 himself in the near future should the opportunity come around.
McLaughlin looking into Spa 24…
Scott McLaughlin is looking to add a start in the Spa 24 Hours to his growing sportscar racing CV in the future.
Speaking to DSC earlier this week, the rapid Kiwi, who currently drives with Penske in IndyCar, made it clear it’s another big endurance race he’s hoping to do.
“If the schedule permits, I’m really trying to do Spa. I’ll race anything, I’ll race a wheelbarrow if I need to. I don’t care. I’d just love to do it.
…and Power looking at Suzuka 1000km
Ironically, McLaughlin’s former Penske teammate Will Power also has future GT racing outings on his radar.
In addition to a return to the Indianapolis 8 Hour Race, hopefully with better weather than his first Intercontinental GT Challenge event, Power has marked the Suzuka 1000km as his next target. “I’d like to do Suzuka, I’d want to do Indy again,” Power said to DSC.
“There are a few places I’d love to do, it just sort of depends on where they fall, it has to be outside the IndyCar season.”
Power had set the quickest time in GTD PRO through four out of seven test sessions this weekend, a good omen for 75 Express, a team in desperate need of good fortune at the Rolex 24 following three straight DNFs.
“I hope so,” he said, when asked if he’s the good luck charm that Kenny Habul and company need. “You know, a lot unfolds in 24 hours. So I really do hope that we’re in with a shot, and the BOP’s good. We’ll see. I’m very new to this game, so we’ll see what happens.”
Ilott: Potential IMSA/IndyCar double campaign “going to be tough”
It’s gone somewhat under the radar this IMSA off-season, but Callum Ilott’s move to the GTD class with Wright Motorsports is a big move that could be rewarded with great success in 2026.
At the very least, he has a secure full-time ride in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, where he’ll share the No. 120 Porsche 911 GT3 R with owner/driver Adam Adelson. It’s a schedule that he hopes to pair with a second season of driving in the IndyCar Series for Prema Racing, though the Rosin family’s departure from the organisation has left things very uncertain in the short term.
“I got a call from Adam at the end of October last year that he was going to make a change, and wanted to know my situation with IndyCar,” as Ilott recalled. “And at that point it was, it still is, a little bit up in the air.
“I already was targeting to do the endurance rounds in IMSA, whether it was GTP, LMP2, or GT3. He wanted to do a full season, was happy that there’d be a clash at Long Beach, and I was happy to commit to it.”
For now at least, the expectation is that Ilott will be racing at every IMSA GTD and IndyCar event, 27 races in total over 26 weekends. But he’ll stop short of pulling double-duty and running in both series at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
“It’s going to be tough,” Ilott admits. “Obviously, the back-and-forth is one thing. Luckily, IndyCar I know very well, and GTs I have experience with. But they’ve all got their little quirks, that’s for sure.
“I have to learn a couple of the tracks I haven’t been to before, but it’s going to be cool.”
Ironically, Ilott’s last previous outing with Wright came during another period of uncertainty in his IndyCar career, just before he was dropped from Juncos Hollinger Racing after a little over two seasons with the team. “It’s getting frequent now, but I’m used to it,” he said with a wry smile.
In between stints with JHR and PREMA, Ilott found success in the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship, driving Hertz Team JOTA – then a Porsche privateer – to its first Hypercar class win with the 963 at Spa-Francorchamps. He also landed some relief drives for Arrow McLaren after David Malukas’ wrist injury.
It wasn’t easy leaving sports car racing behind just as he was finding success in WEC, Ilott admitted. “I really enjoyed it, 100 per cent. Obviously, I committed to go racing in IndyCar, but it wasn’t easy to leave the LMDh side, GTP side behind for a bit. But the goal was always to come back at some point, absolutely.”
Maintenance underway on Saturday…
Midway through Test Session 3 this morning, the #77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R stopped on course, bringing out a red flag.
After returning to the garage, the car underwent a full engine change and was back out in time for the night session.
Late additions to VP Challenge grid
Yesterday, two extra cars, one each in LMP3 and GSX, boosted the car count for Saturday’s opening VP Racing SportsCar Challenge round to 22 entries.
MISHUMotors’ Mirco Schultis is back with his #70 Ligier JS P320, the fourth previous-generation Ligier in the LMP3 field. The 2011 Le Mans Series FLM Champion and the last campaigner of the Callaway Corvette C7 GT3-R in the West, Schultis ran the first two rounds of the 2025 season at Daytona and COTA.
The late addition to the GSX field is Courtney Crone in the #35 CarBahn Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 EVO. Crone was the recipient of the 2023/24 IMSA Diverse Driver Development (D3) Scholarship and spent last season racing in F1 Academy with sponsorship from Haas F1 Team – her best finish was seventh at Las Vegas.
Schultis finished ninth in Race 1, fourth among the Bronze Cup drivers, while Crone finished seventh in GSX after getting spun around late.
Ford Racing Development Driver Williams paces second day of Pilot Challenge testing
Michelin Pilot Challenge had two more test sessions today, the first of which featured another Ford Mustang GT4 lockout of the top five spots.
It was headed by the #30 LAP Motorsports Ford, and Ford Racing Driver Development Team member Clayton Williams, who set a 1:53.033 in the morning session to put him three-tenths clear of Gregory Liefooghe (#19 Stephen Cameron Racing), the two Team TGM cars, and the #60 KOHR Motorsports car running its Greg Biffle tribute livery.
Cameron Lawrence in the #89 HART Honda Civic FL5 TCR led the TCR class during the morning with a 1:57.639; Pegram Racing relief driver Mario Farnbacher was second in the #72 Pegram Racing Honda.
The afternoon session was led by Thomas Merrill in the #14 Circle H Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4 Evo (1:53.555), a car that is operated by Archangel Motorsports. The Ford contingent wasn’t far behind – Mustang Challenge North America champion Robert Noaker was the quickest of them in the #13 McCumbee McAleer Racing Ford.
And in TCR, Celso Neto put the #77 Stallion Motorsports with Gou Cupra León VZ TCR at the top of the leaderboard (1:57.701), ahead of VGRT’s two Cupras.
Featured image courtesy of IMSA
