In another significant market shift in prototype racing, ex Bentley Factory GT team and Ford WRC outfit M-Sport are set to confirm a three-race IMSA LMP2 programme in the current 2022 season.
DSC has confirmed that the Cumbria, UK outfit will utilise one of the chassis owned by Era Motorsport to race at Watkins Glen, Road America and Petit Le Mans later this season with a driver squad still to be finalised.
M-Sport’s Matt Wilson, at Daytona in part for the Ford Mustang GTD announcement, a programme for which M-Sport will act as engine developer and Builder, confirmed the existence of the LMP2 programme to the DSC Editor this afternoon adding that the effort would be based out of Era Motorsport’s facility but with a full M-Sport technical and driver crew and under the M-Sport banner.
“We are about to confirm the programme and are talking to a number of interested parties on the driver front. As always though we’d be delighted to hear from anyone wanting to be involved for 2022, and for discussions about the future.”
When pressed on the reasoning behind the new programme, Wilson was somewhat less forthcoming but the M-Sport concern is known to have invested in a significant new facility at their Dovenby Hall base with their WRC development programme also displaying significant in-house expertise in hybrid technology.
With the cessation of their Bentley factory GT race programme at the end of 2020, that leaves M-Sport with the manpower and facilities to mount an international racing effort, with clear opportunities to add another significant programme to their current Bentley GT customer support role.
“We are always looking for opportunities for high level programmes and we’ve shown, repeatedly, that we are able to produce results for motorsports programmes both on track and on the stages. We have nothing to announce on that front right now but we are, of course, in active pursuit of the next opportunity for M-Sport and our partners.”
