IMSA News Notebook: AWA Receive GTD Corvettes
AWA have taken delivery of their pair of new Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs bound for the GTD class in the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship.
“Delivering the first two customer Z06 GT3.Rs to AWA marks the start of the next phase of our Corvette Customer Support program,” said Christie Bagne, Corvette Z06 GT3.R Program Manager. “A big thank you to our constructor Pratt Miller, our GM Performance and Racing team and everyone at the GM Assembly Plant in Bowling Green. We look forward to the continued collaboration with AWA ahead of their preseason test program and on toward the Rolex 24.”
The delivery is the first of three leading up to the debut of the Corvette GT3 on racetracks around the world; TF Sport will receive their Z06 GT3.Rs in January ahead of the FIA World Endurance Championship season, followed by DXDT Racing for GT World Challenge America.
“Receiving our two Corvette Z06 GT3.R was a special moment,” said Andrew Wojteczko, AWA team owner. “We are excited and motivated for this next chapter, and I’d like to extend my gratitude to Team Chevy for welcoming us with open arms. We can’t wait to get out on track.”
Special delivery came in hot 🔥 2024 is looking real good already.
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— AWA (@AWARacing) November 20, 2023
Parker Thompson In For Full Season At Vasser Sullivan
While Vasser Sullivan is retaining the same three drivers for the team’s Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) entry in the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Parker Thompson, who joined the #12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 lineup this year for the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup races, is moving to a full-season driver role in 2024 alongside returning full-timer Frankie Montecalvo.
Aaron Telitz, who has been a full-season driver for the team since 2020, becomes the third driver in the #12 for Michelin Endurance Cup races in 2024.
Thompson, the 2022 champion in the IMSA-sanctioned Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America series, drove alongside Montecalvo and Telitz for the four endurance races this year, highlighted by the GTD class victory at the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen in June.
“After a decade of grinding my way up the ladder, it is a dream come true to earn a full-time position in this world-renowned sports car championship with such an esteemed team,” Thompson said. “The opportunity to continue to represent Vasser Sullivan and Lexus is something I don’t take lightly. I’m hungrier than ever to build off the success we had last year, especially when I get to drive with a stud like Frankie Montecalvo all season long. It’s also fantastic to have proven winner Aaron Telitz join us for the endurance rounds and keep the continuity that led to the team’s successful finish in 2023.”
Montecalvo and Telitz finished third in this season’s GTD standings, adding a third-place finish in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach to the win at Watkins Glen. Telitz has five career WeatherTech Championship victories, the first four coming when he paired with Jack Hawksworth in Vasser Sullivan’s No. 14 Lexus in 2020 and ’21.
“Big thanks to (team principals) Jimmy (Vasser), Sulli (James Sullivan) and Lexus for the opportunity to continue with the team and brand that got me into sports car racing,” Telitz said. “I’m ready to go on full attack in the five endurance races with Parker and Frankie. It is now more important than ever to be strong in the endurance races, as they make up half the season. The No. 12 Lexus will be a force in the GTD ranks in 2024 and I can’t wait to get going.”
In a joint statement, Vasser and Sullivan emphasized the importance of driver lineup continuity as they set their eyes on the goal of a class title.
“We are competing for championships, and Parker, Frankie and Aaron will co-drive the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus in our fight for the 2024 IMSA GTD class championship,” the statement read. “Consistency is the nucleus of our GTD championship bid, and we’ve got that here with these drivers who are all winners.”
Sean Creech Motorsport Ligier LMP2 Test
Sean Creech Motorsport (SCM) completed a successful test of its Ligier LMP2 car last week at Sebring International Raceway as preparation continues in earnest for the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Drivers Lance Willsey and João Barbosa are set to return to SCM in 2024, with two additional drivers for January’s Rolex 24 at Daytona yet to be announced.
Both full season drivers gained significant experience behind the wheel of the #33 Focal One-backed Ligier JS P217 at Sebring, as the car completed 213 trouble-free laps in a test abbreviated by inclement weather.
“The Ligier is an extremely capable car,” said Willsey. “But it’s a completely different car to drive than the P3 so it requires a very significant resetting of muscle memory with regards to everything from brake points to throttle applications. That means I am starting over to an extent, but we have a solid team at SCM and a great deal of engineering assistance from Ligier, which is a huge help.”
Last week’s test can be summed up in one word: incremental – as in incremental changes to the setup, with team engineers learning what makes the Ligier JS P217 LMP2 car work, and incremental adjustments by the two drivers as they come to grips with the myriad of differences between the LMP3 and LMP2 cars.
The test was scheduled for two full days, but Florida weather had other ideas, as a persistent low-pressure system held Wednesday’s test to only 33 laps in the early morning. But Barbosa was able to get a solid read on the car, happy with the balance and grip level before the rains came and washed out the remainder of the day.
Conditions were cool Thursday morning, with intermittent light sprinkles as Willsey took his first laps in the car. As the day progressed, the team worked on a wide variety of setups and adjustments as knowledge of the car was gained and the track evolved. Both drivers were quite encouraged at the end of the day, having run 10 hours completely trouble-free.
“It was a steady progression of developing the car, which went extremely well,” said Willsey. “Then for me, it was just a matter of figuring out all the nuances to this car. But I’m extremely pleased – and I would say that I’m most pleased about the effort that the team has put in, stripping the car and completely rebuilding it flawlessly. We rolled out at Sebring and just did fuel and tires all day long without a single issue. So barring the weather hiccup, it could not have gone smoother from the perspective of our to-do list. We had a set of changes we wanted to work through and quantify, and we ticked off all those boxes.
“We’ve got a long road ahead to completely learn this car, but we’re on that path.”
“The car was just spot-on, and that’s down to all the hard work by the team,” said Barbosa, a four-time winner of the Rolex 24. “They did a superb job – after all the late nights and the long hours at the shop, it was great to see their faces as the day progressed, knowing that the hard work really paid off. The car ran like clockwork and we were able to go through a lot of our test items, even more than we were expecting. So for our first proper test day with this car and with the crew getting to know how it operates, it was very, very positive. We’re excited about the test in Daytona and the chance to see where we stack up.”
Team principal Sean Creech was very pleased with the car’s performance and that of the crew, after the long months of preparation.
“Reliability and strategy will be key in the endurance races and last week’s test was a good look in terms of reliability,” said Creech. “We ran 10 hours trouble-free on Thursday and if there’s a weakness in this car, this track would have found it. But I can’t say enough about the crew – they did a phenomenal job on this car, and that work showed. It was a good start to the 2024 season.”
Next up for the SCM team is the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s official series test at the Daytona International Speedway on December 6 and 7, in preparation for January’s season opener, the 62nd Rolex 24 at Daytona.
