Shank Looks To Ligier for TUSCC and Le Mans
Longtime Daytona Prototype entrant Michael Shank Racing will open the 2015 season using his Riley DP, but will make a decisive change to use a brand-new Ligier JS P2 coupe afterwards.
“It’s not a big secret, but we’re going to return next year with Ozz Negri and John Pew for the full season. They’ll drive our DP with A.J. [Allmendinger] at the Rolex 24, and after that, we’ll move to a Ligier P2 for the rest of the year starting at Sebring,” Shank told Marshall Pruett. An announcement on MSR’s engine partner is expected later in the week.
Shank’s plans for 2016 involve adding the world’s biggest endurance race to the Ohio-based team’s calendar.
“We felt it was the right time to make the switch to the P2, and our goal is to enter Le Mans with the car in 2016,” he said. “For the next two years, there’s a huge shift going on with what I’ve done with my team in motor racing, and I need to position us to be ready for what’s coming, for what’s happening, to have a car that’s in line with where global sports car racing is going.”
“By going to the P2 now, we’re ready for when IMSA goes to that style of car in 2017, and it opens up the opportunity for me to go to Le Mans, which has always been a dream of mine.”
Shank will need to receive an invite from the ACO to participate at the 24 hours of Le Mans, and provided it happens, it would represent the team’s most ambitious project to date.
“We were frankly having a hard time selling the DP program with the change to the Prototype class ahead; everybody wants to be in the latest cars, the cars that are next up on the scene, and this isn’t going to be a cheap move for us, but we knew it had to be done to keep our program moving ahead,” Shank explained.
“I think it’s going to be an exciting year for us, and with Le Mans out there as the big goal for us, it’s going to make us work that much harder to get there.”
Ganassi Confirm Full 2015 Season With Riley Ford
With news expected in the coming days on the engine plans for Michael Shank Racing, which formed half of Ford Racing’s two-pronged EcoBoost DP effort in 2014, the Blue Oval’s other team, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, has confirmed its chassis and engine combination for their upcoming TUDOR United SportsCar Championship campaign.
“Our plan next year is to run a Riley chassis,” Ganassi Racing managing director Mike Hull told Marshall Pruett. “I can’t speak on anything beyond 2015, but right now our plan is to continue in our partnership with Riley and Ford. It’s a strong partnership between the three of us.”
Based on comments made late in the season, the driver lineup in the No. 01 entry is likely to continue, and with an exceptional amount of development invested into the Riley-Ford EcoBoost package, Hull says continuing the process uninterrupted for one more year makes sense.
“All of the DP team committed to develop the new style of cars in 2014, and at a significant cost, which makes going away from it after one year a short-sighted approach for those of us who are looking to amortize our costs over a two-year period,” Hull explained.
The team previously confirmed the return of Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas to pilot the #01 entry, and with an exceptional amount of development invested into the Riley-Ford EcoBoost package, Hull says continuing the process for one more year makes financial sense.
“It was a commitment we made with the sanctioning body, and they made to us to create rules stability and financial stability, and the partners we have are in full support of this initiative for another year with all of that in mind. I enjoy the IMSA racing we’re doing, enjoyed the Grand-Am racing before that, and even if everything gets turned upside down with new cars, the racing will still be good.”
Oak Racing Looking To Return In 2015?
Maybe the Oak Racing team isn’t shutting down its TUDOR United SportsCar Championship program after all?
Oak team manager Philippe Dumas told Marshall Pruett in August that if they had opposition from other teams using the Ligier P2 chassis built by its parent company Onroak Automotive, the race-winning program could scuttle its factory effort.
News of Krohn Racing purchasing a JS P2 followed, and Michael Shank Racing has become the second US-based sports car team to buy a Ligier, yet with renewed interest from within Onroak, it appears Oak Racing could be on the grid for as little as the four Tequila Patron North American Endurance Championship rounds to the full 10-race calendar for Prototypes.
“We will try to continue as a team, but it depends on the finances we find,” Dumas told RACER after returning home from last weekend’s WEC race in Shanghai.
Oak won the P2 category in Shanghai under the G-Drive Racing banner, and as Dumas explains, they are looking for a similar arrangement to run a TUDOR Championship program on behalf of a sponsor. Continuing with funded drivers is also an option.
“Like in the WEC with the G-Drive team, we would like to create a similar situation in the US,” he said. “We are happy to call Oak Racing another name if a sponsor wants this. The WEC will be quite strong next season with new cars coming to race, so we are working on that program with G-Drive, and the goal is the have two cars. It’s the target, and maybe there will a small surprise on the engine side.”
“And we loved the US championship; it was a great experience with Gustavo [Yacaman], and I would say it’s not our second objective, it is an equal objective with the WEC. If we talk about Oak Racing or Onroak Automotive, we are a big part on the P2 side in the US. Krohn will enter a Ligier at the biggest [IMSA] races next year, and there is the other car with [Shank]. I would say we did not do this season in the US for nothing, and it would be really good for us to continue.”
Dumas says Oak Racing can be expected to compete in the NAEC rounds, and will happily sign on for the rest of the schedule if they have the commitments in place.
“I’m working on entering at least one car for the big races. I don’t know which engine at the moment, and if I find the partnerships, we will continue for the full season,” he added. “We talk with Gustavo, and others, and we would like to hear from more people because competing in IMSA is very important to everyone here.”
