RS1 (Rennsport One) has announced that ex-KoHR Motorsports driver Luca Mars and Porsche veteran Jan Heylen will drive the team’s #28 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport in the 2025 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge.
Last year, Trent Hindman and Stevan McAleer drove the #28 Porsche to consecutive victories at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (formerly Mosport) and Road America, two more podiums and three pole positions, as they finished second in the Grand Sport class standings behind Team TGM’s Matt Plumb.
“Last year, the team came agonizingly close to achieving our championship goals, finishing second in the overall standings. This year, our focus is on building consistency and taking that final step to claim the title,” the team wrote in its statement. “Reflecting on the offseason, we are confident in the team’s potential and are eager to see Luca and Jan behind the wheel of our #28 GT4 RS Clubsport.”
Mars, 18, made history last year at Daytona International Speedway when he gave the new Ford Mustang GT4 (S650) its first competition victory on its debut at the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge opening round. He won the VP Challenge GS title with six race victories, and added a Michelin Pilot Challenge podium alongside co-driver Bob Michaelian. He also drove in GT World Challenge America for Racers Edge Motorsports, his first full season of GT3 racing.
“I’m super excited to return to the Michelin Pilot Challenge this year, joining a dominant team like RS1 and teaming up with such an accomplished driver as Jan Heylen. I can’t wait to get behind the wheel of the Porsche Cayman, chase race wins, and fight for a championship.”
Heylen previously drove for RS1 in Michelin Pilot Challenge and SRO GT4 America from 2018–2020, then went on to win the Michelin Pilot Challenge GS title and the GT World Challenge America Pro-Am championship in 2021 with Wright Motorsports.
“I’m excited to be back with RS1 and Porsche for the 2025 season,” said the Belgian. “RS1 has an incredible track record in GT4 with the Porsche Cayman, and their program is always top-notch. After narrowly missing the championship in 2024, the team is even more motivated for 2025. I’m looking forward to working with Luca, who has immense talent, and sharing the #28 with him as we push for the championship together.”
Offsetting Luca Mars’ departure from KoHR Motorsports, former Ford Chip Ganassi GT driver Billy Johnson Jnr has joined KoHR for the 2025 Michelin Pilot Challenge season, part of an expanded effort with two Ford Mustang GT4s.
Johnson, a former Ford Performance factory driver and the 2016 Michelin Pilot Challenge GS Champion, will drive alongside Bob Michaelian. The second entry will feature driver/Race Programme Manager Dean Martin alongside Ford Mustang Challenge graduate Christian Bach, who scored two top-ten finishes in the Mustang Challenge finale at Indianapolis.
This marks Johnson’s return to full-time competition after some turbulent times on and off the track. A former partner filed charges of domestic assault against Johnson in April 2023, which the 38-year-old driver denied. His case was later adjourned in contemplation of dismissal that September, and in October 2024 the charges against him were formally dismissed.
But that same month, Johnson was involved in a life-threatening road accident near Watkins Glen where he sustained a fractured skull. Six weeks later after multiple surgeries, Johnson had returned to his role as a driving coach for Team ACP-Tangerine BMW, and scored a victory in a World Racing League (WRL) event at COTA, behind the wheel of their BMW M4 GT4.
