As we’ve got our own Silly Season still
Ah-Simmerin’ away…
On the eve of this year’s Salem Six Hours at The
Glen IMSA endurance race. Pipo Derani, Action Express Racing’s (AXR) lead
driver mutually announced His impending departure from AXR at season’s end.
Becoming the first confirmed driver switching rides for 2025. Being just the
latest piece in this ever intriguing puzzle…
Wayback on May 2nd, Racer’s Marshall Pruett
wrote about IMSA’s 2025 Silly Season. Most notably divulging that Chip Ganassi
Racing (CGR) would not be retaining its factory Cadillac program next year.
Along with the surprising news that Meyer shank
Racing (MSR) would be returning to IMSA GTP competition after a year’s hiatus
once again with a Werks’ Acura entry, with former MSR IndyCar driver tom
blomqvist as its lead driver…
I actually first heard all of this scuttlebutt
on one of the random The Week in
sportscars Marshall Pruett and Graham Goodwin podcasts prior to May 2nd.
As Marshall notes in the article how the bulk
of this news became fairly accepted Wayback in April, over the Long Beach race
weekend. With the other known piece of the puzzle being that Wayne Taylor
Racing with Andretti (WTRA) would be taking over the Cadillac Racing program,
tying in with Mikey A’s attempts to land a Formula 1 entry with Cadillac Power
Units…
Where things get murky for Mwah is I’d
Arse-sume that Wayne Taylor & Michael Andretti or WTR Andretti won’t be
shrinking back down to a single car entry next year. Since AXR and Cadillac
have said nothing about their leaving IMSA GTP next year, and presumably will
continue as a single car entry for 2025; meaning there should be three Caddy’s
racing next season Stateside.
Ironically, Blomqvist is running All of the
Michelin Endurance Cup (MEC) as the #31 Whelen Engineering Racing’s Cadillac
entry.
Yet where I get even more Cornfuzed’ is I doubt
that MSR will be running a two car Acura ARX-06 program next year, Righto?
Making me wonder where the second Acura GTP chassis winds up?
I suppose it’s also worth noting that the FIA
announced during Le Mans that beginning next year, all FIA World Endurance
Championship (WEC) Hypercar teams will be mandated to running a two car
operation. Which Lamborghini has confirmed their WEC participation next year,
but don’t know publicly what effect this will have upon their IMSA GTP efforts.
As Lamborghini is running a single SC63 in all of the endurance rounds (MEC)
this year.
Since even though the Lamborghini SC63 program
is run by Iron Lynx, I’ve read or heard somewhere that Prema Racing is also
involved in this project. With Prema set to enter IndyCar next year with a two
car Chevrolet entry.
This leaves us with at least 50% of the IndyCar
teams also racing in IMSA GTP, i.e.; Porsche Penske Motorsport and BMW M Team RLL,
(Rahal Letterman Lanigan) along with the forementioned WTR Andretti, MSR and
Prema entries.
Making me ponder that Wayne Taylor &
Michael Andretti could potentially be running a four car Cadillac program next
season, with two entries apiece in IMSA and WED? And could Mikey A’s new
Silverstone base double as it’s WEC operation’s base?
Leaving us just wondering if Cheep’ (Ganassi)
will manage to find a new Sports Car project for 2025? Or will they take a
year’s break before beginning a new program?
And what about McLaren potentially finally
joining the Hypercar ranks in 2027? Since I read Zak Brown saying this would
most likely be the earliest for them to debut presumably an (Le Mans Daytona
Hybrid) LMDH-spec chassis, now that the FIA and the ACO have extended the
current Hypercar regulations until the end of 2029. With Zak noting Mclaren
would only be interested in a two car WEC Factory programme…
Naturally, after I’d finished this story, on
June 27th, it was made official that MSR will take over the Acura GTP program
next year with a two car operation, which I didn’t see that coming.
Reportedly MSR will team with HRC US, who’s
engineers will run the second Acura ARX-06 entry. With no word on driver
line-ups. Other than Blomqvist is expected to be reunited with colin Brown,
with the others to be named later.
This just leaves WTR Andretti and Cadillac to confirm their part of the Dealio’, which now seems overly obvious…
