News from the paddocks: week 47

*** Acura is now complete with its factory driver roster. For example, Colin Braun will join Meyer Shank Racing and share the wheel with Tom Blomqvist. The American replaces Oliver Jarvis, who is prioritizing his FIA WEC season over a potential seat in the new Acura ARX-06 LMDh. Braun is no stranger to the team, having previously raced for them at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2009. This year he was IMSA LMP3 class champion with the recently closed CORE Autosport. According to Jon Bennett, the pilot’s departure to Acura also marked the end of the team.

*** TF Sport will also visit the United States in January as Tom Ferrier’s team will accompany two cars during the Rolex 24 at Daytona. For example, it is forging a partnership with Team TGM, which has proven its worth in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge. Ted Giovannis, Owen Trinkler and Hugh and Matt Plumb will drive an Aston Martin, instead of a Wright Motorsports-backed Porsche.

*** The second car that TF Sport will maintain is Racing Team Turkey’s LMP2. Salih Yoluc and Charlie Eastwood, mainly active in the European Le Mans Series, will now venture into the Florida classic. For this, they rely on Juan Manuel Correa and Philip Hanson, who respectively drove for Prema Racing and United Autosports last season in the European Le Mans Series. The latter team will also help them outsource their facilities.

***Vector Sport made its FIA WEC debut this year and will continue to grow in 2023. Gary Holland’s team has had a mixed season, with frequent changes between drivers and their best finish being a ninth place in Monza. But the necessary changes will also be made for next season, as Nico Müller has moved to Peugeot and Sebastien Bourdais already has at least two overlaps with IMSA, where he plays for the Cadillac factory team.

*** It looks like Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus will likely be back in 2023, but for a partial season. Founder Jim Glickenhaus wrote this to Dailysportscar. The flamboyant American declared that he was discussing with his current sponsors but also with new sponsors to set up a program. It remains to be seen when the verdict will fall.

*** Last week you could already read that Walkenhorst Motorsport will move from the DTM to the ADAC GT Masters. At the same time, the German team announced that it would also be present in the Asian Le Mans Series and in the NLS. A BMW M4 GT3 will be used for the first championship, while the NLS is aiming for three.

*** Another team confirmed for the Asian Le Mans Series is DKR Engineering. The Luxembourg team will debut in Dubai and Abu Dhabi with the Duqueine LMP3 and their newest addition, the Oreca LMP2. The goal is to secure a coveted ticket to the 100th anniversary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Perhaps also with the Belgian contribution in the form of Tom Van Rompuy? During the ELMS stage at Spa-Francorchamps, the Antwerp resident announced that it was possible to participate in one of the two cars. If so, we will certainly keep you informed!

*** United Autosports is also at the start in the Middle East and has also completed its line-up. Jim McGuire, Paul Di Resta and Phil Hanson will start matches there. The trio will also complete the full championship, unlike last year. Then it took until Josh Pierson was 16 to start.

*** For the rest, it looks like we at the Asian Le Mans Series get a nice grid. Last year, many teams gave up at the last minute, especially in the LMP2 category. But for now, it looks like we will see numbers there again like in 2021. Even or even better numbers are expected for the other classes.

*** As we now know, WRT will switch from Audi to BMW next season. At Audi, Baudour’s team has become a benchmark in terms of the number of cars deployed and that’s what BMW wants. For example, Vincent Vosse told Sportscar365 that there will be no less than seven or eight cars in the workshop this season. On the one hand for use in the competitions of the GT World Challenge Europe and presumably for the individual competitions such as the rounds of the Intercontinental GT Challenge and the 24H of Dubai. In the meantime, all Audis have been sold except one. They kept track of the model that won the 2019 Suzuka 10 Hours.

*** Manthey Racing will debut in Bathurst early next year. The German team will work with EMA Motorsport to field a Porsche 911 GT3-R. This is the first time that Manthey Racing has operated in Australia. Moreover, the two teams are no strangers to each other, because during the 24 Hours of Spa this year, EMA Motorsport was supported by Manthey.

*** JP Motorsport will also complete a full season in the ADAC GT Masters next year. The team, including Christian Klien, made a race appearance at the Red Bull Ring this season and will also compete with McLaren in 2023.

*** In recent years, the focus has been on women in motorsport, especially with projects such as Iron Women. Heart of Racing also jumped on the bandwagon this year and were looking for two ladies to use in their campaign in the Pirelli GT4 America. Out of more than 100 women entered, the final winners are Hannah Grisham from the United States and Rianna O’Meara-Hunt from New Zealand. They will share an Aston Martin Vantage GT4 together.

Photos: Team TGM – IMSA – European Le Mans Series – Georges de Coster – Geert Franquet – Team WRT/Michele Scudiero/Brecht Degancq – Ronald Janssens