Sports Car notebook: We cover WEC, IMSA and even a bit of IndyCar
Alpine Stocks Up For Two-Car Entry in WEC for 2024
Alpine is gearing up for its upcoming Hypercar season in a big way, announcing its two-team, three-driver lineup for 2024, featuring some prominent names that have major racing experience.
The team, which will feature the all new A424 car in 2024, will have Charles Milesi, Nico LaPierre, and Mathieu Vaxivierre in the #36, while their #35 entry will see a combo of Ferdinand Habsburg, with IMSA regular Paul-Loup Chatin and former Formula One driver Mick Schumacher (son of F1 legend Michael Schumacher).
Schumacher, who is arguably the most notable name among the group, spent the past season as a reserve driver in F1 for teams such as McLaren and Mercedes. He has not raced since 2022 with the Haas F1 Team, where he finished 16th overall, a three-spot improvement from where he finished in 2021.
The younger Schumacher had been testing Alpine's new Hypercar for the 2024 season, which brought speculation if he would be in the seat, which this confirms.
He will be joined by Chatin, who will now be doing double-duty next season, being behind the wheel full-time in IMSA with AO Racing, and will also be car mates with Habsburg, who is 26-years-old and a Le Mans class winner in LMP2, it creates a pretty formidable group for 2024.
In their sister car, the team also has prominent names as well including Milesi, Habsburg's teammate in that Le Mans class win, but many people will focus on the #35 car and who is behind the wheel given its prominence.
It is to be determined how things will play out for Alpine's updated Hypercar ventures, shifting over to this car, but there definitely is promise for the team heading into 2024.
While success may not be immediate, all the pieces are there for this team to be a contender especially late in the season with a chance to make a splash in a loaded Hypercar class.
***************************
Driver changes galore in IMSA
The IMSA off-season is heating up and seats for drivers are becoming much clearer with the season rapidly approaching.
One notable change that will be made for the 2024 season that will play a factor for teams setting their driver lineup is the driver mandate for endurance races on the schedule.
The mandate will force teams to run four to three driver tandems in the Rolex 24 and six-hour races, with three-driver mandates being placed for enduro races such as the Sebring 12-hour and Petit Le Mans 10-hour events.
While this change isn't one that is affecting changes for the 2024 season, teams are making preparations for their lineups, some of which feature some notable names and moves.
Wayne Taylor Racing Adds Herta, Hartley
The first major addition recently announced is the addition of Brendon Hartley, 2023 FIA WEC Champion in the Hypercar class with Toyota, and Colton Herta, who currently is with Andretti Autosport in IndyCar.
Herta and Hartley, who both have IMSA experience, will be competing in an endurance role with WTR, helping out the teams’ GTP efforts.
Hartley will be teaming back up with Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor in the team's established #10 Acura entry, while Herta joins the tandem of Jordan Taylor and Louis Deletraz in the new #40 entry for the team.
The big addition was Herta, being that Hartley already has a race under his belt with WRT.
Given Wayne Taylor Racing's partnership with Andretti, the team in which Herta currently is in ride with, it was not entirely a big shock but still surprising given his time last season with Rahal Letterman Lanigan's BMW GTP entry last season.
The combo of Herta, Deletraz and Jordan Taylor is quite an imposing lineup for the upcoming season, putting the #40 entry as an early season favorite already.
While most of the other teams have yet to announce their lineups for next season, by adding a stellar group to mix for next season, Wayne Taylor Racing is looking to get back to the top of the GTP mountain after a 2023 season that ended in disappointment.
Colin Braun Shifts To LMP2 CrowdStrike Racing
George Kurtz sticks around in his personal company branded, CrowdStrike Racing, teaming up with Colin Braun for the 2024 campaign.
Braun, who lost his ride after Meyer Shank Racing announced its departure from IMSA, had an unclear 2024 season ahead, having multiple options available for the next season.
Braun found great success in his first and now only season in the GTP with Meyer Shank, helping the team grab three wins in 2023, but a shift to LMP2 looked to have been one of the few available spots, one that should be a good opportunity for the veteran.
Given his past relationship with George Kurtz at Core Autosport from 2021-2022, the Texan should do quite well with Kurtz, particularly due to his history and winning a season title in 2022 with the group.
Also, having raced in the top series last year, Braun with Kurtz should make for a very competitive team and an early contender for 2024.
Hinch Hitches a Spot With Pfaff
James Hinchcliffe, who has transitioned to a television role on NBC with IndyCar and IMSA, will be back behind the wheel on a part-time basis in several endurance races for the 2024 season.
Pfaff Motorsports, who will be moving to a McLaren entry for next season, will feature "The Mayor of Hinchtown" for three races on the endurance calendar this season, including running in the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
For Hinchcliffe, who made the announcement on Twitter in a skit with his wife, the Canadian will be making his first start in IMSA since 2017 when he raced in Mazda's Prototype entry at Daytona.
Hinchcliffe’s last full IndyCar season was in 2021 with Andretti Autosport.
Although for Hinchcliffe this opportunity will be a great chance for him to grab the illustrious Rolex watch at Daytona, it is a good chance for NBC to have a driver/broadcaster combo for the weekend.
Over the years, we have seen drivers turned broadcasters who have raced and commentated on the weekend and, with NBC doing all the IMSA races on the schedule, expect Hinchcliffe to be filing during his out-of-the-seat time and giving his perspective both in and out of the race car.
**************************
Callum Illot Out at Juncos Hollinger, Grosjean Takes Over
Although it was announced a few weeks ago, it’s still notable to point out Callum Illot became the odd man out at Juncos Hollinger Racing as Roman Grosjean will take over for his spot in their #77 entry for the upcoming IndyCar season.
Grosejan, who encountered some bad luck this season with Andretti Autosport after grabbing two early season top five finishes, will now look towards working with a younger team for next season.
While the length of the deal between JHR and Grosjean is unknown, there is definitely excitement coming from the Swiss-born Frenchmen who gets to start fresh with his new team.
“I’ve been closely following JHR’s ascension in the past few seasons,” Grosjean told The Associated Press. “The team has showcased significant growth, and I am eager to contribute my experience as we aim for a strong 2024 season.”
With the addition of Grosejan came the departure of Illot.
The Great Britain native had shown improvement, finishing with three top 10 finishes in his third season with JHR. While he still has lots of promise and potential, he is now looking for other opportunities in both IndyCar and other series.
It is very possible that Illot lands a seat in IndyCar somehow, but given the limited landscape, a IndyNXT or even sports car ride isn’t all that out of the question.
There is even a possibility that Illot could slither his way into the Iron Lynx GTP Lamborghini entry, given his past rides with Iron Lynx. But with the team announcing its driver lineup for 2024 back in July, the only possible option would be a reserve role, something that Grosejan said will not be affected with this new ride at Juncos Hollinger.
“With Lamborghini, I am the 3rd or 4th driver, the one for the endurance races,” Grosejan said. “We have Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen, Le Mans 24, Indianapolis, and Petit Le Mans. All of those races are free from IndyCar and IndyCar is free from those races.
“I think I am going to do 30 race weekends next year, but I am still very passionate about and I like it. The day you don’t like it, you can always say I’m stopping, but right now I love it. It is time away from the family, it is consuming, but I’m home right now and I miss racing so I think it’s a good sign.”
Grosejan will be a busy man heading into 2024 with all his ventures and it will be interesting to see how he performs with this new challenge. But it should be interesting to see if the shift from Illot to Grosejan will be one that JHR will regret or one that the team strikes gold with for next season and potentially beyond.