Editor-in-Chief's Note: INDYCAR officials have announced that the 2021 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is being rescheduled for Sunday, April 25, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The move creates a condensed, action-packed early-season schedule for 2021. “It’s not surprising that an event of this magnitude, scheduled for the first week of March, is still subject to the implications of the pandemic,” Penske Entertainment Corp. President and CEO Mark Miles said. “We’re delighted we were able to work with Mayor Rick Kriseman’s administration and Green Savoree Racing Promotions to find a more suitable date, which helps consolidate the beginning of our schedule and allows us to stay on NBC network television.” Due to the move, Barber Motorsports Park becomes the host of the season opener as the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama will raise the curtain on the 2021 season. -PMD
(IMSA)
Porsche will remain part of the GTLM class for the 2021 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. WeatherTech Racing and Proton Competition will campaign a Porsche 911 RSR for the entire 2021 season. The No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Porsche will debut in the class in the season opener, the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Drivers for the 24-hour race at Daytona International Speedway’s road course will be Cooper MacNeil – the team’s full-season driver – along with Porsche works drivers Richard Lietz, Kevin Estre and Gianmaria Bruni. "We have put a lot of thought into this move," MacNeil said. "I have raced against this level of competition at Le Mans twice, most recently this year, and have felt comfortable with the added performance of the car. We are going back to running a Porsche, and I am looking forward to getting behind the wheel of the 911 RSR. It will be more pressure on me as a driver, but I am welcoming the added effort it is going to take to run GTLM in 2021." WeatherTech Racing has been part of the IMSA scene since 2012, capturing American Le Mans Series GTC championships in 2012 and 2013. It most recently competed in the GT Daytona (GTD) class of the WeatherTech Championship, with a win at the Motul Petit Le Mans last October. Proton Competition makes the move to the WeatherTech Championship following successful competition in the FIA World Endurance Championship and the European Le Mans Series. The agreement also will see the team apply for entry in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the GTE Pro class. The Porsche GT Team closed its GTLM operations following the 2020 WeatherTech Championship season, concluding a highly competitive seven-year run that saw the team claim victory in its debut at the 2014 Rolex 24, collect a pair of season titles (2015, 2019) and win its final three races of 2020. Estre and Bruni each held part-time driving roles for the team between 2016 and 2018. WeatherTech Championship action begins with the Roar Before the Rolex 24 from Jan. 22-24, providing teams and drivers the chance to test on the 3.56-mile road course and compete in the Motul Pole Award 100, the qualifying race that will set the Rolex 24 starting grid. Race week for the Rolex 24 runs Jan. 27-31, with the 24-hour race set to start at 3:40 p.m. ET Saturday, Jan. 30.
Porsche will remain part of the GTLM class for the 2021 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. WeatherTech Racing and Proton Competition will campaign a Porsche 911 RSR for the entire 2021 season. The No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Porsche will debut in the class in the season opener, the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Drivers for the 24-hour race at Daytona International Speedway’s road course will be Cooper MacNeil – the team’s full-season driver – along with Porsche works drivers Richard Lietz, Kevin Estre and Gianmaria Bruni. "We have put a lot of thought into this move," MacNeil said. "I have raced against this level of competition at Le Mans twice, most recently this year, and have felt comfortable with the added performance of the car. We are going back to running a Porsche, and I am looking forward to getting behind the wheel of the 911 RSR. It will be more pressure on me as a driver, but I am welcoming the added effort it is going to take to run GTLM in 2021." WeatherTech Racing has been part of the IMSA scene since 2012, capturing American Le Mans Series GTC championships in 2012 and 2013. It most recently competed in the GT Daytona (GTD) class of the WeatherTech Championship, with a win at the Motul Petit Le Mans last October. Proton Competition makes the move to the WeatherTech Championship following successful competition in the FIA World Endurance Championship and the European Le Mans Series. The agreement also will see the team apply for entry in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the GTE Pro class. The Porsche GT Team closed its GTLM operations following the 2020 WeatherTech Championship season, concluding a highly competitive seven-year run that saw the team claim victory in its debut at the 2014 Rolex 24, collect a pair of season titles (2015, 2019) and win its final three races of 2020. Estre and Bruni each held part-time driving roles for the team between 2016 and 2018. WeatherTech Championship action begins with the Roar Before the Rolex 24 from Jan. 22-24, providing teams and drivers the chance to test on the 3.56-mile road course and compete in the Motul Pole Award 100, the qualifying race that will set the Rolex 24 starting grid. Race week for the Rolex 24 runs Jan. 27-31, with the 24-hour race set to start at 3:40 p.m. ET Saturday, Jan. 30.