FRESNO, Calif. – PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports will expand to two LMP2 full-time entries for next year’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
The No. 52 lineup of Ben Keating, Mikkel Jensen and Scott Huffaker will return to defend their Michelin Endurance Cup championship, along with two additional drivers to be named at a later date that will take over the wheel of the No. 52 for sprint races.
“This is a first for PR1/Mathiasen trying to compete with a second car,” team principal Ray Mathiasen said. “The No. 52 car will compete at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona with the identical group of drivers that we used at this race last year and that were members of our very successful 2021 LMP2 championship. Mikkel, Scott, Ben and Nico had a difficult 24 hours last year but I anticipate that they will be running at or near the top in 2022.
“They should be one of our toughest competitors for the No. 11 car. It’s going to be very interesting to see the two cars competing against each other and the other cars as well in a very competitive field. Bobby will have his hands full trying to coordinate all this.”
“What do you do after you win a championship? You do it again,” Keating said. “I am so excited about this team going into 2022. We had such a great ‘mojo’ as we worked through the season, and we should only be better going into 2022. Now, we all have experience in this car on these tracks. We should be able to hit the ground running.”
The lineup for the team’s new No. 11 entry will also be announced at a late date.
The No. 52 trio will return for the endurance races, competing in the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring Presented By Advance Auto Parts, the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen and Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.Â
“It’s great to be back with PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports for another season of IMSA Endurance,” Jensen said. “It’s four iconic races that are all highlights in any driver’s race calendar, and I’m happy to be able to do it all again with the same team and lineup. We have already achieved a lot last year and hope we can add more victories to the resume.”
The team and defending LMP2 championship car, the No. 52 Oreca 07 LMP2, will continue with its livery design showcasing the colors of the team main sponsors, Wynn’s, Rain-X, 4 Horsemen, Max Connect and Client Command.
“Extremely excited to continue racing with PR1 Motorsports in the 2022 NAEC championship,” Huffaker said. “Winning with them this season was exciting and [I] hope to continue with the same success. There will be tough competition, which is exciting to see how we will compare in Daytona.”
Keating, Jensen and Huffaker will be joined by frenchman driver Nicolas LaPierre for the 60th Anniversary Rolex 24 At Daytona and the Roar Before the 24.
“I’m very happy and excited to come back with PR1, we have unfinished business,” LaPierre said. “Now I know the team and my teammates better. The competition this year is tougher. Last year we had a very competitive package, and I’m sure this year will be the same! I’m very excited about the number of cars in this event, it will be great. I’m really looking forward to January.”
With a whopping 60-car grid entry, the upcoming Rolex 24 at Daytona will be the race’s largest starting field since 2014.
The Roar has scheduled WeatherTech Championship test sessions at 11:15 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. ET Friday, Jan. 21, as well as sessions 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 22.
Live timing and scoring will be available for each session on IMSA.com.
Motul Pole Award 100 qualifying starts at 4:15 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 22 and streams live on IMSA.com.
Following a 10 a.m. warmup on Sunday, Jan. 23, the Motul Pole Award 100 wraps up the weekend starting at 2:05 p.m. that afternoon.