DEERFIELD, Fla. – Following a challenging first-half of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season, Starworks Motorsports has opted to withdraw its No. 8 Audi R8 LMS from the upcoming events at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and Lime Rock Park.
“It has been our goal all along to run the full season, but common sense tells us that we have an issue that is beyond our control here,” said Starworks Motorsport team owner Peter Baron. “Our sponsors expect us to deliver results. We need to be in the fight for the podium. We simply don’t have the speed in the car to do that at this point. Further, these events are back-to-back and are not key markets for our sponsors.”
At last week’s Six Hours of the Glen, the top speed of the No. 8 Audi R8 LMS clocked in well below the competitive average of the field and distant from the GTD class leaders.
By running an alternative strategy, the No. 8 Audi R8 LMS was able to lead 30 minutes of the race, but was quickly chased down by the eventual race winners.
It will be quite painful to miss these events. No racer wants to watch from the sidelines,” said Baron. “But it simply doesn’t make sense for us to burn budget money racing when we are not competitive. Our sponsors are committed to winning and the package that we are showing up with cannot deliver that. We will sit the next two races out and work on things within our control to deliver the best possible package for the next event.”
Starworks expects to return to competition at Road America on August 4.
“We have work to do for the next few weeks,” concluded Baron. “Our drivers are doing an amazing job. It’s the responsibility of the team and the manufacturer to provide them with a competitive car, so that will be our focus. Assuming we get this sorted, we will back in action at Road America. I never like these types of decisions. We just want to race and win. But 2020 is around the corner and we need to work hard now to ensure that we have the right package for the remainder of the year and into the 2020 season.”