PWC: EFFORT out for 2016, aims for '17 return

EFFORT Racing announced Friday that its Pirelli World Challenge racing team is suspending operations for the remainder of 2016, with "every intention to continue the program in 2017."

"The decision stems from the current supply and demand crisis in the oil industry, an industry from which EFFORT Racing receives funding to run the championship," the Chicago-based team said in a press release Friday, adding they will focus on building sponsorship to fund the program for the 2017 championship.

"It is with great disappointment that we announce a halt to our 2016 season," EFFORT owner Chuck Toups said in the release. "We want to thank our fans for their wonderful support and salute our competitors in the series as they continue their run to the Pirelli World Challenge crown. We couldn't be on the sharp end of the grid without our all-star crew, and the excellent support provided by Porsche. We've already started the development of our 2017 program to reclaim the top spot in the championship."

Drivers Michael Lewis and Patrick Long currently sit fourth and fifth in the GT Driver Championship, and the team is third in the GT Team Championship. Long won the opening round at Circuit of The Americas, and earned a podium finish at the Long Beach Grand Prix. The crew made headlines after COTA with a 200 man-hour effort to repair Long's heavily damaged Porsche 911 GT3 R in between Round 2 and 3 of the championship.

At the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Lewis, currently in Porsche Motorsport's Young Driver Development Program, earned back-to-back wins, his career-first GT wins.

Long is set to compete in this weekend's Spa round of the World Endurance Championship, qualifying 31st overall and third in the GTE Am class for Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing with fellow drivers Khaled Al Qubaisi and David Heinemeier Hansson.

EFFORT Racing will continue its relationship with Porsche as the team continues to have conversations about a sponsorship program. In the release, the organization said potential sponsorship opportunities were possible but none could come to fruition for for Rounds 8 and 9 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park later this month.

"This is a huge disappointment for the whole team," team manager Erin Gahagan said. "The crew worked so hard to earn the first win of the season, and then they again showed how strong they are when they worked around the clock to get Patrick's car back together for him to put on an incredibly impressive performance at St. Petersburg. They're every bit of deserving for this year's championship and it's heartbreaking to have to walk away from this fight. But with the dedication of the crew and the support Porsche has provided EFFORT Racing, we will continue to work hard and build a stronger team for the 2017 championship."