IMSA Championships Intensify at Road America for AERO™ Advanced Paint Technology

Saturday, August 6, 2016

With just three rounds of IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition still yet to run before determining the 2016 class of champions, the intensity is going up a notch each weekend.

And there is hardly a more compelling place to race than Road America,  the flat out fast 4-mile circuit nestled in the Wisconsin countryside. This weekend will see both the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship as well as the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge runners take on Road America. 

Leading the charge in IMSA WeatherTech could be the incredible Honda-powered Ligier of Michael Shank Racing, as the team hopes to not only add to its podium tally at Road America, but also go one better than its 2014 runner-up result.

 “I think we’re better than we were last year,” said team owner Mike Shank. “So I’m anxious to see where we sit. We have a whole year with the Honda-Ligier under our belts now, but the rules are a little different from last year, so it’s hard to say where we’ll ultimately be. But typically we run pretty well at Road America, so we have high hopes of a good finish.”

The GTLM class, which features the full-bore factory performance of Porsche, Ferrari, Corvette, Ford, and BMW, sees the RLL Racing squad putting the AERO™ Advantage to work with a two car entry once again. The No. 100 BMW M6 GLM will be shared by John Edwards and Lucas Luhr, while the No. 25 BMW M6 GLM will be driven by Bill Auberlen and Dirk Werner as BMW looks for a breakthrough result with the new machine. 

The Prototype and GTLM classes likely won’t be the only fiercely fought battle, as the 17-car GTD class field will once again see the Porsches, Lamborghinis, and Audis giving chase to the championship-leading No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3 of drivers Alessandro Balzan and Christina Nielsen. The Scuderia Corsa machine utilizes AERO™ Advanced Paint Technology to deliver an incredible rossa for the all-new turbocharged GT3 variant.

The duo broke out with a big start to the season to establish a large championship lead but suffered a championship-points lead slimming day at Lime Rock Park to see their margin fall to 13 points. 

“It will be a challenge with the top speed, but we will push to the maximum this weekend at Road America,” said Balzan. “To drive a Ferrari at this historic track is a wonderful experience, and I am looking forward to return in Elkhart Lake to drive the new Ferrari 488 GT3 on the many fast corners where it is really great to rely on the grip and car’s handling. We’ll need to use all of its capabilities to get the maximum result and keep pushing for the Championship points.  The competition wants to win the championship as much as we do so every point is important.”

Also joining the AERO™ Advanced Paint Technology roster recently is the Alex Job Racing No. 22 Team Seattle / Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 of drivers Alex Riberas and Mario Farnbacher. The duo will target a return to victory lane, having taken a convincing victory at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca earlier this season. 

Road America’s one hundred and sixty-minute race will be broadcast live on Sunday, August 7 at 4:00 PM ET on FOX Sports1. Qualifying will be streamed live on Saturday, August 6 at 3:45 PM ET on IMSA.tv.