IMSA: PR1/Mathiasen leaving for Prototype in '17

After a few starts and stops, California's PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports has committed to making the move to IMSA's Prototype category in 2017. The perennial ALMS and WeatherTech SportsCar Championship PC contenders have been close to parking its ORECA FLM09-Chevrolet in favor of an LMP2 car on more than one occasion, and with IMSA about to embark on a new P2-based formula in 2017, PR1 owner Bobby Oergel says it's time to take a bold step forward.

"It's happening; there's no going back right now," he told RACER. "The final stuff is getting worked out right now on the car we'll use, and in the driver department, but as a team, we've made the decision to go forward with or without either one of them. We're tired of people kicking the tires, so we're going one way or the other on our own."

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PR1/Mathiasen came close to leaving PC during the offseason, and was in the running to enter Prototype using the HPD ARX-04b P2 chassis, but when those talks broke down, the team returned to PC with Robert Alon and Tom Kimber-Smith.

"The ARX deal was set but there were some details that killed that off," Oergel said. "But the plan was always to come to Prototype once the new rules were established and we'll have a number of years to look forward to with the new P2 cars with the way the regulations are written."

Oergel also says the timing of the move to Prototype was made easier by IMSA's decision to delete the Pro-Am PC class after 2017 and move forward without a replacement in the WeatherTech Championship.

"The disappointment of there not being a Pro-Am championship for prototype cars in WeatherTech is significant," he added. "For the cubic dollars it costs to compete in Prototype, it's more than PC, but you get more for the money. In all fairness, I don't see the rationale of not having a Pro-Am class there, and honestly, if you don't want to run [in the Pro-Am] GT Daytona class, Prototype is the cheapest option to go with."

The PR1/Mathiasen Prototype entry will be of the spec WEC P2 variety using a Gibson V8 engine. Although Oergel has yet to choose one of the four official P2 chassis suppliers, he expects to be on track within the next two months.

"The timing really depended on which manufacturer we decide on," he said. "There's one where we could test in the next two weeks, and the rest are a little ways out, but realistically, we're looking at early November."