By alley - Sep 14, 2016, 12:02 PM ET

IMSA: ESM evaluating 2017 options

Could the Tequila Patron ESM team be headed for a full-time return to IMSA's WeatherTech SportsCar Championship?

The Scott Sharp- and Ed Brown-owned LMP2 team moved its program from America to the international FIA World Endurance Championship in 2015, and after two educational seasons in the WEC, recent chatter suggests the team could return and focus on IMSA's Prototype class in 2017.

"We're working on our options for 2017 and nothing is done," Sharp told RACER. ESM's WEC debut was not without its challenges last year as multiple chassis changes left its crew, drivers and engineers exhausted or frustrated during its first global campaign.

A move to a Nissan V8-powered Ligier JS P2 package this year has transformed ESM's results, with four podiums from five races for its No. 31 entry, and while its first win is still waiting to be captured, the goal of promoting the Patron brand through the WEC appears to have delivered value for the Brown-led organization.

IMSA's WeatherTech Championship, and the Patron-sponsored North American Endurance Cup, has also proven to be rather valuable for the team and alcohol brand after ESM scored thrilling wins at the Rolex 24 At Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring.

The program is back on American soil this weekend for the combined IMSA/WEC Lone Star Le Mans event at Circuit of The Americas, where it will pursue its breakthrough WEC P2 win, and it's believed Sharp and Brown will continue to take meetings and evaluate their options ahead of IMSA's move to a new P2 formula in 2017.

With the upcoming manufacturer-based Daytona Prototype international formula set to debut in January at Daytona, IMSA will also welcome the new-for-2017 spec WEC P2s to its championship. ESM could use a WEC P2 in IMSA, but according to Sharp, finding a DPi manufacturer/partner would be his overwhelming preference and "adds to the complexity" of any decision that would lead the team back to IMSA on a full-time basis.

Other rumors have placed ESM campaigning a full-time entry in IMSA's GT Daytona category next year alongside a Prototype program, and whether it's in the WEC, Prototype, or GTD, one of North America's premier sports car teams could have a busy season ahead.