Solid reviews for IMSA LMP3 debut

There was a positive buzz in the paddock this weekend with the impressive competition debut of the LMP3 Prototype.

The new lead class of the IMSA Prototype Challenge Presented by Mazda had a solid 13 entries, supplied by four different manufacturers. Ligier filled the bulk of the grid with 10 JS P3s, while Norma, Ave Riley and Ginetta were each represented by single cars.

"I think it would have been hard for us to have expected a better debut," said IMSA President Scott Atherton. "All of the feedback we have received from competitors has been positive. The cars performed well, the tires performed well, and the relative competition within the two different types of vehicles was as we hoped it would be. I think it sets the stage for an even brighter future. If anyone was a nay-sayer or a doubter, I think all that has to be put to rest with the debut we had."

Ligier's Nico Jamin (above) won both races for ANSA Motorsports. Ligiers took the top seven positions in the Thursday opener, but Colin Thompson finished a solid second on Friday morning driving a Norma M30 in a race that ended under caution.

"The M30 came out of the box this weekend," Thompson. "This is the only car of its type in the world – we are the R&D department for Norma with no spares and no history on the car. We were expecting to really struggle for the first couple of races. For us to come out on the podium in our first weekend is absolutely unbelievable. This car is good – and it's going to take this championship by storm.

"It was a risk for the team to go with an unproven car," Thompson continued. "It's also risky to do so, especially as a young, developing driver, but we made it happen. It's only upwards from here."

Onroak, constructor of the Ligier JS P3, came away impressed with the weekend.

"From the Onroak side and Ligier, we're very, very happy with the opening race," said Ethan Bregman, Onroak North American market manager. "Obviously, from the competition standpoint, getting the pole and winning both races was great, but more importantly, from the series standpoint, it was fantastic having 13 cars already in this new class and a full field of 25 cars. There was great racing up and down the field, and all of the drivers – no matter where they were in the field – were excited."

Bregman feels the LMP3 concept will continue to grow.

"We sold two more cars this weekend, and I don't think it's unrealistic to see 20 LMP3 cars by the end of the year," he said.

In addition to fielding a pair of the older Elan DP02s that now make up the 12-car Mazda Prototype Challenge class, Performance Tech Motorsports brought a Ligier JS P3 for Andres Gutierrez (who finished second on Thursday and third on Friday), in addition to the lone Ginetta LMP3 driven by Alan Wilzig to 10th on Thursday and 12th on Friday.

"I think today was a glimpse at the future with these new cars," said Performance Tech Motorsports owner Brent O'Neill, coming off a PC class win in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. "It's a good platform for the kids, and I think it's a big step forward for everybody. We're all still learning the cars. Andres did an awesome job this weekend. There are a lot of fast kids in this class – we'll have to see if some of the masters drivers are overwhelmed with this."

Trans-Am veteran Paul Fix drove the lone Ave-Riley AR2, placing eighth on Thursday and 10th on Friday in the lone American-built car in the class.

BAR1 Motorsports car owner Brian Alder got an up-close look at the LMP3 cars from the cockpit of the No. 22 Elan DP02 he drove to a second-place finish in the MPC class on Friday.

"The new cars have great straight-line speed, but we're a little quicker through the corners in the older cars, and that makes it interesting," said Alder, who also has a pair of entries in the WeatherTech Championship PC class. "I think the new car is going to bring about a rebirth of this class, I bet you'll see a lot interest in these cars throughout the year. We're interested in the new cars – we'll see what the future holds."

An additional manufacturer – ADESS AG – has a car that has been homologated for the class.

Fielding a one-of-a-kind car does have its drawbacks, as it took a bit of ingenuity by Kelly-Moss Road and Race to get its Norma to the grid on Friday. Car chief David Janquart explained that the car had a "small part failure" in Thursday's race.

"It was nothing really big," Janquart said. "But it became a bigger problem because we didn't have a spare part."

The team went to a nearby machine shop to fabricate a new part. It arrived 50 minutes before the green flag, with the car reaching the grid only four minutes before it closed. Thompson took it from there with a second-place finish.

"Normally, when you have this kind of problem, you just bolt a new one on," Janquart said. "But without any spares, today we had to make do with what we had."