Beginning another IMSA chapter in the life of Riley

North American sports car racing wouldn’t be the same if it didn’t have the Riley family’s involvement in it.

Bill Riley is still fielding a car in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, but 2026 marks the start of another re-invention for Riley Motorsports. After the closure of the Lamborghini SC63 LMDh program following a year of Riley’s support, and Gar Robinson’s retirement from circuit racing leading to an exit from the LMP2 category, the family team is back in IMSA’s ultra-competitive GTD class, with new backing and a new – but not unfamiliar – manufacturer partnership.

Riley linked up with Ross Myers, one of the owners of Pennsylvania’s renowned 3 Dog Garage vintage automotive museum, and reunited with Ford to enter the No. 16 Myers Riley Motorsports Ford Mustang GT3 Evo this year.

“We always had a nice relationship with Ross Myers and Chris Liebenberg at 3 Dog Garage,” Riley says. “When you look at their collection of vehicles, they have a huge collection of Ford vehicles – and a lot of Ford race vehicles my father (Bob) and myself were involved with. And, you know, it kind of dawned on me like, ‘Man, it’d be great if Ross and Chris could start creating their own history.’ So when an opportunity came, I reached out to Chris and Ross – and Ross liked the idea.”

Riley’s new Mustang GT3 was unveiled at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan in October. There, and at the November IMSA Sanctioned Test at Daytona, the car wore colors reminiscent of the Motorcraft-sponsored Roush/Protofab Ford Mustang GTO of 1985.

Fast forward over two months and now the car wears red and black, paying homage to Bud Moore Engineering’s successful 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 302 from the Trans-Am Series – and exhibiting another connection to the legendary Bob Riley.

“My father did a lot of work with Bud Moore during his career, and always liked working with Bud Moore, so it’s kind of nice to be able to do that,” Riley says. Asked if other 3 Dog Garage exhibits may serve as inspiration for other liveries, he adds, “It has not come up yet. I think right now, we’re pretty happy with the Bud Moore livery.”

The No. 16 Myers Riley Motorsports Ford Mustang GT3 Evo features a diversified line-up. Jake Galstad/Lumen via Getty Images

By November, drivers began to come together for the project. At Daytona, former Lamborghini SC63 driver Romain Grosjean will be the main attraction everyone wants to see. But Sheena Monk will share full-season driving duties with Brazilian veteran Felipe Fraga, and Ford Racing Driver Development Team member Jenson Altzman will run the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup races for the first time after a sprint-only slate with fellow Ford customer, Gradient Racing.

“It’s great to have Felipe,” Riley says of his pro driver, who comes over from the previous efforts with Robinson in LMP2 and LMP3. “Obviously, he’s extremely fast, and he’s such a pleasure to work with – so it works out pretty well.

“Jenson’s help on the sim and getting everybody up to speed on the sim at Ford, that really helps out a lot. So he’s able to contribute quite a bit right off the bat to making this a stronger program.”

And then there’s Monk, introduced to Riley by Kellymoss’ Andy Kilcoyne. A former Ford Mustang GT4 driver during her days in the Michelin Pilot Challenge, Monk’s addition is significant, and not just because she’s one of two women in the Rolex 24 field (and currently the only one running full-time).

As a Bronze driver, one of the few running in the nominally Pro/Am GTD class (where each team must have at least one Silver or Bronze-rated driver), Monk is eligible for the Bob Akin Award, which presents the winning driver with an invitation to the 2027 24 Hours of Le Mans.

That was something very enticing to Riley, whose team hasn’t raced at Le Mans in any capacity – constructor or entrant – since 2022. “It’s always my goal to get back to Le Mans,” Riley says. “So it definitely was a big part. I think a lot of us here all want to get back.”

Along with the homage to Bud Moore’s Boss 302, the No. 16 Myers Riley Mustang GT3 Evo also sports stylized number decals paying tribute to NASCAR legend Greg Biffle. During testing at the Roar Before The 24, the red and black Ford looked quick, particularly in the hands of Fraga and Grosjean.

Beyond the goal of winning the Akin Award and securing a return to Le Mans through Monk, Riley expressed another goal for the team in its first year back with Ford: “A Daytona win would be a pretty good one.”