Reigning IMSA LMP2 champions PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports will defend their title with an expanded two-car effort in 2022.
The #52 ORECA 07-Gibson will feature a rotating cast of drivers throughout the season, with Ben Keating, Mikkel Jensen and Scott Huffaker contesting only the four Michelin Endurance Cup rounds. The trio will be joined at Daytona by Nicolas Lapierre.
Keating previously told MotorsportWeek.com that he was going to scale back his IMSA programme following an intense 2021 campaign. His return to the Fresno-based squad does mean that the Texan will once again be pulling double duty at the Rolex 24 at Daytona next month, as he has also signed on as the fourth driver in JDC-Miller Motorsports’ Cadillac DPi crew.
“What do you do after you win a Championship? You do it again! I am so excited about this team going into 2022,” Keating said. “We had such a great ‘mojo’ as we worked through the season, and we should only be better going into 2022. Now, we all have experience in this car on these tracks. We should be able to hit the ground running.
“There are a lot of changes in LMP2 for 2022. There are more competitors. There are team changes. There are driver line-up changes. I think the field looks really tough and really competitive.”
“However, I believe it is all the small details that make up a successful effort, and I believe the fact that we are all sticking together for 2022 gives us an advantage in the details of running this program. I am ready to go racing!”
With Keating not contesting the Sprint rounds and Jensen also committed to the Peugeot Hypercar programme in 2022, it means that the team will field a different line-up in the #52 car during the shorter races.
That driver crew, much like the line-up for its new #11 ORECA, remain yet to be announced.
“It’s been a longtime coming for our small and tight nit team to become a two car program, the last couple of seasons have been great with multiple championships and great programs within them,” added team principal Bobby Oergel.
“The opportunity to now grow and add the #11 car into our program is very unique and exciting for us in these trying times around the world.”
