Road America Thursday Notebook

Key Points:

• A total of 54 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship entries arrived at Road America for the Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix, marking the first IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup round at the Wisconsin circuit, featuring Porsche Penske Motorsport’s heritage liveries honoring historic Porsche race cars.
• Porsche Penske driver Kevin Estre will make his prototype debut at Road America in the No. 6 car, paying tribute to the 1973 Can-Am winning Sunoco Porsche 917/30, while several driver changes were confirmed, including Joey Hand’s return after injury and Robert Wickens’ GTD class Endurance Cup debut.
• The six-hour endurance race is the longest IMSA-sanctioned event at Road America since 2002, with the entry list nearly at the track’s maximum capacity of 55 cars, prompting an extended pit lane to accommodate the field.
• Pfaff Motorsports is running a new Brembo brake package on its Lamborghini Temerario GT3 for the first time this weekend, while several drivers and teams, including LMP2 points leader CrowdStrike by APR and Ford Racing’s Ben Barker, come into the event with recent wins and strong momentum.
• Off-track activities include the IMSA Elkhart Lake Welcome Party benefiting local charities, and Friday’s schedule features a 90-minute WeatherTech Championship practice session, along with qualifying and races for Michelin Pilot Challenge, Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America, and Porsche Carrera Cup North America.