WeatherTech switches from Porsche to Mercedes for rest of 2022
WeatherTech Racing has decided to race a Mercedes-AMG GT3 for the remainder of the 2022 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.
The team, run by Proton Competition, ran three cars in the GTD Pro class at the opening round of the season, the Rolex 24 at Daytona – its #79 Porsche 911 GT3 R and two Mercedes-AMG GT3s.
The #15 Mercedes clinched fifth place in the hands of Austin Cindric, Dirk Muller and Patrick Assenheimer while the Porsche and the second Mercedes were ninth and tenth after encountering various issues.
In Round 2 at Sebring, Maro Engel, Jules Gounon and full-timer Cooper MacNeil finished third in the Mercedes while MacNeil, Julien Andlauer and Alessio Picariello clocked sixth in the Porsche.
Now the team has decided to run the Mercedes-AMG GT3 with Mercedes-Benz of Billings, Montana support for the remainder of the IMSA WeatherTech Championship schedule.
MacNeil and what the team’s press release describes as “a host of Mercedes-Benz factory drivers will contest the remaining eight GTD Pro races.”
Said MacNeil: “Our performance in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 at Daytona and Sebring was the motivating factor behind continuing with it for the rest of the season. We led the race at the Rolex 24 before our drivetrain issue, and then we had a strong podium finish at Sebring.
“We also have a winning history at Long Beach having won there in the Mercedes-AMG in 2017. We are going out west to see if we can repeat that win.”
WeatherTech Racing entered the final year of the GT Le Mans class – IMSA’s forerunner to GTD Pro – in 2021, using a Porsche 911 RSR, and clinched three wins, including the Twelve Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans. MacNeil and then co-drivers Matt Campbell and Mathieu Jaminet finished 3-4-5 in the championship, beaten by the two works Corvette C8.R entries.
MacNeil and Andlauer had been due to tackle the full schedule of the new GTD Pro class in 2022 using the venerable 911 GT3 R. Instead, the team’s switch means it will run the only full-season Mercedes entry in the GTD Pro class.
Related video
How Wallace went from racing star to hypercar record-holder
Albuquerque expects Acura’s Long Beach struggles to continue
BMW behind on pace, but confident of reliability for Rolex 24
Augusto Farfus admits BMW is lagging behind its GTP rivals on pace, but feels the German manufacturer has a reliable car in its arsenal for the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
How Formula E's new emergency braking system will work
Formula E has introduced an emergency braking kit for the Diriyah E-Prix as a failsafe should the rear powertrain stop working over the course of a race weekend.
Maserati MSG not yet "consistently fast" with Gen3 FE car – Mortara
Edoardo Mortara says the Maserati MSG outfit still has to understand how to be "consistently fast" with the Gen3 Formula E car following a difficult Mexico City E-Prix.
Ford: F1’s boom means it "requires consideration"
Ford’s motorsport boss says it would be remiss of the American car giant not to be considering a Formula 1 return amid the sport’s rapid growth in the United States.
Inside BMW's long-awaited prototype racing return
Much like German OEM rival Porsche, BMW's absence from sportscar racing’s top flight will be ended this weekend when a pair of M Hybrid V8 prototypes make their debut in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. A programme focused on IMSA for now will expand to the WEC and Le Mans next year, in a sign of both its ambition and pragmatism.
How Porsche and Penske are gearing up for sportscar racing's bold new era
Porsche and Penske have teamed up to tackle the world's biggest sportscar races in 2023 with the new 963 LMDh car. Autosport was on hand at the recent Daytona test to hear from key players in the partnership as it prepares for dual campaigns across the IMSA SportsCar Championship and World Endurance Championship...
The plug in and play stand-ins who got their timing just right
Nyck de Vries’s Italian GP exploits weren’t the first post-eleventh-hour call-up in motorsport history, and won’t be the last either. Here are some offbeat tales from the past
The long road to convergence for sportscar racing's new golden age
The organisers of the World Endurance Championship and IMSA SportsCar Championship worked together to devise the popular new LMDh rule set. But to turn it from an idea into reality, some serious compromises were involved - both from the prospective LMDh entrants and those with existing Le Mans Hypercar projects...
How Porsche's Le Mans legend changed the game
The 956 set the bar at the dawn of Group C 40 years ago, and that mark only rose higher through the 1980s, both in the world championship and in the US. It and its successor, the longer-wheelbase 962, are arguably the greatest sportscars of all time.
Why BMW shouldn't be overlooked on its return to prototypes
OPINION: While the focus has been on the exciting prospect of Ferrari vs Porsche at the Le Mans 24 Hours next year, BMW’s factory return to endurance racing should not be ignored. It won't be at the French classic next year as it focuses efforts on the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, but could be a dark horse in 2024 when it returns to La Sarthe with the crack WRT squad.
The British pair at the heart of Lexus's sportscar push
Have you heard the one about two British guys driving for a Japanese manufacturer in America’s top sportscar series? Time to sit down and talk with Jack Hawksworth and Ben Barnicoat about racing across the pond… and your accent being mistaken for Australian!
Why Peugeot couldn't afford to take a Le Mans gamble in 2022
Ahead of the much-anticipated arrival of its new 9X8 Hypercar, Peugeot revealed that it would not be entering this year's Le Mans 24 Hours with its incoming machinery. Although development restrictions for homologated cars are partially responsible, the French marque can draw on its own lessons from its history in sportscars
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.