ELKHART LAKE, Wis. — The No. 11 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports LMP2 entry will feature a driver change for the last round of the sprint events at this weekend’s IMSA Fastlane Sportscar Weekend at Road America. Steven Thomas will co-drive the No. 11 Oreca 07 LMP2 with driver Tristan Nunez, who will fill in for Jonathan Bomarito.
“I would like to welcome Tristan to our team and thank Jonathan for the many contributions he has made to this team’s racing success over many years”, said Team principal Ray Mathiasen.
“Tristan is one of my best friends and I truly believe in his talent”, said Jonathan Bomarito. “He deserves to be in a top-ride and already has a great relationship with Steven. So, I felt the timing was right to step away from racing to get Tristan back in the car as soon as possible!”
“I’m extremely excited to join PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports.” said driver Tristan Nunez. “I’m thankful for Ray, Bobby and Jonathan’s collaborative efforts to bring me on board. I have a very close relationship with Steven from last year and I’m excited to work with him again.”
Located on 640 acres of pastoral woodland in Wisconsin’s Kettle Moraine region near the town of Elkhart Lake, Road America, also known as “America’s National Park of Speed”, is acknowledged by racers and fans as one of the finest road racing venues in the world.
Road America offers plenty of room for intense competition, with long high-speed straights coupled with challenging sets of corners, kinks and uphill climbs. “Road America is both challenging and beautiful, it’s a circuit I look forward to coming back to every year.”, said Nunez.
Since the last race at Watkins Glen, the team has been working on both their No. 11 and No. 52, as well as had a few tests, including a recent test at Road America, where Nunez was able to test with his new teammate, Steven Thomas.
“We have worked hard to perfect our driving, our car and our racing,” said Steven Thomas. “Gracious of JB to give Tristan this opportunity and I am excited to drive with Tristan again. We are coming to win!.”
“This event is always one of our team’s favorite races,” said Team Principal, Bobby Oergel. “Road America is such a special place and it always makes for great races in all the classes. Although Tristan isn’t actually new to our team as he did an open wheel race with us a few years ago, I’d like to welcome him into the program. Both Steven and Tristan did a great job at our recent test. We’re really looking forward to this one.”
Track action begins Friday August 5th, with two practice sessions at 12:05 p.m. EDT. and 4:15 p.m. EDT. Qualifying for LMP2 will be held Saturday August 6th at 11:50 a.m. EDT.
Race day will begin with a 20-minutes warm-up on Sunday, August 7th, at 10:05 a.m. EDT. The IMSA Fastlane Sportscar Weekend race will go green at 11:40 a.m. EDT.