Extreme Speed will still contest NAEC enduros despite 2015 WEC move
Extreme Speed Motorsports has committed to contesting all four North American Endurance Cup events around its debut full-season campaign in the World Endurance Championship
The US LMP2 team has pledged to compete in the Tudor United SportsCar Championship's NAEC component, with which it shares sponsorship with the Tequila Patron drinks brand, even though two of the races are close in the calendar to WEC rounds.
The Watkins Glen 6 Hours on June 28 falls just two weeks after the Le Mans 24 Hours, while Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta is just one week before the Fuji WEC round in October.
Team boss Scott Sharp, whose squad has filed entries for two new HPD-Honda ARX-04b coupes in both series, told AUTOSPORT: "I think Watkins Glen is achievable - we will just have to be very organised on the turnaround of components.
"Doing both Petit and Fuji will be tight and it could involve the use of a third chassis: we've got to figure out how to do it and there are different ways to skin the cat."
Sharp did not rule out bringing out one of more of its existing open-top ARX-03bs to cover the effective clash between Petit and Fuji.
He also stated that ESM's championship position in the respective series could have an influence on how it deals with the issue.
ESM has yet to announce drivers for its NAEC programme, which will start at the Daytona 24 Hours at the end of January.
Asked if the core ESM line-up of Sharp, Patron boss Ed Brown, Ryan Dalziel and Johannes van Overbeek would race in the US enduros, Sharp said: "Not necessarily, we could run some different drivers."
Sharp ruled out running its ARX-03bs at Daytona, even though the new car has yet to turn a wheel.
"We've got to develop the new car fast in preparation for the WEC, so we have to be at Daytona and we have to be at the Roar [the official pre-season USC test at Daytona International Speedway in early January]," he explained.
The test debut of the first HPD coupe, designed and developed like its predecessors by Wirth Research in the UK, has been delayed from November to early December.
A shakedown in the US is planned at the start of next month ahead of a two-day run at Daytona on December 15/16.
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Lamborghini not concerned over Le Mans reliability despite rain-interrupted test
Peugeot won't replace Vergne, Vandoorne for Spa WEC amid Formula E clash
How rain and strategy spelled disaster for Ferrari in WEC Imola 6 Hours
Hadjar and Marti complete Campos 1-2 in F2 testing in Barcelona
A2RL launches new era of autonomous motorsport in Abu Dhabi
Exclusive: F1 defers decision over points system tweaks
The BTCC supporting stars aiming to strike gold in 2024
How canny Porsche strategy snatched Daytona spoils from Cadillac
How a battle of two US titans will grip IMSA in 2024
How IMSA's GTP revival proved worthy of its name
How Porsche's Daytona hiccups evoked the premiere of its Group C king
Subscribe and access Autosport.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.
Top Comments