Dyson eyes late start to 2014, with United SportsCar among options
The Dyson team is aiming to return US sportscar racing in the second half of 2014 after deciding against making a full-season entry for the inaugural United SportsCar Championship


Team boss Chris Dyson, whose team competed in the American Le Mans Series in all but one season of its 15-year history, has revealed that he is working on two potential programmes that could start in the second half of 2014.
"The plan is that we will be racing somewhere in the US next season and that our main programme would start in the second half of the year," he told AUTOSPORT.
"We are a working on a couple of different options. Nothing is finalised, but it all looks very encouraging."
Dyson confirmed that the potential deals involve sportscar racing, but said that "could mean the USC or potentially another category".
Asked if the options could be in GT racing rather than in the prototype divisions where the team has traditionally raced, Dyson replied: "Potentially, but I cannot say any more than that."
Dyson stressed that the nucleus of Dyson Racing, which has run Mazda-powered prototypes in the ALMS since 2009, is being retained even though the team will not be racing in the first half of next season.
WAITING FOR RULES TO PLAY OUT
The team opted not to enter the USC from the outset because of the uncertainty over the rules as series sanctioning body IMSA tries to balance Daytona Prototypes and LMP2 machinery.
"With so much confusion in prototypes at the moment, we preferred to step back and wait for it to get sorted," he explained.
Dyson said he believed there would be room for the team to join the series later in the year, despite the publication of a capacity entry list including reserves last week.
A switch away from the North American sportscar scene to the World Endurance Championship or the European Le Mans Series has been ruled out by Dyson.
"Anything Dyson will be doing will be in the US because that has historically been our backyard," he said.
Dyson explained that he could race in one of those series in 2014.
"I have two objectives: one is to make sure the race team is vibrant and the other is to make the most of the opportunities I have as a driver," he said.

Dyson took part in three WEC rounds with the Greaves Motorsport Zytek team in 2013.
DYSON'S MAJOR US SPORTSCAR TITLES
1997 IMSA Butch Leitzinger
1998 USRRC James Weaver
1998 IMSA Butch Leitzinger
1999 ALMS Elliott Forbes-Robinson
1999 USRRC Leitzinger/Forbes-Robinson
2000 Grand-Am James Weaver (pictured)
2001 Grand-Am James Weaver
2003 ALMS (LMP2) Chris Dyson
2011 ALMS Guy Smith/Dyson

Philippe Favre killed in skiing accident
British Formula 3 drivers eligible for McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Award

Latest news
Rating the best drivers of the century so far
Autosport's Top 50 feature has been a staple of the magazine for the past two decades since its first appearance in 2002. Here are the drivers that have featured most prevalently during that time
The best motorsport moments of 2021
Motorsport produced one of its greatest years of all-time in 2021 despite a backdrop of ongoing COVID-19 challenges and an ever-changing racing landscape. Through the non-stop action Autosport has collected the finest moments from the past 12 months to highlight the incredible drama and joy motorsport generates
The racing comeback artists who resurrected long-dormant careers
Making it in motorsport can be tough, and sometimes drivers move elsewhere before their best chance arrives. Here are some of those who made it back
The hidden racing gem attracting ex-F1 heroes
It’s rarely mentioned when it comes to assessing the best national contests, but the Brazilian Stock Car series that reaches its climax this weekend has an ever-growing appeal. Its expanding roster of ex-Formula 1 names has helped to draw in new fans, but it's the closeness of competition that keeps them watching
The one-time Schumacher rival rebooting his career Down Under
Joey Mawson made waves in the middle of the last decade, beating future Haas Formula 1 driver Mick Schumacher - among other highly-rated talents - to the 2016 German F4 title. A run in F1's feeder GP3 category only caused his career to stall, but now back in Australia Mawson's S5000 title success has set that to rights
The lesson football’s would-be wreckers could learn from racing
OPINION: The greed-driven push for a European Super League that threatened to tear football apart is collapsing at the seams. Motor racing's equivalent, the football-themed Superleague Formula series of 2008-11, was everything that the proposed ESL never could be
The F1 and Indy 'nearly man' that found contentment in Japan
Having had the door to F1 slammed in his face and come within three laps of winning the Indianapolis 500, the collapse of a Peugeot LMP1 shot meant Japan was Bertrand Baguette's last chance of a career. But it's one which he has grasped with both hands
The female all-rounder who arrived "too early"
From Formula 3 to truck racing, Dakar and EuroNASCAR via a winning stint in the DTM, there's not much Ellen Lohr hasn't seen in a stellar racing career that highlights the merit in being a generalist. But she believes her career came too early...