Interest continues to grow ahead of the season-closing Hankook 24H COTA USA in Austin, Texas, with 52 entrants already confirmed from across Europe, Asia and North America.
Impressively, the provisional entry list for CREVENTIC’s third annual 24-hour event at the Circuit of the Americas already surpasses grid sizes for the inaugural race in 2017 (41) and the second event in 2018 (34). More than one-third of the grid consists of teams based in North America.
LightSpeed racing, an event regular, returns to 24H SERIES action with the always-popular SCG 003C, a bespoke creation of American entrepreneur, Jim Glickenhaus.
CP Racing is another high profile entrant. A valued competitor on the 24H SERIES powered by Hankook scene, Charles Putman’s eponymously entered Mercedes-AMG GT3 secured titles in both the 24H GT SERIES Europe and Continents rankings in 2018. Putman will once again partner compatriots Charles Espenlaub, Joe Foster and Shane Lewis.
Endurance racing fans will also be out in force to celebrate the 100th 24-hour (or greater) race for Jim Briody at the Circuit of the Americas. Briody competed in his first 24-hour event in 1981, and will start his last as a driver in the Cor Euser Racing MARC II V8 alongside fellow endurance racing legend Cor Euser and team stalwart, Einar Thorsen.
In the 991 class, Porsche GT3 Cup USA podium contenders Kelly-Moss Motorsports and Wright Motorsports will battle for category honours alongside reigning 991-class 24H SERIES Europe champion, Porsche Lorient Racing. Across in the TCE division, Honda specialists Atlanta Speedwerks and LA Honda World Racing will defend American honours with their ‘FK7’ Civic TCR and Type-R TCR respectively.
A stacked field in GT4 sees an impressive 10 entrants hailing from the United States of America, plus one from Canada. Winward Racing returns for its third consecutive crack at class victory after two incredibly near misses, as do RHC Jorgensen/Strom and official AMG tuner RENNtech Motorsports, both of which collected GT4 podium finishes at last year’s event.
On that note, Classic BMW is a two-time class winner at the Hankook 24H COTA USA, and looks to continue its undefeated streak with its M4 GT4.
NOLASPORT brings a three-car Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS MR line-up to COTA, while Rearden Racing will be pulling double duty in both the GT4 and SP3 classes with its established Audi R8 LMS GT4 and Nissan 370Z respectively. Canadian racer Samantha Tan makes her 24H SERIES debut with her eponymous ST Racing BMW M4, as does the Ginetta G55 of GT4 America runner, USRD.
Other notable entrants on the entry list include Black Falcon, the record-setting four-time winner at the Hankook 24H DUBAI that also won the Hankook 24H COTA USA outright last year. The German team has confirmed two Mercedes-AMGs for the top tier A6 class and the GT4 category, while a Porsche 991 Cup MR will compete for SPX honours.
Inaugural event winner Herberth Motorsport will also contest the A6-class. The Bavarian squad, a former series champion, goes into this year’s race in contention for the 24H GT SERIES Continents crown alongside current standings leader Leipert Motorsport and reigning Hankook 24H DUBAI winner, Car Collection Motorsport.
This year’s Hankook 24H COTA USA kicks off in earnest with private testing on Thursday 14th November, ahead of 90-minutes of official Free Practice and two 45-minute qualifying sessions on Friday 15th. The green flag will fly at 11.30 hrs local time on Saturday 16th, and following an overnight intervention – one of the 24H SERIES’ more characterful traits – the Hankook 24H COTA USA will be brought to a close on Sunday 17th at 21.00 hrs.
Full details concerning the schedule and entry list can be found at 24hseries.com. Further enquiries can be forwarded to CREVENTIC directly via [email protected] and +31 485 471 166.
