LE MANS: Starworks Embarks On WEC Effort

Le Mans / ALMS

LE MANS: Starworks Embarks On WEC Effort

Rolex 24 runner-ups to compete for LMP2 trophy in FIA World Endurance Championship...

John Dagys | Posted February 02, 2012 Chicago, IL

Starworks Motorsport will step up to the FIA World Endurance Championship with a HPD ARX-03b. (Photo: GRAND-AM)

Having proven of being one of the top teams in American sports car racing, Starworks Motorsport is stepping up to the global stage, having received confirmation Thursday of a LMP2 entry for the new FIA World Endurance Championship.

The Peter Baron-led squad, runner-ups in last weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, will campaign a brand-new HPD ARX-03b in the cost-capped prototype ranks for team regulars Ryan Dalziel and Enzo Potolicchio. A yet-to-be-determined third driver, of platinum grade, will bolster the driving force for the Twelve Hours of Sebring and 24 Hours of Le Mans.

For Baron, who reached the Le Mans podium as a driver in 2003, the opportunity to expand his Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.-based team, which has transformed into one of the leading contenders in GRAND-AM, was the next logical step in Starworks' expansion, as he tells SPEED.com.

Starworks Motorsport will campaign the only HPD ARX-03b in the full-season WEC. (Image: Starworks)

“We were talking at the end of the season of what we could do to grow the team,” Baron explained. “We already had plans in place to expand into running Mustangs in [Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge] and we added a third Daytona Prototype. We couldn't do much more in GRAND-AM. Looking elsewhere, we looked at what's the next stage to go to.

“As a driver, the three most memorable things I've done is the 24 Hours of Daytona, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and when I entered a car in the Indy 500. It was a natural thing and knowing it was on everybody's list to get [to Le Mans]. Everything we heard about the ILMC was just incredible, just one of the best well-run things out there.”

While the team considered, and still hasn’t ruled out an additional effort in the American Le Mans Series, committing to the WEC ensured an entry to Le Mans. That was critical for their new LMP2 program, especially from a sponsorship perspective, according to Baron.

The other major driving force came from a budget standpoint. Potolicchio, who brings backing from the Venezuelan tourism bureau, admitted a cost-capped LMP2, which can be sold for no more than $440,000, ends up being cheaper than GRAND-AM’s new generation Daytona Prototypes, when factoring in the expense of spares.

“I looked around and stuck my head out from under the hole and to see what else we could do,” Potolicchio said. “And this cost-capped P2 program made a lot of sense for the price of the car and price of the parts. There are some things in GRAND-AM pricing that are not controlled. A nose, for instance, is $20,000 and one piece. When you go to the P2, it's $12,000 but three pieces, so if I hit a corner, I still have part of it left."

While Potolicchio and Starworks have already committed to an expanded Rolex Sports Car Series program for 2012, not to mention a four-car attack in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, their leap into the WEC will bring new and exciting challenges as take their first step into prototype racing together as a team.

“For me, everything associated with it is something I've been working towards,” Dalziel said. “Breaking into the LMP2 ranks is huge for me. It was fun driving the LMPC car [with CORE autosport in 2011].

“You kind of look at the P2 and P1 cars passing you and wish that you were in that ranking. I think the fact that we're going to get to race the P2 is really awesome. I think the package we've picked with the HPD is definitely the strongest P2 car out there.”

Starworks Motorsport finished on the Rolex 24 podium last weekend with its Riley-Ford. (Photo: John Dagys)

Known for once being one of the smaller teams in the GRAND-AM paddock and having sometimes run on a shoestring budget, Starworks has undoubtedly undergone a massive transformation over the winter, many of the crew referring to it as an “Extreme Makeover.”

The fresh approach has seen the return of veteran open-wheel turned sports car engineer Steve Challis, who most recently worked with Extreme Speed Motorsports, to be the team’s technical director. Simon Morley will act as the overall team manager, while Brian and Fanny Colangelo, who worked with Krohn Racing’s Intercontinental Le Mans Cup program last year, bring their expertise on the management and logistics side to the WEC program.

“The team we're assembling is really impressive,” Dalziel said. “I was skeptical until I started seeing some of the hires Peter Baron was making. I don't see any P2 team out there that's going to have a stronger personnel lineup and we know we have the best chassis out there. Everything points to good things.

“For us, I think the biggest adjustment as a team is going to be racing outside of North America. Everything is a bit different when you go to the FIA rules. We've made a point of hiring some people that have done [ILMC] before.”

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John Dagys

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