Mike Conway and Ritomo Miyata will race the 24 Hours of Daytona aboard the Lexus fielded by Vasser Sullivan Racing for the first round of the IMSA SportsCar Championship.
Both official bearers of Toyota, in Florida they will lend a hand to the team of the brand which is part of the same family as the Japanese to make an assault on the categories reserved for GT3.
Conway will be racing in the PRO Class RC F #14 together with the already confirmed Ben Barnicoat, Jack Hawksworth and Kyle Kirkwood, while Miyata will share the wheel of the #12 in GTD with Parker Thompson, Frankie Montecalvo and Aaron Telitz.
“I can't wait to get back with Vasser Sullivan in the Lexus for Daytona. Jack and Ben had a really good year winning the championship, so it will be great to be with them again. I'm looking forward to having Kyle in the car with them too. us. It will be nice to try to win Daytona again”, comments the Englishman.
“Last year we didn't manage to win, but hopefully things will be better. I can't wait to get back on track in January at the Roar tests and work with everyone again.”
Photo by: Richard Dole / Motorsport Images
#12: VasserSullivan, Lexus RC F GT3, GTD: Frankie Montecalvo, Parker Thompson, Aaron Telitz, Ritomo Miyata
The Japanese, making his debut in the American event, adds: “First of all I want to thank the Vasser Sullivan team, Lexus, Toyota and Gazoo Racing for giving me this opportunity. The 24h of Daytona will be the first time I will compete at an international level outside of Japanese motorsport, so I'm very excited and looking forward to working with the team.”
Team Principals, Jimmy Vasser and James 'Sulli' Sullivan, comment: “We've had second and third place at the 24 Hours of Daytona so far, so we're just one position away. After our first major championship for the program, our Our goal of winning the 24h has never been stronger, so it's right that two great champions like Mike and Ritomo join us.”
Jeff Bal, Head of Lexus Motorsports, commented: “The Lexus Racing program continues to grow and we are fortunate to work closely with our global partners at Gazoo Racing. Opportunities like this allow us to better share resources and apply knowledge acquired in multiple series in many of our global competitive activities”.
“The addition of title-winning GR drivers like Ritomo and Mike to our lineup for Daytona gives Vasser Sullivan and Lexus two solid chances to win this prestigious endurance race. Having won both the Super Formula open-wheel and SuperGT500 sportscar championships , we can't wait to see what Ritomo can do with the RC F GT3.”
“We also welcome Mike, who returns for the second time aboard the #14, and we are thrilled to have Kyle join us as well. The addition of Conway and Kirkwood to the GTD PRO championship-winning Lexus and Ritomo alongside of Frankie, Parker and Aaron in the #12 gives both teams the chance to aim for some Rolex watches on Sunday afternoon.”
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