IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

Mazda Motorsports Announces 2019 IMSA Driver Line-Up (02.01.19)

Photo: Mazda Team Joest

Mazda Team Joest has announced its driver line-up for the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

The #55 Castrol Mazda RT24-P will be driven by Jonathan Bomarito and Harry Tinknell, who drove together in the 2018 season, with the pairing to be joined by Olivier Pla for the Michelin Endurance Cup races.

The #77 entry will see Tristan Nunez and Oliver Jarvis returning as the primary drivers with Timo Bernhard joining the duo for the endurance races. René Rast will join the #77 crew for the 12 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring.

John Doonan, Director of Mazda Motorsports is looking forward to the new season.

“There is no question that the level of competition in IMSAQ continues to rise every year,” said Doonan. “Class rule separation between the DPi and LMP2 cars mean some adjustments heading into 2019, so everyone at AER, Multimatic and Mazda Team Joest has been working extremely hard to be prepared with our two Mazda RT24-Ps. The cars have performed incredibly well throughout our winter testing program and we are very much looking forward to kicking things off at Daytona.”

“We’ve stated from the beginning that our goal is to achieve success for Mazda, Mazda’s dealers and employees and , ultimately, Mazda fans around the world,” continued John Doonan. “With this car, and this line-up of drivers, we are poised to make that happen in the 50th year of IMSA competition. As a partner with IMSA for nearly all of those 50 years, Mazda is excited to make some new history in the 2019 Championship.”

The 2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship opens with the Roar Before The Rolex 24 at Daytona on January 4 – 6 with the opening round of the championship, the Rolex 24 At Daytona on January 24 – 27.