2022 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Season-Opening Race at Daytona International Speedway, January 26 – 28

2022 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Season-Opening Race at Daytona International Speedway, January 26 – 28

Four Mercedes-AMG GT4 entries, help to makeup the powerhouse lineup of 10 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing teams across two IMSA racing series set to compete the next two weekends at Daytona International Speedway (DIS), starting the 2022 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season at DIS, Friday, January 28. The four-hour Pilot Challenge race sets the stage for the next day’s 60th Rolex 24 At Daytona that will see a record six Mercedes-AMG GT3 teams compete in the season-opening IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race, January 29 – 30.

On-track action begins this weekend with the traditional Roar Before the Rolex 24 test that includes five practice sessions over three days for the Pilot Challenge series.

The Mercedes-AMG GT4 competes in the top-tier Pilot Challenge Grand Sport (GS) class with four entries from two different teams set for next Friday’s four-hour opener.

Race-winning Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing team Murillo Racing begins its fifth year of competition with the Mercedes-AMG GT4 and an expanded entry of three cars.

The returning Murillo driving duos of Jeff Mosing and Eric Foss, and Brent Mosing and Tim Probert, will be joined by a sister entry co-driven by Kenny Murillo and Christian Szymczak this season.

Jeff Mosing and Foss return to the wheel of the No. 56 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 after a successful season in 2021 that included an overall and GS race win at Lime Rock Park in July.

Brent Mosing and Probert reunite in the No. 65 Murillo Racing Mercedes- AMG GT4 with the veteran driver duo entered in the new Bronze Cup, a new championship within the overall 10-race GS schedule. To be eligible for points, both drivers must be rated Bronze, which most commonly designates sportsman or “Am” drivers.

Kenny Murillo, the son of team owner Ken Murillo, and Szymczak move to GS after winning the 2021 Pirelli GT4 America Silver Class Championship.

The No. 72 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 Murillo and Szymczak co- drive carries a new blue on orange livery that is a departure from the traditional black on orange and white on orange colors of the Murillo team cars.

Another familiar team with a new look and driver pairing is the No. 11 Capstone Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4 of Gary Ferrara and Kris Wilson.

With team owner John Allen joining Ferrara and Wilson at the wheel, Capstone made its IMSA debut last year at Watkins Glen International.
Ferrara. Wilson and Ferrara later co-drove in two more races in preparation for this year’s full season return to GS competition.

Team preparations for the 60th Rolex 24 At Daytona weekend officially begin at DIS this weekend with the traditional Roar test for both WeatherTech Championship and Pilot Challenge teams. The three-day weekend test also includes a 100-minute qualifying race to set the Rolex 24 field that closes out the Roar on Sunday.

The 60th Rolex 24 At Daytona official schedule begins Wednesday, January 26, with a one-hour Michelin Pilot Challenge practice session. Four WeatherTech Championship practice sessions are scheduled over Thursday and Friday in addition to GS qualifying Thursday and the four- hour season-opening Pilot Challenge race Friday at 1:35 p.m. EST.

The 60th Rolex 24 At Daytona starts at 1:40 p.m. EST on Saturday, January 29, with live coverage beginning at 1:30 p.m. EST on the flagship NBC network.

International viewers can watch all of the races and more from the Rolex 24 weekend live at www.IMSA.tv.

Kenny Murillo, Driver – No. 72 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4: “We are really excited to have three cars this year. It’s not new to us to have more than two cars, so we understand what a successful routine is to run more than a couple of cars. Christian and I have been talking about this for a while now, pretty much dreaming about it for four years. To be here at Daytona, one of my favorite tracks, and in a Mercedes-AMG GT4 with Christian is kind of a dream come true. Our car is new, we decided to get a new chassis to start off in IMSA on the right foot, and this car and a new No. 56 car arrived on just January 8. It was a big, huge team effort.
Everybody worked their tails off. We are on the West Coast, so to get ready for an East Coast opener was tough. It was a real challenge.”

Kris Wilson, Driver – No. 11 Capstone Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4: I’m excited for our first full season of IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge with our No. 11 Capstone Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4. This is our third year in partnership with Mercedes-AMG, so we feel that that relationship is key to our success. Gary Ferrera and I did three exploratory races last season preparing for our program this year. Over the winter break, the Capstone team has moved its headquarters from Colorado to Atlanta and into a 400,000 square foot facility near Road Atlanta. It’s an amazing place. You actually need to drive a golf cart to get around to the different departments. It is so big that it used to have an indoor go kart track. We feel like we have everything in place to be competitive with the established IMSA teams.