Founded | 2018 |
---|---|
Founder(s) | Andris Laivins (owner) |
Base | Austin, Texas, United States |
Team principal(s) | Andris Laivins |
Current series | IMSA SportsCar Championship |
Former series | GT World Challenge America |
Current drivers | IMSA SportsCar Championship: 66. Till Bechtolsheimer Tatiana Calderón Joey Hand Harry Tincknell |
Noted drivers | Sheena Monk Stevan McAleer Mario Farnbacher Marc Miller |
Website | https://www.gradientracing.com/ |
Gradient Racing is an American sports car racing team that currently competes in the GTD class of the IMSA SportsCar Championship. The team was founded in 2018 by Andris Laivins. [1] [2]
Gradient Racing was founded at the end of 2018 by former CJ Wilson Racing team manager Andris Laivins. [2] The team formed an alliance with Acura and acquired an Acura NSX GT3 chassis. They would make their competitive debut in the 2019 Blancpain GT World Challenge America. [3]
Gradient Racing made their racing debut in the 2019 Blancpain GT World Challenge America fielding an Acura NSX GT3. [3] The team signed Till Bechtolsheimer full-time along with Ryan Eversley. Eversley would be replaced by Marc Miller after the second round. [4] Trent Hindman replaced Miller for the sixth round at Road America. [5] The team finished 4th in the Pro-Am Cup at seasons end.
For 2020, the team moved from GT World Challenge America to the IMSA SportsCar Championship fielding an Acura NSX GT3 in the GTD class. [6] [7] They would only compete in the WeatherTech Sprint Cup rounds with drivers Till Bechtolsheimer and Marc Miller. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the team would in fact race at the Daytona International Raceway in the 2 hour 40 minute sprint race. [8] They would have a best result of 7th at Sebring and finished 14th in the GTD standings. [9]
The team would return to the series for the 2021 IMSA SportsCar Championship once again fielding an Acura NSX GT3 in the WeatherTech Sprint Cup rounds. [10] The team resigned Till Bechtolsheimer and Marc Miller. At the 2021 Detroit Sports Car Classic, the team got their first podium in the championship finishing third. [11] Mario Farnbacher replaced an injured Marc Miller at the Virginia International Raceway. [12] The team finished 13th in the GTD standings.
Gradient Racing competed in the championship for a third consecutive season in 2022. [13] This season they would compete in the Michelin Endurance Cup rounds. [14] The team resigned Till Bechtolsheimer alongside Mario Farnbacher and Kyffin Simpson. Marc Miller would join the team in the rounds 1 and 3 at Daytona and Long Beach respectively. The team would get their first podium of the season finishing second at round 3 in Long Beach. [15] In the season ending Petit Le Mans, the team had their qualifying times disallowed, resulting in them starting last on the GTD grid. In the race, the team made their way up the field and eventually overtook race leader Jordan Pepper in the No. 70 Inception Racing McLaren in the closing minutes of the race. Moments later a full course caution was displayed and the Farnbacher would maintain the lead. The race would end under caution and the team would get their first win as an organization. [16] [17]
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
* Season still in progress.
Ryan A. Eversley is an American professional auto racing driver. He currently races the No. 07 Toyota GR GT4 Supra Evo for Precision Racing L.A. in the Pirelli GT4 America series as well as serving as Head of Driver and Racing Business Development for them and their sister team L.A. Honda World Racing. He is affectionately referred to as "The People's Champ," due to his fan interactions. From 2015 to 2023, Eversley was a Honda factory driver who primarily raced in sports car racing championships such as the Michelin Pilot Challenge and Pirelli World Challenge. He won the 2018 Pirelli World Challenge TCR championship. In his spare time Ryan also works as an American developer, Ryan learned coding at a very young age.
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The 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship was the 53rd racing season sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association, which traces its lineage back to the 1971 IMSA GT Championship. It was also the tenth season of the IMSA SportsCar Championship since the merger between the American Le Mans Series and the Rolex Sports Car Series in 2014, and the eighth under the sponsorship of WeatherTech. The 2023 season marked an overhaul season for the championship, with a change in class structure and a new race on the season calendar at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The championship began with the 24 Hours of Daytona on January 28 and concluded with the Petit Le Mans on October 14 after 11 races.
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