Gradient Racing

Gradient Racing

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]}

History

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]

GT World Challenge America

2019

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.

IMSA SportsCar Championship

2020

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]

2021

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.

2022

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]}

Racing record

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Class	No	Chassis	Engine	Drivers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Pos.	Pts
2020	Gradient Racing	GTD	22	Acura NSX GT3 Evo	Acura 3.5 L Turbo V6	Till Bechtolsheimer Marc Miller	DAY 1	DAY 2 10	SEB 1 7	ELK 11	VIR 10	ATL 1	MOH 9	CLT 12	ATL 2	LGA 12	SEB 2		14th	122
2021	Gradient Racing	GTD	66	Acura NSX GT3 EVo	Acura 3.5 L Turbo V6	Till Bechtolsheimer Mario Farnbacher Marc Miller	DAY	SEB	MOH	BEL 8	WGL 1 3	WGL 2	LIM 6	ELK 11	LGA 9	LBH 11	VIR 8	ATL 15	13th	1365
2022	Gradient Racing	GTD	66	Acura NSX GT3 Evo22	Acura 3.5 L Turbo V6	Till Bechtolsheimer Mario Farnbacher Marc Miller Kyffin Simpson	DAY 16	SEB 11	LBH 2	LGA	MOH	BEL	WGL 9	MOS	LIM	ELK	VIR	ATL 1	16th	1003
2023	Gradient Racing	GTD	66	Acura NSX GT3 Evo22	Acura JNC1 3.5L Turbo V6	Mario Farnbacher Katherine Legge Marc Miller Sheena Monk	DAY 4	SEB 12	LBH 9	LGA 13	WGL 5	MOS 11	LIM 6	ELK 10	VIR 10	IMS 13	ATL 15		11th	2552
2024	Gradient Racing	GTD	66	Acura NSX GT3 Evo22	Acura JNC1 3.5L Turbo V6	Tatiana Calderón Katherine Legge Stevan McAleer Sheena Monk	DAY 19	SEB 17	LBH 4	LGA 12	WGL 13	MOS 7	ELK 3	VIR 12	IMS 16	ATL 12			11th	2175
2025	Gradient Racing	GTD	66	Ford Mustang GT3	Ford Coyote 5.4 L V8	Till Bechtolsheimer Tatiana Calderón Joey Hand Harry Tincknell	DAY	SEB	LBH	LGA	WGL	MOS	ELK	VIR	IMS	ATL			-*	-*

* Season still in progress.

References

1. "The Glorious Highs And Painful Lows Of Motorsport, As Told By Gradient Racing's Andris Laivins". Jalopnik. December 12, 2023. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
2. "Gradient Racing Launches in Austin". Gradient Racing. October 18, 2018. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
3. "Gradient Racing Announces its Racing Program for 2019". Gradient Racing. February 22, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
4. Dagys, John (May 13, 2019). "GT World Challenge Entry Sees Further Decline for CTMP – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
5. "Bentley, Ferrari Set to Face Off Again as Blancpain GT World Challenge America Heads to Road America". Fanatec GT World Challenge America Powered by AWS. September 13, 2019. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
6. "Gradient Racing enters IMSA WeatherTech Sprint Championship in GTD". Gradient Racing. March 4, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
7. Dagys, John (March 4, 2020). "Gradient Switches to IMSA; Confirms Sprint Cup Program – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
8. "Daytona International Speedway: Event Preview". Gradient Racing. July 3, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
9. "Progress Made at Sebring International Raceway". Gradient Racing. July 22, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
10. Dagys, John (May 5, 2021). "Expanded GTD Field for Sprint Cup Season Opener at Mid-Ohio – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
11. "Podium for Gradient Racing on the Streets of Detroit". Gradient Racing. June 14, 2021. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
12. "Farnbacher replaces injured Miller for Virginia International Raceway". Gradient Racing. September 28, 2021. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
13. "Gradient Racing Confirms Its Line Up for the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup". Gradient Racing. January 4, 2022. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
14. "Updated Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 For Michelin Endurance Cup With Gradient Racing". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
15. "Long Beach Rewind: Reflections on Another Podium for Gradient Racing". Gradient Racing. April 29, 2022. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
16. Dagys, John (October 1, 2022). "Gradient Scores Breakthrough Win; De Angelis Claims GTD Title – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
17. "Petit Le Mans Race Rewind: Last to First at Road Atlanta". Gradient Racing. October 11, 2022. Retrieved November 25, 2024.

External links

• Official Gradient Racing website