PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports

PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports

Founded	1990
Base	Fresno, California, United States
Team principal(s)	Bobby Oergel (Owner, Director) Ray Mathiasen
Current series	IMSA SportsCar Championship
Former series	American Le Mans Series Rolex Sports Car Series Indy Pro 2000 Championship
Current drivers	IMSA SportsCar Championship: 52. Benjamin Pedersen Naveen Rao Logan Sargeant
Drivers' Championships	2021 IMSA SportsCar Championship – LMP2 2020 IMSA SportsCar Championship – LMP2 2019 IMSA SportsCar Championship – LMP2

PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports is an American sports car racing team that currently competes in the LMP2 class of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. ^[1]

History

American Le Mans Series

PR1 Motorsports Logo

PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports began entering the series with the advent of the LMPC class in 2010, fielding a full-time entry for a revolving door of drivers. ^[2] The team would achieve a best finish of second on three occasions that season, at Lime Rock, Mid-Ohio, and Road America. The following season, the team notched their first series victory at Road America, ^[3] before taking class victory at Petit Le Mans to close out the season. ^[4] After a 2012 season which saw the team win just one race, the 2013 season saw the team claim class victory at the 12 Hours of Sebring and mount a title challenge, falling six points short and finishing third in the team's championship, but with season-long driver Mike Guasch taking the drivers' title. Guasch, PR1's first full-season competitor in their ALMS career, was awarded the championship on a recount, after it was determined the 8Star Motorsports entry that had finished ahead of the team was not eligible for full-season points. ^[5]

PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports' Oreca FLM09 at Petit Le Mans in 2011

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

The team maintained their level of competitiveness as the series merged to form the United SportsCar Championship. In its opening season, the team finished fourth in the team's and driver's championships with duo Gunnar Jeannette and Frankie Montecalvo, collecting podium finishes at Watkins Glen and Petit Le Mans. The 2015 began exceptionally for the team, taking class honors at both the 24 Hours of Daytona ^[6] and 12 Hours of Sebring. Although retirements at the following two races at Laguna Seca and Detroit would derail the team's title chances, another class victory at Petit Le Mans, the second in team history, would see the team claim the North American Endurance Cup title in the PC class. ^[7] In 2016, the team mounted their strongest title challenge yet, claiming the North American Endurance Cup for the second year running, but missing out on the PC class title on a races won tiebreaker with Starworks Motorsport. ^[8]

2017 brought about the introduction of the revised Global LMP2 specifications, and the overhaul of the series' Prototype category. As a result, the team stepped away from PC competition to field a Ligier JS P217 in the championship's new top class. ^[9] In their maiden season with the car, the team registered a best finish of fourth at Watkins Glen in July. The following season, PR1 entered their Ligier in a partnership with IndyCar team AFS Racing, with Colombian duo Sebastián Saavedra and Gustavo Yacamán behind the wheel. ^[10] After finishing no higher than sixth in the opening eight races of the season, the team took delivery of an Oreca 07 chassis to replace the Ligier. ^[11]

PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports' Oreca 07 at Road Atlanta in 2020

In 2019, PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports followed their chassis into the LMP2 class following the Prototype class split. The team won the 2019 class title in dominating fashion, winning all but the opening two races at Daytona and Sebring. ^[12] They retained the class title in 2020, adding a class victory at the 12 Hours of Sebring and claiming the Michelin Endurance Cup title in class as well. ^[13] 2021 saw the team claim their third consecutive LMP2-class title and second consecutive Michelin Endurance Cup crown, this time with Ben Keating and Mikkel Jensen at the wheel. ^[14] For 2022, the team expanded to running two chassis in the LMP2 class for the full season, retaining their championship-winning 2021 lineup in the #52 while adding Steven Thomas and Jonathan Bomarito in the new #11 entry. ^[15]

PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports' Oreca 07 at Road America in 2021

World Endurance Championship

For 2021, Patrick Kelly's Le Mans invitation prompted the team to step into the FIA World Endurance Championship for a partial season. ^[16] The team established a partnership with Tech1 Racing to run the opening round at Spa, alongside Le Mans. ^[17]

Racing results

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Full-Time Drivers	Class	No.	Make	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Rank	Points
2014	Gunnar Jeannette Frankie Montecalvo	PC	52	Oreca FLM09	Chevrolet 6.2L V8	DAY 4	SEB 9	LGA 4	KAN 4	WGL 3	IMS 5	ELK 7	VIR 8	COT 4	PET 3		4th	255
2015	Mike Guasch Tom Kimber-Smith	PC	52	Oreca FLM09	Chevrolet 6.2L V8	DAY 1	SEB 1	LGA 6	DET 7	WGL 2	MOS 5	LIM 1	ELK 4	COT 4	PET 1		2nd	313
2016	Robert Alon Tom Kimber-Smith	PC	52	Oreca FLM09	Chevrolet 6.2 L V8	DAY 2	SEB 2	LBH 6	LGA 1	DET 3	WGL 5	MOS 3	LIM 2	ELK 1	COA 2	PET 1	2nd	355
2017	José Gutiérrez	P	52	Ligier JS P217	Gibson 4.2 L V8	DAY 9	SEB 7	LBH 5	COA 9	DET 10	WGL 4	MOS 8	ELK 7	LGA 7	PET 10		7th	237
2018	Sebastián Saavedra	P	52	Ligier JS P217 1-8 Oreca 07 9-10	Gibson 4.2 L V8	DAY 12	SEB 11	LBH 11	MOH 6	DET 8	WGL 9	MOS 9	ELK 13	LGA 8	PET 12		12th	211
2019	Matt McMurry	LMP2	52	Oreca 07	Gibson 4.2 L V8	DAY 4	SEB 2	MOH 1	WGL 1	MOS 1	ELK 1	LGA 1	ATL 1				1st	270
2020	Patrick Kelly	LMP2	52	Oreca 07	Gibson 4.2 L V8	DAY 2†	SEB1 1	ELK 4	ATL 1	PET 4	LGA 1	SEB2 1					1st	196
2021	Mikkel Jensen Ben Keating	LMP2	52	Oreca 07	Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8	DAY 7†	SEB 1	WGL 2	WGL 1	ELK 3	LGA 1	PET 2					1st	2162
2022	Steven Thomas	LMP2	11	Oreca 07	Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8	DAY 7†	SEB 4	LGA 5	MOH 2	WGL 6	ELK 4	ATL 3					4th	1882
			52			DAY 4†	SEB 1	LGA 4	MOH 6	WGL 1	ELK 5	ATL 6					2nd	1939
2023	Paul-Loup Chatin Ben Keating	LMP2	52	Oreca 07	Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8	DAY 7†	SEB 4	LGA 2	WGL 3	ELK 1	IMS 4	ATL 3					1st	1995

^† Points only counted towards the Michelin Endurance Cup, and not the overall LMP2 Championship.

^* Season still in progress.

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Entrant	No.	Car	Drivers	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
2021	PR1 Motorsports Mathiasen (run by Tech 1 Racing) [18]	24	Oreca 07-Gibson	Gabriel Aubry Patrick Kelly Simon Trummer	LMP2 (Pro-Am)	261	DNF	DNF

References

1. "PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports No. 52 – IMSA". imsa.com. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
2. "About – PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports". pr1motorsports.com. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
3. "Series Road America race report". motorsport.com. August 21, 2011. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
4. "2011 Petit Le Mans Recap". speedsportlife.com. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
5. "Michael Guasch Wins the American Le Mans Series Presented by Tequila Patron Prototype Challenge Class Driver's Championship". mikeguasch.com. October 20, 2013. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
6. "2015 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona victors crowned". motorsport.com. January 25, 2015. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
7. "Complete IMSA results: Porsche wins rain-shortened Petit Le Mans". autoweek.com. October 3, 2015. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
8. "Season finale at Road Atlanta reveals 2016 champions". TopSpeed.com. October 4, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
9. "PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Quietly Announces 2017 Lineup". frontstretch.com. December 17, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
10. "AFS, PR1/Mathiasen Join Forces for Ligier LMP2 Entry". sportscar365.com. December 19, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
11. "AFS/PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports Acquires New Oreca 07 for the Remainder of the IMSA Season". pr1motorsports.com. August 18, 2018. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
12. "Action Express Wins Thrilling Petit Le Mans". dailysportscar.com. October 13, 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
13. "Sebring 12 Hours: Mazda wins the race, Acura takes the title". motorsport.com. November 14, 2020. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
14. Sinclair, Adam (November 26, 2021). "Perseverance Pays Off for Keating with First IMSA Championship". speedwaydigest.com. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
15. Goodwin, Graham (December 23, 2021). "Bomarito For Full Season With PR1/ Mathiesen Alongside Steven Thomas". dailysportscar.com. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
16. "PR1/Mathiasen to make WEC debut in Spa opener". motorsport.com. March 20, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
17. "PR1/Mathiasen enters Tech1 alliance for WEC debut". motorsport.com. April 20, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
18. Klein, Jamie (April 21, 2021). "PR1/Mathiasen enters Tech1 alliance for WEC debut". Motorsport.com . Motorsport Network . Retrieved April 2, 2024.

External links

• Official Website