WeatherTech Racing ditches Porsche for the remainder of the IMSA season

It has all the makings of a lousy separation. WeatherTech Racing and companion workforce Proton Opposition are abandoning the Porsche brand name for the remainder of their 2022 IMSA GTD Pro marketing campaign, and designed it a pretty general public split with a formal press launch on Tuesday afternoon.

At least some of the beef appears to be to be in the simple fact that Porsche didn’t lend WeatherTech substantial-profile sufficient manufacturing unit racers for its initiatives at Daytona and Sebring consequently much this year. The press release states that WeatherTech heir Cooper MacNeil will be joined by “a host of Mercedes-Benz Factory Drivers” for the remaining 8 races of the 2022 time.

The WeatherTech crew took the somewhat unorthodox option to field both of those a 911 GT3 R and a pair of Mercedes-AMG GT3s for the duration of the opening 24 Hours of Daytona in January. Porsche scored a double podium at that race with Pfaff and KCMG, even though the most effective of the WeatherTech-entered Mercedes concluded fifth, and the other suffered an engine failure following 487 laps.

At Sebring the crew once more split their method, functioning a person 911 and 1 AMG. The #97 Mercedes grabbed a podium 1 lap down from the GTD Pro course winners, even though the team’s #79 Porsche finished three destinations again on the exact same lap.

“Our overall performance in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 at Daytona and Sebring was the motivating aspect guiding continuing with it for the rest of the time,” MacNeil said. “We led the race at the Rolex 24 just before our drivetrain difficulty, and then we experienced a strong podium complete at Sebring.

“We also have a profitable record at Long Seashore obtaining gained there in the Mercedes-AMG in 2017. We are likely out west to see if we can repeat that get.”

Cooper himself raced in both of those the WeatherTech Porsche and the WeatherTech Mercedes, turning laps in each equipment throughout both of those the Daytona 24 and the Sebring 12.

Again in 2021 the WeatherTech 911 RSR was Porsche’s lone entrant in the now-defunct GTLM classification, and received significant manufacturing unit-backing in the form of Matt Campbell and Mathieu Jaminet as driving partners for MacNeil. In 2022, nevertheless, there are numerous Porsche teams working in GTD Pro who need to have aid, and the sources are distribute a small thinner.

It is very clear that Porsche has poured additional support driving the GTD Pro groups that truly operate a whole-pro lineup instead than a billionaire’s passion. Pfaff, for occasion, is using the Pro class as very seriously as it should really be. Go figure.

It stands to be seen as to no matter whether the gamble on Mercedes-AMG will go WeatherTech’s way. Then again, when the sequence title sponsor is your father’s corporation, and principles are prepared especially for you, then it’s possible it’s in IMSA’s greatest desire to participate in to WeatherTech Racing’s good side. Porsche, it looks, didn’t sense like playing ball with the MacNeils.