Winning the team championship and sweeping the drivers’ championship is good incentive for a brand-new team to try again, apparently.
The two-car Core Autosport team will be back for the full 2012 American Le Mans Series season, running in the Le Mans Prototype Challenge class with its pair of Oreca FLM-9s.
Team founder and driver Jon Bennett and team manager Morgan Brady Core made the announcement on the team’s website, also announcing that the team was moving into a new 30,000-square-foot shop in Rock Hill, S.C.
“2011 was a great year for CORE Autosport and we’re very pleased to be returning for 2012. The LMPC class has proven to be some of the best competition in the ALMS, evident by the close margin of both of our championships,” said Brady on the team website.
“We’re excited about moving into our new facility and have a solid group of engineers, shop staff, and crew members ready to go for the new season. We’re very close to finalizing our driver lineup, although there still are some opportunities available, which we hope to fill soon.”
Core Autosport got its start in 2010 when Jon Bennett bought the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites team Inspire Motorsports, which Bennett took to the team championship. Bennett hired Brady around the same time and the pair decided to move up to LMPC the next season.
Bennett and Brady formed Core Autosport, named after Bennett’s company Composite Resources, and bought the cars and pit equipment of the Level 5 team, which was moving up to LMP2 in 2012 and needed to sell its gear quickly.
Bennett hired drivers Gunnar Jeannette, Frankie Montecalvo, and Ricardo Gonzalez, along with Rudy Junco and Ryan Dalziel for endurance events. This team went on to win 2 races, 10 podiums and 3 poles. Jeannette and Gonzalez won the team title and tied with Genoa Racing’s Eric Lux for first place as drivers, while Bennett and Montecalvo tied for second—not a bad start for a brand-new team in a very competitive class.
The team hasn’t yet announced a firm driver lineup, but should soon. Bennett says the quality of the whole team is what brought the 2011 results, and 2012 should be even better.
“When I started Core Autosport I knew that having the best people around me would be crucial in our success, especially for the position of team manager. Morgan (Brady) has certainly set the bar high for future accomplishments and has set out on a path to insure Core Autosport’s future as championship contenders.
“2012 will be an evolutionary season for the team. We look forward to sharing all of our upcoming news with our fans within the next few months.”
