ANSA Motorsports to Field Two Ligiers at Sebring Season Opener for Dickon and Jamin
As soon as IMSA announced the arrival of the new LM P3 prototypes in North America and in the IMSA Prototype Challenge Presented by Mazda series, ANSA Motorsports’ team owner, Alain Nadal, was one of the first to announce his desire to field an entry in that series.
ANSA Motorsports has been working on its LM P3 program since November 2016, and after signing driver Matt Dicken, the team has been working on fielding a second car.
After weeks of talks with drivers and evaluating and testing several P3 cars, ANSA Motorsports is coming to the 2017 season opener at Sebring International Raceway for rounds 1 and 2 of the IMSA Prototype Challenge Presented by Mazda series with two brand new Ligier JS P3 race cars in the LM P3 class.
“I am so happy that we are going to finally race for real,” said Alain Nadal, team owner of ANSA Motorsports. “We worked hard this winter, and I am glad that we can field two competitive Ligiers in the LM P3 class for Dicken and Nico Jamin in rounds 1 and 2 at Sebring. Our team is ready to fight for the top positions.”
A young, talented driver, Frenchman Nico Jamin, 21, from Rouen, France, is joining ANSA Motorsports for the first two season races of the IMSA Prototype Challenge Presented by Mazda series. Supported by MAZDA France, Jamin won the 2015 USF2000 driver championship and finished third last year in the Pro Mazda driver championship. He is currently racing Indy Lights for Andretti Autosport.
Four months after joining ANSA Motorsports, driver Matt Dicken from Louisville, Kentucky, is ready to begin the 2017 IMSA Prototype Challenge Presented by Mazda season starting this Wednesday, March 15, at Sebring International Raceway in Florida.
Dicken and his coach and friend, Corey Lewis, attended the IMSA two-day test with their No. 4 ANSA Motorsports Strategic Wealth Designers Ligier LM P3 last week at Sebring and were really encouraged with the Ligier car’s potential.
“Driving the new Ligier P3 last week was a blast!” Dicken said. “Right out of the box, the car was fast, and ANSA Motorsports kept making improvements with the car each session. After such a successful test, we have high expectations for the first two rounds at Sebring this week. This is going to be a great series, and I’m looking forward to getting it started!”
“I am super excited to be back on track with ANSA Motorsports in the IMSA Prototype Challenge Presented by Mazda series,” Jamin said. “I never drove an LM P3 car before but I only heard good things about it. I love Sebring International Raceway. I’m looking forward to a great weekend. I believe we can have a strong result with ANSA Motorsports and the new Ligier P3.”Jamin will drive the second ANSA Motorsports Ligier P3 at Sebring, a track that he knows by heart and where he always wanted to put his name in the history book. The last time Jamin raced at Sebring was in 2015 with ANSA Motorsports in a Mazda Prototype Lites; he finished third.
ANSA Motorsports’ presence in the former IMSA Cooper Tires Prototype Lites started in 2012. For its first season, Nadal was at the wheel and, despite not competing in all of the 2012 races, he scored an impressive seven podium finishes in the L2 class. In 2013, ANSA Motorsports returned to the series and won the team championship L2 class. ANSA Motorsports driver, Ludovico Manfredi, finished third in the 2013 series L2 driver championship and second in the Masters class. ANSA Motorsports was back for eight rounds in the 2014 series and finished fourth with Manfredi in the 2014 L2 class point standings and third in the masters class. The last time the team raced in the series was in 2015 at Road America with driver Manfredi. Jamin also raced for ANSA in the series that year and scored a podium finish in race 1 at Sebring in the L1 class. In 2015, Manfredi won one race and scored three podium finishes in the L2 class.
The Sebring event starts with a 30-minute practice session on Wednesday, March 15, scheduled for 3:45 p.m. ET. The event continues on Thursday, March 16, with another session scheduled at 8 a.m. ET, followed by qualifying at 12:30 p.m. ET. The first 45-minute race (round 1) is set for Thursday at 4:35 p.m. ET and round 2 for Friday, March 17, at 10:45 a.m. ET.
Both of the Sebring races will be streamed live at IMSA.TV, and the IMSA Prototype Challenge Presented by Mazda will be televised on a delayed basis on Fox Sports’ FS2. The broadcasts will show highlights of the first race, and then flag-to-flag coverage of the second race.
Follow ANSA Motorsports and its drivers Matt Dicken and Nico Jamin in action at Sebring at www.imsa.com and on Facebook.com/ansamotorsports and Twitter @AnsaMotorsports. Visit Ansamotorsports.com and on Instagram #AnsaMotorsports.
Source : imsa.com
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