Gilbert Korthoff Motorsports makes its return to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with a new addition to its driver lineup for the Michelin GT Challenge, set for Oct. 9 at Virginia International Raceway.
Reigning Trans Am TA2® champion Mike Skeen will join Guy Cosmo behind the wheel of the No. 32 Mercedes-AMG GT3 for the two-hour, 40-minute race on Saturday Oct. 9. While the outing will mark Skeen’s first outing with the team in GTD competition, it is not the first time that the young American racer has competed with Gilbert Korthoff Motorsports
“I’ve known Gilbert Korthoff through running with them several years ago in LMP3,” said Skeen, who had one victory at Petit Le Mans, second place at VIR and pole position at Mid-Ohio in three races with the team in 2019. “Their program has been coming together all year. I had some conflicts earlier this season, which is why I haven’t raced with them yet, but I tested with them once before Road America. VIR and Petit Le Mans are the two rounds I was able to do. We’re going to do some testing and then do the race program, and see where we go from there.”
This will be the first time Cosmo and Skeen will have co-driven.
“I’m really excited to have Mike Skeen join us,” Cosmo said. “He’s absolutely at the top of his game, winning everywhere he goes lately. Although we’ve never driven together before, it’s going to be exciting opportunity for that to finally happen, and to work together to continue to develop this Gilbert Korthoff program in WeatherTech competition.”
“I’ve never directly worked with Guy, other than that one test, but we’ve been friends over the years,” Skeen said. “We’ve done only one test together. It’s cool that the opportunity has come up that we can get to work together.”
Skeen is the defending TA2® champion of the Trans Am Series. He is currently second in the standings, with two victories and five poles this season for Stevens-Miller Racing. Trans Am will be in action this weekend at VIR, but Skeen doesn’t feel the extra track time in the Liqui-Moly Chevrolet Camaro will translate to the Mercedes.
“I don’t know if it will help any specifically, but it will be good to be current on the track, so it won’t hurt,” Skeen said. “But I have so many laps there, I think I can do it in my sleep.”
Skeen also has run limited programs with IMSA and Grand-Am since 2008, including races with an AMG-Mercedes with Alegra Motorsports and Lonestar Racing.
“I love running in IMSA,” Skeen said. “Obviously, IMSA is a high level of competition, and the AMG is a good all-around car. It’s not the fastest car in a straight line, but it’s a good package and a lot of fun to drive. GTD is as strong as ever, and I’m looking forward to it.”
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