Change Racing will return to IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition in 2017 with a significant new commercial partnership, a young full-season driver pairing, and a strong endurance event driver line up.The GTD Class campaign marks the second season of IMSA WeatherTech competition for Change Racing, which built on a highly successful Lamborghini Super Trofeo program with its initial foray into IMSA in 2016. The team will continue to compete with the Lamborghini Huracàn GT3 platform in 2017.
As the result of an expanding partnership with Microsoft, Change Racing will carry branding from Forza Motorsport, the hugely popular and best-selling racing video game from Turn 10 Studios for Xbox consoles. The partnership will be supported by a range of marketing activations as well as featuring in-game content from Change Racing, including the ability for players to download the No. 16 Forza Motorsport/Orion/Monster Energy GTD car for in game play.
In addition to the new program with Microsoft, the team will also continue to work with its existing partners Monster Energy, Orion Lighting Systems, and Lamborghini Carolinas.
“This has been a busy off-season for us, but incredibly productive,” said Change Racing Team Principal Robby Benton. “We are very fortunate to grow our partnership with Microsoft and to be representing the Forza Motorsport brand. This will not only give us an incredible global reach, but it will also add a lot of value for our existing partnerships (Monster Energy, Orion Lighting, and Lamborghini Carolinas) and hopefully help continue to grow the world wide audience for IMSA.”
With the 2015 Lamborghini Super Trofeo Pro-Am World Champion having impressed in his rookie season of IMSA WeatherTech competition for Change Racing in 2016, the team will see the return of young American Corey Lewis to the full time driver line up.
He will share the driving duties with Dutchman Jeroen Mul, who has graduated from the European open-wheel ranks to race the Lamborghini Huracàn GT3 in Blancpain GT competition. The Rolex 24 will mark his IMSA WeatherTech debut.
Joining Lewis and Mul in the Change Racing Lamborghini in the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona will be Kaz Grala and Brett Sandberg. Grala, who just turned eighteen, is slated to compete in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2017. Grala made his Rolex 24 debut with Change Racing in 2016, becoming the youngest driver to ever compete in the event. Sandberg won the 2016 World Challenge GTS championship, and will also join Change Racing in the Sebring 12 Hour, Glen 6 Hour, and Petit Le Mans events in 2017.
The combination of four young drivers is a new approach for the team, which will feature four FIA silver-rated drivers in the Rolex 24 At Daytona with average age of 24.
