KohR Motorsports Adds Mars to No. 60 Mustang Lineup
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Hardpoint, which already fields Porsches in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and Porsche Carrera Cup North America, is adding an IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Porsche to the team’s roster for the remainder of the 2022 season. Nick Galante and Sean McAlister will pilot the No. 22 Racing to End Alzheimer’s Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport starting with the Alan Jay Automotive Network 120 at Sebring International Raceway on March 17.
It’s a return to the Michelin Pilot Challenge for Hardpoint, which competed there with drivers Rob Ferriol and Spencer Pumpelly for part of the 2020 season before focusing the team’s efforts on the WeatherTech Championship. In 2022, the Grand Sport (GS) class effort will feature racing veteran Galante, a series champion in 2016 and 2018 in the Street Tuner (ST) class, and McAlister, who was the 2019 Hurley Haywood scholarship winner for his success in single-make Porsche championships.
“I am extremely excited to have this opportunity to finally drive with Team Hardpoint,” Galante said. “Watching this team build itself into a top-level team has been tough to race against over the years, and now I can relax a little bit knowing I don’t have to compete against them. I can now work harder than ever to help make this team as strong as possible.”
The No. 22 Porsche will carry the color purple on its livery to represent Alzheimer’s awareness, a change from Hardpoint’s traditional red, black and white liveries. McAlister, who’ll make his series debut at Sebring, is excited for the opportunity.
“Last year I was racing against Hardpoint in Porsche Carrera Cup North America and was very impressed with the performance they brought to every event,” he said. “The move from racing in single-make series the past six years to racing in a multi-make series is very new to me, but I’m eager to take on that challenge. Being with Porsche for the seventh year in a row will give me a ton of comfort throughout the entirety of the season.”
The Alan Jay Automotive Network 120 is scheduled for 4:20 p.m. ET Thursday, March 17 at Sebring and will stream live on Peacock.
Mars Joins KohR for Remainder of 2022 Season
KohR Motorsports has added Luca Mars to its driver lineup in the No. 60 Ford Mustang GT4 for the remainder of the Michelin Pilot Challenge season. Mars will partner with Nate Stacy in the GS class starting with the Alan Jay Automotive Network 120.
The announcement follows Mars’ impressive test with the team at Daytona International Speedway in December.
“I’ve followed Luca’s progress in racing from karting through (Mazda) MX-5 Cup this past year,” team principal Dean Martin said. “He’s shown great progress each year. To be honest, I was a little surprised at Luca’s pace in the Mustang right out of the box (at the test). He was at a competitive race pace from the 2021 Daytona race lap times. The fact that he got even quicker during the weekend was that much more impressive. We can’t wait to get him out in race conditions. It’s going to be a great year!”
The Mars and Martin families share a racing history. Luca’s father, Brett, raced with Martin in the years before Luca started karting.
“It’s great to know you are working with one of the best teams in motorsports and having an IMPC champion (Stacy) as your teammate,” Luca Mars said. “It was also cool getting to work with Dean and the whole team because my dad used to race Mustangs with Dean, so it’s amazing for him to be able to watch me do what he used to do.”