Murillo Racing Returns With 2026 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Program with Aurora Straus and Kenny Murillo
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – P1 Motor Club, the 650-acre, multi-circuit private motorsports community opening in Port St. Lucie, Florida 45 minutes north of Palm Beach, will make its full-season IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge debut in 2026 with drivers Aurora Straus and Kenny Murillo in a Mercedes-AMG GT4 fielded by Murillo Racing. Historically IMSA rivals, Straus and Murillo will share a car for the first time after getting married on December 31, 2025.
P1 Motor Club features more than nine miles of private racetracks, including the 4.5-mile monster “P1 Circuit” with dramatic elevation changes and an F1 Suzuka-inspired bridge with a figure-8 layout, the 3-mile “Treasure Coast Circuit” with generous runoff for novices and racers alike, a Karting Circuit, a dedicated Drift Circuit, a Rallycross Course, year-round country club amenities, and trackside garage townhomes and residences.
The development also includes a purpose-built 400,000-square-foot Commerce Park for professional race teams and manufacturer partners, enabling members and guests to access top-tier support on-site. P1 Motor Club is creating a direct bridge from club-level track driving to IMSA and beyond. The facility opens in 2026 and already has 220 members. Straus is a Founding Partner at P1 Motor Club and leads its partnerships and business development programs.
Straus made her professional debut at age 15 and has become one of the most accomplished young American drivers in GT4 machinery. Her résumé includes IMSA Rookie of the Year, runner-up in World Challenge, and becoming the first woman worldwide to win a Radical Cup North America race — all while completing her undergraduate degree at Harvard. Aurora also founded Girls With Drive, a nationwide program introducing young women to motorsport careers.
“I’m so grateful to Richard Mille, P1 Motor Club, and all of our returning partners for bringing this program together,” Straus said. “At my last IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge start, Kenny and I were lined up in second and third against each other!”
Murillo, also a racing engineer and team manager, enters the 2026 season with a championship pedigree. His credits include the 2021 GT4 America Silver title and multiple IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge wins in 2022 and 2023.
“Getting back to IMSA feels like unfinished business,” Murillo said, referring to his 2023 season when he led the championship for most of the year. “Huge thanks to JDX Racing – Jeremy Dale, Sabre Cook, Paul Bocuse – for an incredible 2025 season as your engineer. It’s like coming home to return behind the wheel with Murillo Racing in a Mercedes-AMG once again. And driving with Aurora is a dream come true. We’ve both cheered each other on for eight years now and fought for our own championships, but now we get to do it together.”
Murillo also served as one of the technical architects behind P1’s 4.5-mile flagship circuit, along with world-renowned circuit design firms Tilke and Apex Circuit Design who refined circuit details guided by FIA Grade II standards.
“Ever since I was a kid building Hot Wheels tracks out of leftover Christmas bows, I’ve been obsessed with designing racetracks, so helping design P1 was surreal. We pulled inspiration and solicited feedback from F1 to IMSA to club racing paddocks. Every corner, elevation change – man-made since we’re in Florida – and every degree of camber is deliberate. We’ve combined everyone’s favorite corners worldwide into one of the most unique circuit designs in the world – and added an F1 Suzuka-inspired bridge for a true figure-8 layout.”
Murillo Racing’s 2026 Michelin Pilot Challenge campaign begins on Friday, January 23 at the season-opening 4-hour BMW M Endurance Challenge at Daytona International Speedway.