Austin-Based Marc Austin Drives the No. 22 Lone Star Racing/Mad Joker Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 in Saturday’s IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge Doubleheader at Circuit of The Americas (COTA)
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas-based Lone Star Racing and Austin-based team driver Marc Austin make their second consecutive IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge race start at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) this weekend with Austin at the wheel of the No. 22 Lone Star Racing/Mad Joker Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4.
In his IMSA debut in this race last year, Austin scored a second-place Bronze Class finish in the first of two Saturday 45-minute sprint races while competing in the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge GT3 class. The VP Racing series returns to COTA with same doubleheader format again this weekend, but the GT4 category of cars have now stepped into the production-based spotlight, sharing the track with the faster prototypes in the LMP3 division.
“It seems silly to not run a race that’s only 10 minutes from home,” said Austin, who lives in nearby Buda, Texas. “So, we are all in. Originally, we were going to run the Mercedes-AMG GT3 like last year, but with no other competitors we decided to break out the AMG GT4, which we have had great success with. Plus, it doesn’t really matter. When AJ Petersen and the Lone Star Racing team put a car together, it’s dialed in, so we are going to have a lot of fun. We have a lot of people attending, a lot of sponsors coming in to join us for a great time and just hang out for the weekend and be a part of an Austin event here at COTA so close to home.”
Austin’s extensive experience at COTA includes co-driving the same No. 22 Lone Star Racing/Mad Joker Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 with Jason Golan to a fourth-place class finish in last April’s three-hour Lone Star Enduro for GT4 cars.
Lone Star Racing Team Manager and Technical Director AJ Petersen once again looks forward to another “home game” race at COTA. Although Lone Star Racing is based in Cresson, Texas in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, COTA is always a favorite and has a familiarity and family feel for most Texas-based teams.
“Racing at COTA is always a highlight on our calendar, but running with a local driver like Marc always makes it an even bigger Lone Star happening,” Petersen said. “We had solid outings in both the VP races and the Lone Star Enduro last year but feel we have a bit of unfinished business on the GT4 front after coming up just short of a podium in the three-hour race. It is also exciting to roll out our GT4 program this early in the year, particularly following our great sixth-place finish in the No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 just last month at the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Our team owner, Dan Knox, also plans to return to the wheel driving his Mercedes-AMG GT2 later this year, and Lone Star Racing is proud to be the only Mercedes-AMG Motorsport team actively campaigning Mercedes-AMG GT3, GT4 and GT2 cars nationally in North America.”
The VP Racing Challenge doubleheader is a support series for the headlining NASCAR Cup series race on Sunday. All weekend races will be run on COTA’s 2.3-mile, 20-turn National course, which was used last year on NASCAR weekend for the first time for a major race weekend in over a decade.
“The Mercedes-AMG GT4 should be a lot of fun on the shorter NASCAR National circuit,” Austin said. “The Mercedes-AMG GT4 handles great, and we are well familiar with most of the track after last year. The turn 6A and 6B sections are different. It feels like for a few seconds of the ride you are on a street course. We should be fine getting through there. I think the car is going to be great. Every Mercedes-AMG we have just handles amazing, and we’re always pretty excited about it.”
Austin and the No. 22 Lone Star Racing/Mad Joker Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 team compete this weekend at COTA with the support of the JG Roofing Company, Snap-On, Impact Health Labs, Vyper Industrial, FORTNA and ACS Manufacturing.
A pair of 40-minute practice sessions and qualifying will be held on Friday, with Saturday’s 45-minute races scheduled to go green at 12:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. EST (11:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. CST). Both races can be viewed live on NBC’s streaming network Peacock and the IMSA Official YouTube channel.