Gradient Racing is an American

sports car racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing that uses sports cars with two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be either purpose-built Sports prototype, sports prototypes, which are the highest level in sports car racing; or grand to ...

team that currently competes in the GTD class of the

IMSA SportsCar Championship The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (I ...

. The team was founded in 2018 by Andris Laivins.

History

Gradient Racing was founded at the end of 2018 by former CJ Wilson Racing team manager Andris Laivins. The team formed an alliance with

Acura Acura is the luxury and performance division of Japanese automaker Honda, based primarily in North America. The brand was launched on March 27, 1986, marketing luxury and performance automobiles. Acura sells cars in the United States, Canada, M ...

and acquired an Acura NSX GT3 chassis. They would make their competitive debut in the

2019 Blancpain GT World Challenge America The 2019 Blancpain GT World Challenge America was the 30th season of the United States Auto Club's Blancpain GT World Challenge America. It was the first under Blancpain sponsorship, taking over from the longtime Pirelli sponsorship, as part of ...

GT World Challenge America

2019

Gradient Racing made their racing debut in the

fielding an Acura NSX GT3. The team signed Till Bechtolsheimer full-time along with

Ryan Eversley Ryan A. Eversley (born December 22, 1984) is an American professional auto racing driver. He currently races the No. 07 Toyota GR GT4 Supra Evo for Precision Racing L.A. in the Pirelli GT4 America series as well as serving as Head of Driver an ...

. Eversley would be replaced by Marc Miller after the second round. Trent Hindman replaced Miller for the sixth round at

Road America Road America is a motorsport Road racing, road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the IndyCar Series, IMSA SportsCar Championship, Sports Car Club ...

. The team finished 4th in the Pro-Am Cup at seasons end.

IMSA SportsCar Championship

2020

For 2020, the team moved from

GT World Challenge America The GT World Challenge America is a North American auto racing series launched in 1990 by the Sports Car Club of America. It has been managed by the SRO Motorsports Group since 2018, and has been sanctioned by the United States Auto Club since 20 ...

to the

fielding an Acura NSX GT3 in the GTD class. They would only compete in the WeatherTech Sprint Cup rounds with drivers Till Bechtolsheimer and Marc Miller. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the team would in fact race at the

Daytona International Raceway Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States, about north of Orlando. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening e ...

in the 2 hour 40 minute sprint race. They would have a best result of 7th at Sebring and finished 14th in the GTD standings.

2021

The team would return to the series for the

2021 IMSA SportsCar Championship The 2021 IMSA SportsCar Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2021 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship) was the 51st racing season sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) which traces its lineage back to ...

once again fielding an Acura NSX GT3 in the WeatherTech Sprint Cup rounds. The team resigned Till Bechtolsheimer and Marc Miller. At the 2021 Detroit Sports Car Classic, the team got their first podium in the championship finishing third.

Mario Farnbacher Mario Farnbacher (born 14 May 1992) is a German racecar driver. He won the IMSA SportsCar Championship in the GTD class in 2019 and 2020, and also won the GT World Challenge America Pro-Am title in 2022. He has class victories at the Petit Le ...

replaced an injured Marc Miller at the

Virginia International Raceway Virginia International Raceway (VIR) is a race track located in Alton, Virginia, near Danville. It is less than a half-mile from the North Carolina/Virginia border just outside Milton, North Carolina, on the banks of the Dan River. VIR hosts ...

. The team finished 13th in the GTD standings.

2022

Gradient Racing competed in the championship for a third consecutive season in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

. This season they would compete in the Michelin Endurance Cup rounds. The team resigned Till Bechtolsheimer alongside

and

Kyffin Simpson Kyffin Simpson ( ; born 9 October 2004) is a Caymanian racing driver competing in the IndyCar Series with Chip Ganassi Racing. He won the 2023 European Le Mans Series championship with Algarve Pro Racing. Personal life Simpson was born in Brid ...

. Marc Miller would join the team in the rounds 1 and 3 at

Daytona Daytona may refer to: Locations * Daytona Beach, Florida * Daytona Beach Shores, Florida * South Daytona, Florida * The Daytona Beach metropolitan area * Halifax area, also known as Daytona, the region around Daytona Beach Motor racing * Dayto ...

and

Long Beach Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

respectively. The team would get their first podium of the season finishing second at round 3 in

. In the season ending

Petit Le Mans Petit Le Mans (French language, French for ''Little Le Mans'') is a sports car racing, sports car Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race held annually at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, United States. The race has been held for a durat ...

, the team had their qualifying times disallowed, resulting in them starting last on the GTD grid. In the race, the team made their way up the field and eventually overtook race leader

Jordan Pepper Jordan Lee Pepper (born 31 July 1996) is a South African racing driver, currently competing in the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup. He is the son of former South African Touring Car driver Iain Pepper and younger brother of W Series (champions ...

in the No. 70 Inception Racing McLaren in the closing minutes of the race. Moments later a full course caution was displayed and the Farnbacher would maintain the lead. The race would end under caution and the team would get their first win as an organization.

Racing record

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) * Season still in progress.

References

External links

* {{IMSA GTD teams American auto racing teams Auto racing teams established in 2018 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship teams