DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge serves as a steppingstone for drivers and teams to climb the IMSA ladder.
That climb also can include trips to major race venues, as four VP Racing Challenge drivers will do in 2025.
Released last week, the Michelin Le Mans Cup’s Road to Le Mans entry list features four drivers who have competed in VP Racing Challenge this season.
The pair of one-hour races support the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which will also feature Ford’s Mustang Challenge running an invitational event on the weekend docket, June 12-14.
Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsports’ three drivers of Valentino Catalano, Markus Pommer and Oscar Tunjo will all race at Le Mans in the LMP3 class. Catalano and Tunjo will share Gebhardt’s No. 70 Duqueine D09 Toyota, with Pommer sharing the No. 6 ANS Motorsport Ligier JS P325 Toyota with Axel Gnos.
Catalano has won three of the first four VP Racing Challenge P3 races this year in Gebhardt’s No. 30 Duqueine D08, with Pommer racing the first two events of the year in the team’s second car before missing the Circuit of The Americas due to illness. Tunjo stood in and scored the Friday pole in his first drive in the series.
Samantha Tan, twice a Bronze Cup winner at COTA in VP Racing Challenge Grand Touring Daytona X (GTDX) in her No. 38 ST Racing BMW M4 GT3, will race the No. 38 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 in the Road to Le Mans with Gustav Bergstrom.
They’re not the only IMSA-affiliated entrants in this race, as two drivers who have made IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship starts this year are also set to compete.
Rory van der Steur (No. 11 Code Racing Development Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO, sharing with Philipp Sager) and Anthony Bartone (No. 14 Getspeed Mercedes-AMG GT3, sharing with Steve Jans) raced at the Rolex 24 At Daytona, with van der Steur continuing into the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.
Bartone shared the fifth-placed Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) finishing No. 69 Getspeed Mercedes-AMG at Daytona and van der Steur was part of his team’s No. 19 Aston Martin entry at Daytona that finished sixth in Grand Touring Daytona (GTD).
Inter Europol Competition, Af Corse, Optimum Motorsport (aka Inception Racing) and Iron Dames, who also have been in IMSA competition this year, are also on the Road to Le Mans entry list.
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