[h=2]IMSA: P3 sales continue[/h]
"It went exceptionally well," Bregman continued. "The first driver got in at 9 a.m. and bought one by 9:30. We had six potential customers, two signed contracts on the spot, the first one has a teammate who has one and they convinced a buddy to get a third. So there were three sold at the test and two more drivers have expressed interest in buying cars, so it could be five from that test alone."


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Marshall Pruett
More LMP3 cars have been sold for the relaunched IMSA Prototype Challenge presented by Mazda series that will debut next year. Its new PC1 class, which will use LMP3 cars powered by spec V8 engines, stoked particular interest when it was announced at Road America in August.


Thanks to a recent open test held by Onroak Automotive at Florida's Palm Beach International Raceway with its Ligier JS P3 model that was run by Tequila Patron ESM, additional purchases have been made.
"Onroak sponsored a test drive of our P3 at PBIR where we had ESM provide some technical support and transport and had Guy Cosmo there a nice driver coach," Ligier's Ethan Bregman told RACER. "We have one car that we own and use in the States as a test car, and we cycled eight drivers through it were able to and talk about our plans."
As many as five new sales for the JS P3 could come as a result of the PBIR outing.
"It went exceptionally well," Bregman continued. "The first driver got in at 9 a.m. and bought one by 9:30. We had six potential customers, two signed contracts on the spot, the first one has a teammate who has one and they convinced a buddy to get a third. So there were three sold at the test and two more drivers have expressed interest in buying cars, so it could be five from that test alone."


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After the success of the PBIR test, Onroak's American arm will make the test car available to teams with an interest in sampling the product before buying.
"This test was pretty heavily subsidized by us, so what we're doing now is making our demo car available to qualified teams for a small rental fee and mileage rate to do their own customer evaluations," Bregman said. "They can pick up the car and create their own test days to demonstrate their abilities and show the ability of the car. We have three of those opportunities available in the coming months."
Bregman also credited IMSA Prototype Challenge presented by Mazda series manager Randy Hembrey for coming to the test to support the class and answer any questions teams or drivers had regarding P3.
"Randy came up to meet with the drivers to talk about the P3 class and it was really good for us," he said. "All, except for one driver, were from outside IMSA, which is important for growth. It made a great impact to have their series director there."
2017 will see IMSA's WeatherTech SportsCar Championship PC class complete its final season as the IMSA Prototype Challenge presented by Mazda PC1s hit the track for the first time. At the end of 2017, the PC class will be removed from the WeatherTech Championship roster, leaving three top-tier categories, as the PC1s become IMSA's sole entry-level prototype class, albeit at the support series level.

 

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