[h=2]IMSA: Stevenson Motorsports returns driver lineup, for Daytona[/h] RACER Staff / Image by LAT
Stevenson Motorsports will field a single car in the upcoming Rolex 24 at Daytona, with last year's driver lineup returning intact.
Andrew Davis, Lawson Aschenbach, Matt Bell, and Robin Liddell completed 95 percent of the race laps in 2016, scoring four podium finishes and nine top-five finishes in its debut in the GTD field with the Audi R8 LMS. The team, which carried the the No. 57 in GRAND-AM competition for over a decade starting in 2004, will once again carry the number starting in 2017.
The team's plans for the remainder of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship are not yet known. It ran a two-car entry in 2016 with two Audi Sport customer racing Audi R8 LMS machines.
"I'm really excited to have the 57 back on our car again this year, and you really just couldn't ask for a better line up than what we've got with these guys," said team owner Johnny Stevenson. "We learned a lot with the Audi last year and we are miles ahead of where we were with the car at this point last year, so we have a lot better feel for what we will need for Daytona. Through the years, our results have just not been what we've been looking for in the 24. So hopefully between putting all our focus on one car, having this driver line up, and getting a little luck with having the 57 on the car, we can get the season off to a big start!"
Mike Johnson will call the strategy for the team from atop the pit box, while Mike Hoffman returns as crew chief. Steve Newey has joined the squad to oversee the engineering as the team looks to convert lessons learned in the 2016 season into strong results in 2017.