[h=2]Penske-Honda IMSA DPi expected in 2018[/h] Monday, 13 February 2017


Marshall Pruett / Images by LAT (top) and Marshall Pruett

IMSA will welcome two big names to its Daytona Prototype international ranks when a factory Honda DPi effort run by Team Penske enters the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on a full-time basis in 2018.
The move by Honda has been anticipated since the DPi formula was announced, but the return of Team Penske to lead the effort – first mentioned by RACER last August – wavered until recent progress solidified its participation.


Honda declined to comment on the topic when contacted by RACER. Team Penske president Tim Cindric confirmed the team will compete in DPi, but stopped short of naming Honda as its partner.
"We're doing it," he told RACER, "it's just a matter of who it's with."
Multiple sources confirmed the North Carolina-based team has ramped up its planning efforts for the Honda DPi program in the last month as staffing inquiries have been made within open-wheel and sports car racing paddocks, and numerous drivers have also fielded inquiries from the team (or spoken with Penske) regarding opportunities with its new DPi project.


Honda will join existing factory entries from Cadillac, Mazda and Nissan, giving DPi a strong representation from Japanese manufacturers. With Dallara responsible for Cadillac's DPi-V.R, Riley/Multimatic tasked with building Mazda's RT24-P, and Ligier attached to the Nissan Onroak DPi, the lone constructor without a DPi program – France's ORECA – is said to be Honda's chosen supplier.


Asked if it was working with Honda and Penske, an ORECA representative said "no comment" when reached by RACER.
Honda's last foray into works-affiliated prototype racing came in 2015 with the ARX-04b LMP2 chassis powered by its venerable twin-turbo V6 powerplant. The Wirth Research chassis and its troublesome aerodynamics proved to be more than its partner team Tequila Patron ESM could overcome at the onset of the season, and a move to Ligier by ESM promptly ended its competitive life after a single race.


After the quick conclusion of the ARX-04b program, HPD concentrated on supplying engines to LMP2 customers. From its relationships with ESM and Ohio's Michael Shank Racing, Honda won the first two races of 2016--the prestigious Rolex 24 at Daytona and Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring--and the last race of the 2016 WeatherTech Championship season in the swansong for IMSA's combined P2/DP Prototype class.
Through its upscale Acura brand, Honda turned its attention from prototypes to a pair of GT3-spec NSXs run by MSR in IMSA's GT Daytona category. The factory-supported aspect of the MSR NSX program is expected to conclude at the end of 2017, paving the way for Honda to place the majority of its focus on the introduction of its new DPi. It's believed Shank's NSX operation will need to convert to a more traditional GTD customer program and acquire sponsors or paying drivers to continue as an independent effort in 2018.
























As Porsche’s factory LMP2 team in the American Le Mans Series, Team Penske played a major role in developing the all-conquering Porsche RS Spyder that won three straight ALMS titles from 2006-’08. Penske’s primary rival during that rich era of North American prototype racing came from Honda Performance Development and its ARX series of Acura-badged LMP2s.

























Penske's engagement with Honda will make for an interesting assembly of unexpected manufacturer alliances in the Verizon IndyCar Series and IMSA's WeatherTech Championship.

Penske ranks as Chevrolet's top team in IndyCar where its sole competition comes from Honda-powered teams. In IMSA, it will compete for Honda directly against Chevy's Cadillac-branded DPis. Being tasked with beating Honda for Chevy in IndyCar and beating Chevy/Cadillac for Honda in IMSA is destined to be a unique plot to follow in both championships.


Signing drivers will also provide ongoing interest as two of its IndyCar stars – three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves and two-time Indy winner Juan Montoya – are expected to play a role. Montoya, who lost his full-time IndyCar seat with the team, was previously mentioned by Cindric as a natural fit for a sports car program, and Castroneves, who is entering his 20th season in IndyCar, has also been suggested as an option for a migration to sports cars once his full-time open-wheel career winds down.