ATLANTA, GA (Thursday, November 10, 2022) – After kicking off a limited schedule in pro-level racing for the first time in 2022, SKI Autosports has its sights set on launching a full schedule of competition in 2023.
The team ended the season this past weekend at the HSR Classic Daytona presented by IMSA at Daytona International Speedway. The weekend began with a pair of victories for the SKI Autosport’s Corvette C4 – IMSA GTO driven by second-generation racer Canaan O’Connell.
From the sprint races, SKI Autosport went onto the Classic 24-Hour race, which started Saturday afternoon with British racer Matt Bell and former Rolex 24 at Daytona winner Johnny O’Connell sharing the team’s Ferrari 458 GT3 machine and former Le Mans GT-entered Callaway Corvette.
The opening race in the Ferrari was disrupted by a poorly timed safety car period for the team, and Matt Bell suffered a dramatic tire failure at more than 170mph on the Daytona banking aboard the Corvette. Remarkably, despite spinning wildly out of control, Bell was able to keep the car from hitting the inside or outside walls.
The HSR Classic 24 at Daytona featured four separate races for each of the six classes spread across the 24-hour period.
With tire failures becoming a common issue for teams up and down the pit lane, Bell sadly suffered another tire failure on the final lap in the Ferrari exiting turn one – the car spinning into the inside wall.
“After the exciting win on Thursday, it was disappointing to end our 24-hour race early. All three drivers did a great job highlighted by Canaan’s wins. In the Classic 24, both the Ferrari 458 and Callaway Corvette were super fast and running great lap times, headed toward podium finishes when the tire issues struck,” commented team owner Kent Hussey.
The majority of the 2022 race season had the team focused on a pared-down SRO GT America schedule consisting of races at VIRginia International Raceway, Road America, and Indianapolis.
“The season was a success for our team in getting several of our current and vintage race cars out to the track. Racing the Ferrari 458 GT in the SRO with Andy Pilgrim was a chance for SKI Autosports to get our feet wet in a new series. We really enjoyed the events and had tremendous success finishing on the podium on all three race weekends.
“The highlight was our win at Road America. It was a hard-fought victory and a thrilling finish, with Andy (Pilgrim) battling the ultimate series champion George Kurtz. Andy also captured Masters Class wins at VIR and Road America.”
With the 2022 season complete, SKI Autosport team owners Kent and Melissa Hussey, along with long time team manager, Phil Creighton, are putting the pieces into place for the 2023 racing season. “We will definitely compete in more races in 2023 in multiple series and race cars. We anticipate announcing all the final details in the coming weeks. The new season will be here before we know it, and we expect SKI Autosport to be a larger part of the motorsports story in 2023.”
