DENVER, NC. (21 September 2016) – The two-time defending IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Series champions from Action Express Racing will add Felipe Albuquerque to its driver lineup for the season finale, Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, Oct. 1.
Felipe Albuquerque will be joining drivers João Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Corvette DP for the 10-hour endurance test at the challenging 12-turn, 2.54-mile permanent road course located about 35 miles north of Atlanta.
Heading into the final race of the 2016 season, Fittipaldi and Barbosa trail their teammates, Dane Cameron and Eric Curran in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering/Team Fox Corvette DP, by a single point in the championship standings.
Albuquerque has participated in a pair of events with the Action Express team in 2016. He joined Barbosa and Fittipaldi in the No. 5 entry at the first two races of the season – the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. In both races, the team finished fourth. The native of Portugal has also made three straight starts in the 24 Hours of Le Mans (2014 to 2016).
Albuquerque finished second in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) event in Austin Saturday night following the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race. This year, he has picked up a pair of wins in the LMP2 class of the WEC (Six Hours of Silverstone and Six Hours of Mexico), as well as another second-place finish (Six Hours of Nürburgring). He currently sits in second-place in the WEC LMP2 championship standings.
“We’re looking forward to having Felipe back with our team for Petit Le Mans,” said Gary Nelson, team manager for Action Express Racing. “We worked with him at the start of the season in Daytona, and he has joined our program at a couple other endurance races this season. Felipe did a really good job behind the wheel at Daytona and Sebring, and he fits in smoothly with our drivers and team.”
Action Express Racing has recorded 16 wins in sports car competition since the team was formed in 2010. The team has captured back-to-back IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar championships (2014 and 2015), as well as consecutive Patron North America Endurance Cup championships (2014 and 2015).
photos by Jose Mario Dias
The season-finale for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, Oct. 1.
