Katherine Legge will join Michael Shank Racing for the fifth round of the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship at Detroit’s Belle Isle circuit.
The British driver is set to partner Oswaldo Negri Jr in the #60 Ligier JSP2-Nissan for the 100 minute race on June 4.
Michael Shank Racing had previously elected not to participate at the Detroit round owing to a clash with the Le Mans test day on June 5.
However, the team has retracted its initial decision and will take part in both events, with driver John Pew orchestrating the test day activities while Negri Jr travels back from the United States.
Legge’s parent team, Panoz DeltaWing Racing, is not entering the Detroit Sportscar Classic and has cleared her to fill in for Michael Shank Racing.
In late May, the majority of the team’s operations will move to Europe in preparation for Le Mans, while long-time IMSA team manager Kevin Doran will be drafted in to lead the Detroit weekend.
June will be a busy month for Michael Shank’s team (Credit: IMSA)
“I have to admit that I hated the idea of missing Detroit, so for everything to come together for us to race that weekend the way that it has, I’m really happy,” said team owner Michael Shank.
“Hopefully we can bring Honda some good points in the championship. Thanks to Katherine for jumping in to help us out with John already being set up for the Test Day in France. We are looking forward to having her with us, and I really appreciate Dr. Panoz and Tim [Keene, DeltaWing team manager] letting her join us that weekend.”
“It’s a bit more logistical legwork for us, but we’ve got a good plan in place, and we’ll have Kevin Doran and some of his guys in Detroit to help us out, so we feel good about having a competitive race in Detroit.”
Legge’s strong performances aboard the DeltaWing – notably at the Rolex 24 – have caught the attention of a number of IMSA teams, including Michael Shank Racing. As a result, she will be making her LMP2 race debut at the Belle Isle circuit.
“This is not only my first time in an LMP2 but my first time racing at Detroit and I am really looking forward to it,” said Legge.
“I am extremely grateful to Mike Shank and Honda for offering me this chance to drive and really appreciate that Dr. Panoz agrees that this is too good of an opportunity to miss as the DeltaWing is not racing.”
“Ozz has already started sending me in-car footage and notes for me to study, and I hope to be as ready as possible from the start of the weekend. This is a fantastic opportunity for me and I intend on making as much of it as I possibly can.”
