Murphy P3-3Dimensional.com has announced an entirely new driver lineup for the European Le Mans Series round at Imola on May 15.
The Irish entry, run by Murphy Prototypes, will also switch to a Ligier JS P3-Nissan after running a Ginetta at the Silverstone opener.
Rob Garofall, Barrie Baxter and Alex Kapadia have been confirmed as the three drivers for the second race of the season.
Garofall, 44, is a versatile sportscar competitor who won the 4 Hours of Imola LMP3 class in 2015. The British driver also has experience in British GT and the Le Mans Series with RLR Msport.
Baxter joins the lineup with plenty of historic racing experience, particularly in Maseratis. The 56 year old Canadian-born Brit also continues to race in modern machinery, adding his upcoming LMP3 debut to a Porsche Carrera Cup campaign in 2016.
35 year old Kapadia is the only driver to have raced with Murphy Prototypes previously, driving an LMP2 car at the 2014 European Le Mans Series opener. Kapadia also has experience in the FIA WEC, Bathurst 12 Hours and 24H Series, and raced an ADESS LMP3 car for the first time at the 3 Hours of Sepang in November of last year.
“I’m delighted that Barrie, Alex and Rob are joining us at Imola”, said team principal Greg Murphy. “I’m also pleased that we will have a Ligier too, which puts us on a level playing field with the other LMP3 teams that all have the same machinery. The combination of a state-of-the-art car and a great driver line up means that we have a real chance of a top result and a podium position.”
Murphy Prototypes had planned to enter an Ave-Riley AR-2 to the full European Le Mans Series season, but the team has been forced to use interim cars while homologation takes place in the USA.
LMP3 drivers Doug Patterson and Tony Ave are currently part of the testing and development process for the new car, which is why Murphy has had to change its lineup for the Imola round.
The team is expecting the AR-2 to make its race debut at the 4 Hours of Red Bull Ring on July 17.
