KROHN RACING (USA)

Owner: Tracy W. Krohn
Team manager: Gary Holland
Base: Braselton (USA)
www.krohnracing.net

2015 TUSCC results:
Daytona Rolex 24 Hours: Rtd Brundle/Pla/Krohn/Jonsson (GBR/FRA/USA/SUE) No. 57 Ligier JS P2-Judd.
Sebring 12 Hours: 8th Pla/Krohn/Jonsson (FRA/USA/SUE) No. 57 Ligier JS P2-Judd.
2015 ELMS results:
Silverstone 4 Hours: 11th Krohn/Jönsson/Negri Jr (USA/SUE/BRE) no. 40 Ligier JS P2-Judd.
Imola 4 Hours: 5th Krohn/Jönsson/Negri Jr (USA/SUE/BRE) no. 40 Ligier JS P2-Judd.

     Tracy W. Krohn, Texan businessman and driver, set up his own team called Krohn Racing in 2005. His first race was the 2006 Daytona 24 Hours in which he finished in the first five in his Riley-Pontiac and won the drivers’ title at the end of the year. He also made his Le Mans debut in a White Lightning Racing Porsche 911 GT3-RSR. Up till the end of 2013 the team ran two programmes as it canned its GrandAm involvement with its outdated Lola-Ford that same year. In the ALMS the American outfit started with the Sebring 12 Hours where his best result is his third-place category finish in 2008. Krohn Racing bagged its first win in GrandAm in 2009 when Jönsson-Zonta won in New Jersey followed by second place in Watkins Glen. The following year the team came fourth in the Daytona 24 Hours (Krohn-Jönsson-Zonta-Braun), and scored its first pole on the Lime Rock circuit.

     Krohn Racing made its ALMS debut in 2007 (at Sebring) in partnership with Risi Competizione in a Ferrari F430 and made its first appearance at the Le Mans 24 Hours, but under the Risi Competizione banner. The blue and green car finished nineteenth overall and second in the LM GT2 category. The team’s next best result was third in category in 2009. The following year the Ferrari he shared with Jönsson and van de Poele retired with engine failure. In 2011, Krohn Racing took part in the Daytona 24 Hours (6th driven by Krohn-N.Jönsson-R. Jönsson-Minassian) and tackled the ILMC. It was the second American team in the field with Level 5 Motorsports, and it entered all the rounds in the LM GTE Am category with a Ferrari F430 GT for Tracy Krohn himself, assisted by Swede Nic Jönsson, a pillar of the team. With the backing of Italian Michele Rugolo as third driver, Krohn and Jönsson won the first round of the 2011 ILMC, the Sebring 12 Hours. In the Sarthe Krohn Racing entered under its own name for the first time (and not that of Risi Competizione), but retired with engine failure in the middle of the night. They posed a serious threat to Larbre Competition throughout the season winning in GTE Am in the Petit Le Mans and finished second in the championship.

     For the 2012 season, Krohn Racing bought a 2011 Ferrari F458 Italia for its assault on the world title. Tracy was still behind the wheel and he had become a highly-skilled driver backed up by Jönsson and Rugolo. Before tackling the WEC the team raced in the Daytona 24 Hours and Krohn-Jönsson-Braun-Zonta’s Lola-Ford saw the flag in 19th place overall and 11th in its category after a race marked by numerous technical glitches. At Sebring, the team was unable to defend its chances due to gearbox problems and a driving error by Krohn – which he admitted. Spa was also a disappointment with another collision and last place in GTE Am. At Le Mans the blue and green Ferrari finished third in GTE Am and twenty-fifth overall. In the 2012 WEC the American squad was classified third with its best result being second place at Mount Fuji.

 

    In 2013, Tracy Krohn, who was still chasing a victory at Le Mans and a world title, continued in the WEC. Regular Michele Rugolo, now a Gold-rated driver, was replaced by another Italian, Maurizio Mediani, alongside Krohn and Jönsson. As the overall level in GTE Am kept improving the US-entered Ferrari had increasing difficulty in matching the pace of the front-runners after finishing sixth at Silverstone and seventh at Spa. The Le Mans 24 Hours was a weekend from hell for the team. Krohn had a spectacular accident in practice at the wheel and the rebuilt Ferrari retired in the race shortly after midnight, again with the boss in the driving seat. It didn’t get any better for the rest of the season and the team finished last in LM GTE Am.

    In 2014, Krohn Racing left the WEC for the Tudor United SportsCar Championship. The team’s Ferrari 458 was not originally selected for the Le Mans 24 Hours, but after Strakka Racing’s withdrawal the ACO Sport Management asked Krohn to start. He accepted without a second thought. The driver line-up consisted of team regular Nic Jönsson and Englishman Ben Collins, a driver cum host on the famous BBC programme Top Gear under the pseudonym, the Stig! The green and blue Ferrari saw the flag in 30th place overall and 10th in LM GTE Am.

Krohn had shown an interest in LM P2 and at the end of the 2014 season he decided to take the plunge and bought a Ligier JS P2-Judd from Onroak Automotive. The car made its first two outings at Daytona and Sebring. It was retired at Daytona and came eighth overall at Sebring having started in pole thanks to Olivier Pla’s qualifying time.

     The first part of the ELMS season was hard going, with an uninspiring race at Silverstone and fifth place at Imola 4 Hours. For the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Ozz Negri Jr handed over to Portuguese driver Joaõ Barbosa, winner of the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. Recurring electrical glitches meant the Ligier JS P2 spent over an hour in the garage and then sparked a steering fault that the drivers had to cope with until the finish line, which they crossed twelfth in LM P2. Despite talented drivers such as Julien Canal and Olivier Pla, Krohn Racing did not make the podium for the entire season. However, they finished all five ELMS races and which made them a worthy fourth in the championship. A sufficiently encouraging result for Krohn to sign up for another season.

    The team has not entered the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship this year, preferring instead to concentrate on the European championship. Swedish driver Björn Wirdheim has joined the crew. After a frustrating fourth place at Silverstone, Krohn Racing took sixth place at Imola with Pla standing in for Krohn. The #40 Ligier JS P2 is probably not winning material in the LM P2 class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. However a second or third place is definitely not out of the question.