Sebring, FL. (July 16th, 2020) – After a 6-month break from the season opener at Daytona International Speedway, Dakota Dickerson is excited to get back behind the wheel of his #54 MLT Motorsports Ligier JSP3. Round 2 of the IMSA Prototype Challenge Season will be held at Sebring International Raceway and hosts 13 LMP3 racecars. Dickerson and MLT Motorsports are coming off a podium finish and are ready to carry that success onto the bumpy 3.7-mile road course.
Dickerson will have a new teammate this weekend as his originally slated co-driver, Dean Baker, is unable to travel due to Covid-19 restrictions. Dickerson will be paired with Dominic Cicero. The two competed against each other in the 2019 F3 Americas Championship and look forward to now being teammates. The condensed race weekend will feature both practice sessions and qualifying on Friday. The 1 hour 45-minute feature will go green at 11:50am ET on Saturday and will be broadcasted on NBC Sports Track Pass.
Photo Credit- Chris Green Photography
“It feels so good to be heading back to the racetrack with the MLT Motorsports crew. 6 months has never felt so long but the work never stopped for me and the guys. Having a podium at Daytona was extremely rewarding and we are looking forward to bettering that here at Sebring,” said Dickerson. ”I am really going to miss sharing the seat with Dean and I’m looking forward to having him back with us again soon. I competed with Dominic last year and am excited to work with him now that we are teammates. He has a ton of experience in motorsports, is very quick, and has been great to work with so far.”
In addition to his Prototype Challenge duties, Dickerson has the unique opportunity to also compete in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race in the TCR category. Fellow HPD GT3 Driver Academy teammate, Taylor Hagler, unfortunately tested positive for Covid-19 and is unable to race at Sebring. Dickerson will be filling in for Hagler in the #77 L.A Honda World Honda Civic Type R teaming up with veteran racer Ryan Eversley. This is Dickerson’s first time racing in the TCR category but is confident he is up for the task.
“I want to first just wish Taylor a quick recovery. I spoke with her earlier this week and it sounds like she is recovering very well and will be back in the car for the next event. I’m very thankful for the opportunity to take her place for this event. This will be my first time in a TCR car, but I feel confident about the weekend. I have an incredibly talented and experienced co-driver with Ryan Eversley who I’ve worked with previously. The L.A Honda World crew is one of the winningest teams in the Pilot Challenge field and I have a Honda race car under me, so the environment is certainly a winning one. I’m going to try and learn as quickly as possible, go for the win, and ultimately have a lot of fun in the process.”
Photo Credit- Motorsport Images
The IMSA Pilot Challenge schedule starts with two practice sessions on Thursday, with qualifying kicking off the day Friday morning. The Advent Health 120 will start at 2:30pm ET and will last 2 hours. The race will also be broadcasted on NBC Sports Track Pass.
Additional updates and insight into the race weekend can be found on the Dickerson Racing social media channels:
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About Dakota Dickerson Racing:
Dakota Dickerson is a third-generation racer from San Diego, CA. The 23-year old has been racing since he was 6 years old and with Global Racing Group, recently won the 2019 F3 Americas Championship powered by Honda. In his first four years of racing cars, he won a Driver Development scholarship from Bryan Herta Autosport (2-time Indianapolis 500 winning team), a Karts to Cars scholarship from Skip Barber Racing School, was chosen to be one of two drivers to represent the United States overseas via the Team USA Scholarship, was the 2016 USF2000 Mazda Scholarship Driver, and won the 2018 F4 US Championship. With this success, he hopes to continue on to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
About IMSA Prototype Challenge:
The IMSA Prototype Challenge series is for future IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers and veteran drivers alike. Entering its 15th season, IMSA Prototype Challenge is a single-class, endurance race format in 2020 with six races held on North America’s most premier road courses. The series will continue to feature the global-spec LMP3 prototypes.
About Michelin Pilot Challenge:
From the showroom to the speedway, the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge is IMSA’s showcase for the latest in American-made and imported high performance sports cars, coupes and sedans straight from the dealer showroom floor. With modifications permitted only in the area of safety and competition, the Michelin Pilot Challenge is home to the same cars seen on the streets and highways around the world every day. Racing takes place in two classes, the Grand Sport (GS) and Touring Car (TCR) with the series running a 10-race schedule in tandem with the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.