Dakota Dickerson got a taste of what it is like to compete in a four-hour endurance race last weekend in the Michelin IMSA Sportscar Encore event at Sebring International Raceway. Coming over from open-wheel racing, the Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda 2018 titleholder was treated to a whole new type of race weekend, thanks to ANSA Motorsports, Ligier and Onroak Automotive.
“When I got a call two weeks ago from Alain Nadal at ANSA Motorsports to come and drive an LMP3, it didn’t take me long to say yes” said Dickerson. “It’s a great car. Ultimately, this was a massive opportunity, especially coming over from Formula cars, as it was the first time I’ve driven this type of car. The good thing is we had an enormous amount of track time this weekend, and that gave me a chance to get used to the car. It was fun to drive.”
Three different classes of cars were grouped together for the Encore weekend, namely the GT4, TCR and the IMSA Prototype LMP3. ANSA Motorsports fielded three LMP3 cars, with Dickerson sharing the No.2 Ligier machine with co-drivers, Jon Brownson and Neil Alberico.
Friday and Saturday’s practice sessions were all about getting comfortable with the car, learning the track, practicing pit stops, and looking at data and video to see what improvements were needed. The No. 2 car team recorded a top-five in the second practice with Dickerson logging a top -two time during his stint in the third practice.
“Driving an LMP3 car is different than a formula car,” commented the San Diego native. “Sitting in an enclosed cockpit, and driving a right-hand-drive car rather than sitting in the middle of the car, took some getting used to. With all of the track time, we were able to come up to speed quickly and start tuning the car for race conditions.”
Unable to make qualifying, the Brownson/Dickerson/Alberico trio started at the back of the LMP3 grid, with Jon Brownson taking the green flag at noon on Sunday under sunny skies. The 4-hour race was filled with excitement and incidents, bringing out a few full-course cautions and drive-thru penalties for some drivers. On Lap 26, 55 minutes into the race, Brownson who had moved up to 9th place, came into the pits for a driver change. Dickerson jumped into the car and was able to unlap the field and was pacing the leaders before he had to pull off next to the tire wall near Turn 9 due to a mechanical issue.
It wasn’t the way Dakota Dickerson wanted to end the weekend, however he was grateful for the great opportunity he was given and the unbelievable experience.
Dickerson stated, “I am very thankful to Onroak Automotive and Ansa Motorsports for the opportunity to drive the Ligier JS P3 car. Because of the clutch issue we experienced, we didn’t get the results we wanted but I did enjoy every bit of IMSA this weekend and would love to do more sports car racing with Ligier and Onroak next year if the opportunity arises. Congrats to Kyle Kirkwood and Roman De Angelis for winning the race. Also, a big thank you to my teammates Jon Brownson and Neil Alberico for such an enjoyable weekend.”
