Famous Corvette engineers now running LMP2 — with Fittipaldi and Piquet racing dynasty names in the cockpit.
The #73 Pratt Miller LMP2 carries two of the most storied surnames in Formula 1 history. Nicolas Fittipaldi is a great-nephew of two-time F1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi. Pedro Piquet is related to three-time F1 champion Nelson Piquet. The combined F1 championship legacy connected to this single LMP2 car is remarkable.
One ORECA LMP2 07-Gibson competing in LMP2 class
Pratt Miller is one of the most technically sophisticated motorsport organizations in America, best known as the long-time technical partner of Corvette Racing. For decades, Pratt Miller designed, built, developed, and ran the factory Corvette C5.R, C6.R, C7.R, and C8.R race cars that dominated GT racing both in IMSA and at Le Mans.
When Corvette Racing transitioned its operations, Pratt Miller established its own independent motorsport program — applying their extraordinary engineering pedigree to the LMP2 class. The engineering culture they built around Corvette — meticulous preparation, deep data analysis, relentless development — transfers directly to prototype racing.
Their Sebring experience runs deep: Pratt Miller prepared Corvettes that won at Sebring many times over the years. The track's unique challenges — the famous bumps, the heat, the varied surface — are well-known to the team's engineers.
Emerson Fittipaldi won the Formula 1 World Championship in 1972 and 1974, driving for Lotus and McLaren respectively. He then won the Indianapolis 500 twice (1989, 1993), making him one of motorsport's greatest champions across different disciplines. His Brazilian family produced multiple racing drivers across generations.
Nicolas Fittipaldi carries on the family tradition as a racing driver in North America. Being a great-nephew of Emerson means growing up with racing as family culture — but Nicolas has needed to establish his own credentials through results, not surname. His IMSA campaign is part of building that independent record.
Nelson Piquet won three Formula 1 World Championships (1981, 1983, 1987) with Brabham and Williams, cementing his place among the all-time greats. His son Nelson Piquet Jr. also competed in F1, and the family's racing tradition extends to Pedro Piquet Santo. Racing pedigree of this depth in a single LMP2 car is genuinely unusual — and adds historical significance to every lap the #73 completes.
Pratt Miller Motorsports was the technical backbone of Corvette Racing for over 20 years — one of the longest and most successful team-manufacturer partnerships in motorsport history. Their Corvettes won GT class championships, Sebring victories, and Rolex 24 titles, establishing the C-brand as America's GT racing standard-bearer. That institutional knowledge now benefits their LMP2 program.
Emerson Fittipaldi is one of very few drivers to have won world championships in both Formula 1 and IndyCar (CART). His Indianapolis 500 wins at ages 43 and 47 showed remarkable longevity. Nicolas Fittipaldi's IMSA career represents the next chapter of a family that has been at the top level of motorsport for 50 years.