Hanley Motorsports and DXDT Racing Plan Three-Class IMSA Program for 2027

Hanley Motorsports’ IMSA plan spans three classes

Hanley Motorsports is entering IMSA with a broader footprint than a single new team usually brings: the organization plans to compete in GTD Pro, GTD and Michelin Pilot Challenge. That reach is the headline. BMW support and a deal with DXDT Racing are part of the plan, while Hanley Motorsports will take a majority role in the effort.

There’s a practical foundation behind the expansion, too: the team is acquiring the former Paul Miller Racing shop. For anyone tracking the series, the combination of a multi-class program, manufacturer support and an established facility suggests a substantial commitment. The announcement alone doesn’t explain how the responsibilities will be divided across the classes, but the scale is clear.

Hanley’s IMSA expansion brings two teams under one banner

Hanley Motorsports Incorporated (HMI) and DXDT Racing will join forces for a three-class IMSA program in 2027. The team will race under the HMI name in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GTD and GTD Pro categories, plus the GS class of the Michelin Pilot Challenge. BMW will support the operation. The scale is the story here. HMI is taking over Paul Miller Racing’s operational assets, including its Buford, Georgia shop. That gives the new outfit an established base from which to launch; HMI is also building a permanent facility nearby in Flowery Branch. Paul Miller Racing arrives with the credentials of the 2026 GTD Pro champions, led by Connor De Phillippi and Neil Verhagen.

Hanley Motorsports

Robert Hanley’s route to this point began on dirt more than 30 years ago. After pausing to focus on family and business, he returned to racing in 2019 and won a Masters Championship. He entered Porsche Sprint Challenge and SRO in 2023, then expanded into sports cars in 2026 with a minority stake in DXDT’s IMSA GTD effort and a separate LMP2 joint venture with Bryan Herta Autosport and PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports. “This is a dream come true for me,” Hanley said. He described the plan as a bid to compete at the highest level and credited Dave, Mitchell and Bryan with helping build an organization intended to sustain success. He also acknowledged that the team will face formidable rivals, adding that HMI is committed to the challenge.

DXDT supplies recent IMSA experience

DXDT founder David Askew’s team gives HMI a proven starting point, and HMI will hold a majority stake in the combined effort. DXDT moved full-time into the WeatherTech Championship in 2025 after winning eight races in the 2024 SRO GT3 Pro season. Its first IMSA year brought six top-10 finishes; in 2026, the team claimed its first pole at Long Beach and reached the podium at Petit Le Mans. Askew called the partnership a chance to grow beyond DXDT’s initial IMSA entry. He said the team had spent its first two seasons building a foundation and saw the agreement with Hanley as the next step.

DXDT Racing won't be competing under the same name or with the Corvette Z06 GT3.R in 2027.

Photo by: Jake Galstad / Lumen via Getty Images

The leadership appointments pair engineering depth with race-winning experience. HMI has made Mitchell Simmons team principal and named former IMSA champion Bryan Sellers competition director. Simmons worked on software for Formula 1 programs and across championships in Europe, Asia and North America before spending more than a decade with Paul Miller Racing. He has multiple IMSA titles, including the GTD Pro championship won earlier in 2026. Simmons called Hanley’s project a “super team” built from people at Paul Miller Racing and DXDT, and said he was eager to lead the broad program. The ambition is clear; whether the combined operation can turn that depth into results across three classes remains the test.

Hanley Motorsports will take over the operational assets of Paul Miller Racing, the reigning GTD Pro champions.

Photo by: Jake Galstad / Lumen via Getty Images

Sellers moved into DXDT management at the end of 2024 after a driving career that included two IMSA GTD titles and wins at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Twelve Hours of Sebring, Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen and Motul Petit Le Mans. He also won at Long Beach three years in a row. Sellers said the HMI partnership matched the kind of management role he had hoped to take on, and singled out reuniting with Simmons as a welcome part of the deal. BMW Motorsport’s expanded factory backing will cover HMI’s GTD Pro campaign with the BMW M4 GT3 EVO, alongside its GTD and GT4 programs. Sellers says he’s eager to get the BMWs on track against IMSA’s top competition.

BMW’s endorsement gives Hanley Motorsports a clear place in the manufacturer’s customer racing plans, though the team still has to turn that support into results. Adam McGregor, BMW NA’s Motorsport & Customer Racing Manager, said BMW welcomed HMI after getting to know Robert Hanley and the organization, praising their shared commitment to performance. He said the team would help build BMW’s GTD Pro legacy with the M4 GT3 EVO and welcomed its plans to broaden the marque’s presence in IMSA’s GTD and GT4 classes.

McGregor also pointed to the Rolex 24 at Daytona, saying he was eager to see BMW M4s carrying HMI’s livery on track. That debut is scheduled for January 2027 at Daytona International Speedway. HMI has yet to name its drivers; announcements are expected in the coming months. Until then, the partnership’s ambitions are clear, but its competitive shape remains an open question.

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