Action Express Racing has become the first prototype team to lock down it’s 2016 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship plans with its 2015 driver line-up, cars and sponsors all returning next year.

João Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi will continue aboard the No.5 Chevrolet Corvette DP machine in 2016 while Dane Cameron and Eric Curran will be back with the No.31 entry.

The sponsors of both cars – Mustang Sampling for the No.5 and Whelen Engineering for the No.31 – will also be back in 2016.

All four drivers joined team principal Bob Johnson and team manager Gary Nelson in announcing the news today at Road America.

“It’s exciting to announce that our two teams will continue to compete full-time in 2016 for the IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship as well as the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup,” said Johnson.

“We’ll be returning in January for the Roar Before the 24 with the Mustang Sampling Chevrolet Corvette Daytona Prototype as well as the Whelen/Team Fox Chevrolet Corvette Daytona Prototype.

“Additionally, we’ll have all four of our drivers back and that will only continue to add to the continuity which has developed in the engineering room throughout the 2015 season and we look for even greater things with João, Christian, Eric and Dane next season.

“But, we’ve still got four championships that we want to win in 2015 and this announcement will enable our team to focus on that goal 100 percent.”

Team manager Gary Nelson added that with the announcement, Action Express Racing would continue fielding Chevrolet Corvette Daytona Prototypes as they have since the Detroit-based manufacturer entered North American sports car racing’s premier division in 2012.

“With the announcement of a continued relationship with Chevrolet under the Corvette DP banner, we’ll have the peace of mind knowing our engines will continue to come from ECR engines with EMCO Gears transferring the power to the wheels and we’ll continue to have excellent engineering support from Pratt & Miller,” said Nelson.

“Through the support of all of our reliable supplier partners, we’ve been able to complete all 12,114 miles of the TUDOR SportsCar era with the Mustang Sampling Corvette DP so announcing a continuation of our supplier relationships for 2016 is a great feeling for our drivers, team members and sponsors.”