Kyle Marcelli. Photo credit: Rick Dole for Michelin North America

Although he has flown under the radar this season, one of the more impressive drivers in the American Le Mans Series’ LMP Challenge class is young Canadian Kyle Marcelli.

Marcelli, who turned 20 in February, has endured an uphill climb in the class after driving for three different teams in seven races. But this weekend marks a homecoming for the native of Barrie, Ontario, as one of the hometown stars to watch north of the border at Mosport International Raceway in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada.

He graduated to the ALMS from IMSA Lites after starring there and in karting. Although he raced the first two events for Primetime/Performance Tech, that team did not continue after Long Beach.

From there, Marcelli concluded a last-minute agreement to race for Genoa Racing at the six-hour event at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif. Without any prior experience in the team, Marcelli shared the car with Tom Sutherland and Tom Weickardt, and drove to both his and the team’s best finish this season of second in class.

Kyle Marcelli, No. 89 Intersport LMPC Oreca FLM09. Photo credit: Rick Dole for Michelin North America

Intersport Racing marked his third team in four races when he switched to the No. 89 car prior to the race at Salt Lake City, Utah. Marcelli qualified second in class at Lime Rock, which became the pole when the points leading No. 55 Level 5 car didn’t start, while adding starts of third at Mid-Ohio and second again last race at Road America.

The No. 89 car has cycled through a number of drivers this season. Brian Wong drove in the first six races and others have included Marcelli, Mitch Pagerey, and the Ducote brothers, Chapman and David. Largely due to the rotating driver lineup, the No. 89 has been close to the podium but has not yet finished better than fourth in class.

Still, one of the rising stars in the class is optimistic heading into the final portion of the season.

“These last three races are my favorites,” Marcelli says of the final three events on the ALMS calendar – last race at Road America, this one at Mosport, and the season finale at Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta in October.

Marcelli and the No. 89 Intersport car are also featured in the Mosport issue of The Alley, which can be downloaded as a PDF from The Alley: In Print section of michelinracingusa.com.