Photo: Bob Chapman/Ford Jenson Altzman said making his IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship debut at Long Beach in his capacity as a Ford Performance Junior Driver Team is a “full circle” moment. Altzman, a podium finisher with the Ford Mustang GT4 in Michelin Pilot Challenge competition with McCumbee McAleer Racing, has formed Gradient Racing’s sprint race lineup with Robert Megennis in the team’s No. 66 Mustang GT3. The rising star is one of six Ford Performance Junior Driver Team members and the first to step up to GT3 competition. “This amazing opportunity to be the first driver to bridge the gap from Mustang GT4 to Mustang GT3 and be competing at the top level that Ford Performance is currently competing in sports cars,” Altzman told Sportscar365. “On the Junior Team side, it’s just awesome to have that presence here. I think I can showcase what Ford Performance’s Junior Program truly can deliver as far as results, as far as feedback. “Gradient has been part of Ford Performance for the past eight months or so. Andris [Laivins, team owner] has been super awesome and wanted to work with a partner that was going to work with them too. “That’s where he and I immediately clicked as [we] both saw the support Ford Performance can give, both on a driver side for me, and the engineering side for him. “Coming here, getting this opportunity to work with Andris, ‘Pinky’ (Andrew Pinkerton, race strategist) and the whole Gradient team, even Robert [Megennis] is super cool. “I want to make sure Ford Performance’s Junior Team is taken seriously. “I don’t mean that in a derogatory way. But it’s very common we see these ‘junior programs’ form and nothing really comes of it or it doesn’t really mean anything. “It can be something on your Instagram bio and that’s kind of it.” Altzman said he had been talking to Ford Performance global sports car manager Kevin Groot on the concept of a junior program for over a year, although it only recently officially came together for the 2025 season. “They took their time and when it finally got announced and I was picked — I went through the same selection process as everyone else — It was awesome to see why this took this long,” he said. “Now having this opportunity, being here, really making the step… “I want to deliver for Ford Performance. I want to deliver for everyone who’s a part of the Junior program and a part of putting the Junior Program together. “I want to deliver for the other junior drivers. It’s just an amazing opportunity to come and do this, being involved with a manufacturer like Ford Performance is something I’ve dreamed about since a kid. “This is a full circle moment in so many ways. This event, with this brand, not only for me but for the brand, having a driver make this step, it being a Junior Team driver. “There’s a lot of good energy and we’re excited.” Long Beach Debut Ideal Ahead of Pilot, WeatherTech Double Duty Weekends Altzman said making his WeatherTech Championship debut at Long Beach, a track that his parents, then-safety car drivers for Champ Car and the American Le Mans Series, first brought him to at the age of 4, offers a number of benefits as he undertakes a dual series program. The six-race WeatherTech Championship sprint race program comes in addition to his full season commitments with MMR in Pilot Challenge, alongside fellow Ford Performance Junior driver Sam Paley. “Because the opportunity came after my Pilot Challenge season has already started, it’s certainly not a bad thing, whether it be Endurance Cup or the sprint rounds I was doing, but not having every weekend be a double header,” Altzman said. “I want to make sure that on weekends where I’m doing both that I’m splitting my time evenly and both teams are getting information they need from me. “Having only a handful of races where we’ll be doing both is probably a good transition for doing that. “The first few sprint rounds help too. Long Beach — the walls don’t bother me at all. I love a good street circuit, especially this one. “Here, it feels like a bigger, faster GT4 car that stops better. “Then we’ll get to Laguna, where we do start to use the downforce a little bit and then we’ll go to [CTMP] where we’re full downforce. The GT3 and GT4 cars will be quite different. “In the sense of the tracks that I’ll hit in that order will be a good progression for me to get in the car and get comfortable. “For me to do this first race where I don’t have to be doing double duty, I can fully focus on these guys and get to know their program as in-depth as possible, so that when we get to Laguna, I know what these guys expect from me and can deliver.” John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John