[HJJ]

Following the debut of Black Swan Racing and Conquest Endurance last month at Sebring, the American Le Mans Series P2 category continues to grow, with confirmation coming Thursday that Project Libra will be on the grid for next month's six-hour enduro at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on May 10-12.

As first reported by SPEED.com last month, the Ian Dawson-led operation, which made sporadic appearances in 2010, will see open-wheel standouts Andrew Prendeville and Rusty Mitchell share the wheel of the team's Ford-based, Roush Yates-powered Radical SR9. A third driver is yet-to-be-determined.

“After four days of testing covering 2,000 miles of trouble-free running following a joint development program with Roush Yates, I am happy to be going racing,” Dawson said. “We at long last can see that we can enter the balance of the 2012 American Le Mans Series season with a credible package to build on and with a new engine that we believe will be a strong contender from the outset.

“The Radical chassis has been fully upgraded and has given us a solid platform to work from. The package now represents a unique and varied option for the LMP2 class, which is now seeing welcome growth.”

Dawson said he intends to complete the remainder of the season with the Dunlop-shod prototype and a possibility exists for a second car later in the year, if additional sponsorship is found.

Prendeville, a former Indy Lights star who has been part of Libra's efforts since 2008, is looking forward to getting back to competition.

“The Radical has a significantly updated aero package, and although this is the first time this engine will be running in competition it was strong and put out a lot of power at our tests,” he said. “It’s quicker than anything we’ve had in the car yet."

Libra will become the first P2 team to employ the Ford-based, 3.2-liter V6 twin-turbo powerplant initially launched in late 2010. It's believed a second chassis, from a separate organization, is currently undergoing modifications to fit the Roush Yates unit, which could result in the possibility of another ALMS P2 entry later in the year.

Should Dempsey Racing's Lola B12/80 Judd, which recently completed build at Lola in England, also debut at Mazda Raceway, a total of six P2 cars could be on the grid, including the two championship-leading Level 5 Motorsports HPD ARX-03bs.

.