De Angelis raced for three years in the IMSA-sanctioned Porsche GT3 Cup single-make series, competing for both the U.S. and Canada titles. He won the Canadian Gold Cup championship in 2017 at age 16, finished second in both the U.S. and Canada Platinum classes a year later, and completed his journey there with the Platinum class crown in the U.S. version in 2019.
In the middle of that experience, De Angelis also ran a completely different car – the Le Mans Prototype 3 – in three 2018 IMSA Prototype Challenge races. He won the season opener at Daytona International Speedway driving solo and teamed with Kyle Kirkwood to win the Michelin IMSA Sports Car Encore at Sebring International Raceway to close the season.
“Being in the Porsche Cup championship and the Prototype Challenge championship really helped catapult me into a GTD seat,” De Angelis said. “Because (the Porsche) is such a difficult car to grasp and learn, it’s made everything that I’ve driven besides it, I wouldn’t say ‘easier,’ but easier to understand the dynamics of the car. … It’s also a very competitive championship so being able to be at that level of competition really helped me.”
Those stepladder successes led to De Angelis being tabbed by Audi to drive for WRT Speedstar in the 2019 Rolex 24 At Daytona. Again, the stars aligned. Audi was searching for a Silver-rated driver who was also Canadian. Bingo! De Angelis was chosen.
One of his co-drivers happened to be Ian James. They finished third in GTD in the iconic 24-hour race and laid the foundation of a working relationship.
“I was paired with Ian James and we got along really well,” De Angelis recalled. “When the weekend was over, I thought I’d just made another friend. I didn’t know his hopes to start a team the next year. Kept in touch with him and I did the two championships in 2019 in Porsche GT3 Cup.”
When James started the Heart of Racing’s WeatherTech Championship GTD program last year, he asked De Angelis along for the ride.
“All the stars kind of aligned and Ian was the guy who put his trust in me and gave me the opportunity I’m in,” De Angelis. “It was lucky but it’s how racing goes.”
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