Manuel "Manny" Franco (born 1995) is an American auto racing driver who currently competes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Conquest Racing.
Racing career Ferrari Challenge North America Franco's racing career began in 2021 entering late in the Ferrari Challenge North America season. Competing in the Coppa Shell category, he would find quick success in his first race weekend at Road America, winning on his debut race and finishing second shortly after. Despite competing in only four races, Franco would finish eighth in the Coppa Shell championship.
Franco would find further success in 2022. Now competing for overall victory, Franco achieved five wins en route to a second-place finish in the championship, finishing only one point behind Jeremy Clarke in what would be his most successful season to date.
Franco's involvement in Ferrari Challenge North America would decrease in the seasons following, but he would still finish fifth place in the 2023 season on a part-time schedule, and he would win two of his four races in the 2025 season.
GT World Challenge America A year after his debut, Franco would step up to GT3 racing with Conquest Racing, participating in the Sebring rounds of the 2022 GT World Challenge America season. Partnered with Alessandro Balzan in the Pro class, he would finish fourth and second in the respective races, marking his first podium in GT3 machinery.
Franco would return full-time for the 2023 season, continuing to partner with Balzan in the Pro class. The two of them would win both races of the Road America round, which wound up being the first victories of the Ferrari 296 GT3 on North American soil. They would eventually finish fifth in the overall Pro class championship.
IMSA SportsCar Championship On September 7, 2023, it was announced that Franco would move up to the IMSA SportsCar Championship as a part of Conquest Racing's return to full-time IMSA competition with Albert Costa in GTD for the 2024 season. He would once again find quick success with a third place class finish on debut at the 2024 24 Hours of Daytona. He and Costa achieved their second podium of the year at the 2024 Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen with a second place class finish. At the 2024 Petit Le Mans, Franco and Costa would win in GTD, marking Franco's first, and so far only, win in IMSA competition. The strong result would cap off a fourth place finish in the GTD championship for them both.
Franco returned with Conquest Racing for the 2025 season, this time partnered with Daniel Serra. His sophomore campaign in IMSA would not yield results as successful as the previous year, however the two would still reach the GTD podium three times. At the 2025 Petit Le Mans, Franco was involved in a multi-car incident on the first lap, causing him to be transported to a local hospital. He would return to the team shortly afterwards without serious injury. Franco would finish the season seventh in the GTD championship.
Franco will race with Conquest Racing in IMSA competition for the third straight year in 2026.
Personal life Franco was born in Milwaukee and resides in the nearby suburb of West Allis. He regards Road America as his home track but was unable to attend races there growing up. Instead, most of his exposure to racing was at the Wisconsin State Fair Park where he would listen to cars at the Milwaukee Mile. He participated in track days prior to racing.
Racing results Career Summary Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/laps Podiums Points Position 2021 Ferrari Challenge North America - Coppa Shell Ferrari Lake Forest 4 1 2 2 3 47 8th 2022 Michelin Pilot Challenge NTE/MC2 Autosport 4 0 0 0 0 520 43rd GT4 America Series - Silver Conquest Racing 2 0 0 0 0 20 7th GT World Challenge America - Pro 2 0 0 0 1 N/A N/A Ferrari Challenge North America - Trofeo Pirelli Ferrari Lake Forest 10 5 6 6 6 113 2nd 2023 GT World Challenge America - Pro Conquest Racing 12 2 1 0 4 170 5th Intercontinental GT Challenge 1 0 0 0 0 N/A N/AGT World Challenge Europe Endurance CupAF Corse100000NC GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup - Silver 1 0 0 0 1 15 17th Ferrari Challenge North America - Trofeo Pirelli Ferrari Lake Forest 8 3 3 4 3 80 5th 2024 IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD Conquest Racing 10 1 0 0 3 2577 4th 2024-25 Asian Le Mans Series - GT AF Corse 6 0 1 0 1 32 10th 2025 IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD Conquest Racing 10 0 0 0 3 2534 7th Ferrari Challenge North America - Trofeo Pirelli Ferrari Lake Forest 4 2 0 0 2 92 11th2026IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTDConquest Racing3000176943rdSource:
Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Class Make Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Rank Points 2024 Conquest RacingGTD Ferrari 296 GT3 Ferrari F163CE 3.0 L Turbo V6 DAYSEBLBHLGAWGLMOSELKVIRIMSPET 4th 2577 2025 Conquest Racing GTD Ferrari 296 GT3 Ferrari F163CE 3.0 L Turbo V6 DAY SEB LBH LGA WGL MOS ELK VIR IMS PET 7th 2534 2026 Conquest Racing GTD Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo Ferrari F163CE 3.0 L Turbo V6 DAY SEB LBH LGA WGL MOS ELK VIR IMS PET 43rd 769
Complete 24 Hours of Daytona results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps 2024 Conquest Racing Albert Costa Cédric Sbirrazzuoli Alessandro Balzan Ferrari 296 GT3 GTD 730 22nd 3rd 2025 Conquest Racing Daniel Serra Cédric Sbirrazzuoli Giacomo Altoè Ferrari 296 GT3 GTD 673 40th 11th
Complete Asian Le Mans Series results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) + Year Team Class Car Engine123456Pos.Points 2024-25 AF Corse GT Ferrari 296 GT3 Ferrari F163CE 3.0 L Turbo V6 SEP1 SEP2 DUB1 DUB2 ABU1 ABU2 10th 32
References