GTP Lineups Set for WTRAndretti and Action Express; Corvette by Pratt Miller Names Four-Driver Roster
By Mark Robinson
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A trio of team announcements today has shifted the driver landscape for the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season among three high-profile teams.
Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport, Whelen Engineering Cadillac Racing and Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports each confirmed lineups for the upcoming season. They are:
- Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport: Jordan Taylor and Louis Deletraz were named to drive WTRAndretti’s second Acura ARX-06 in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class, where they will team with Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque, co-drivers of the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 that leads the 2023 championship with two races remaining.
- Whelen Engineering Cadillac Racing: Jack Aitken will take over full-time driving duties alongside Pipo Derani in the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R in the GTP class.
- Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports: The team’s two new Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs in the GT Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class will be driven by some combination of Antonio Garcia, Tommy Milner, Alexander Sims and Nicky Catsburg.
The announcements mark a return for Jordan Taylor to the team co-owned by his father Wayne, Aitken and Deletraz’s promotions from endurance-only drivers at Whelen Engineering and WTRAndretti, respectively, to full-season status and a reunification of the Corvette quartet in the WeatherTech Championship.
WTRAndretti Expands with Familiar Faces
WTRAndretti and Honda Performance Development (HPD) announced in May that the team would enter a second Acura ARX-06 for the 2024 season. For Jordan Taylor, it marks a homecoming. He drove a prototype for the team from 2013-19, winning 19 races and two championships. Since 2020, he has been part of the Corvette Racing team in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) and GTD PRO classes, winning 11 races and back-to-back GTLM titles.
“I’m super excited to be coming back to WTR, now partnered with Andretti Autosport, to go back and fight for overall wins with Acura alongside Louis,” Jordan Taylor said. “I’ve spent the last few years in GT cars, so there will be a lot to learn coming into GTP, but I can’t wait for the challenge. I loved my time competing in GT with Corvette Racing alongside Antonio these past few years. We had a lot of success together. I’ve learned a lot and grown as a driver, so I’m looking forward to bringing that experience back to prototype racing.”
Deletraz is the endurance driver for the team’s No. 10 Acura this season. The Swiss driver has also competed in four WeatherTech Championship Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) races with Tower Motorsports since 2022, winning at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca last year.
“I am extremely happy to continue with WTRAndretti in a full IMSA GTP season role,” Deletraz said. “I have really enjoyed working with the team, Acura and HPD this year, and the 2024 two-car program makes it even more exciting. Sharing the car with Jordan is fantastic, having a multiple IMSA champion in prototypes and GT, I couldn’t ask for a better teammate, and I think with our different motorsport experiences we will have a strong package with hopefully many successes.”
David Salters, HPD president and technical director, likes the look of the WTRAndretti roster as well.
“Louis has done an excellent job as the third driver in the No. 10 Acura this season and in the (FIA) World Endurance Championship,” Salters said, “and Jordan is a proven race winner and two-time IMSA champion. We’re looking forward to working with both. I’m stoked to see we have a super strong driver lineup across both our electrified Acura (GTPs).”
Aitken Slides into Full-Time Role with No. 31 Whelen Cadillac
Like Deletraz at WTRAndretti, Aitken is currently the endurance driver for the No. 31 Cadillac prepared by Action Express Racing. He, Derani and Sims teamed to win the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in March and they lead the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup standings heading into October’s season-ending Motul Petit Le Mans. Aitken takes over the full-season co-driver role in 2024, replacing Sims, who remains in the GM Motorsports family with his return to the Corvette program.
“Jack came to the top of all the categories late last year when we were researching the various drivers who would be available for our endurance role,” Action Express team manager Gary Nelson said. “He has proven to be fast on the track, a fast learner of the GTP car and an asset to the team. We see Jack being a great pairing with Pipo in his expanded role next season.”
Aitken’s resume also includes time as a Williams Formula 1 reserve driver (including one race start in 2020) after rising through the F1 ladder ranks in GP3 and Formula 2. He won the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 championship in 2015 and raced LMP2s last year in the European Le Mans Series and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“Ever since I started this program with Cadillac Racing and Whelen Engineering, everybody has been incredibly kind and passionate in helping push me and the team forward,” Aitken said. “This is one of the reasons I’m incredibly excited to become a full-time member of the team next year. The competitiveness of IMSA and the quality of the calendar are another couple of reasons, and I thoroughly enjoy the style of racing I’ve experienced already this year in my endurance outings.”
Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Fills Two-Car GTD PRO Lineup
The quartet of Garcia, Milner, Catsburg and Sims named to drive the Corvette Z06 GT3.R cars next season, as the program shifts from a factory-backed effort to a customer team operation, all have ties to the brand. Specific driver pairings were not announced.
“We’re very pleased with the full-season IMSA lineup in the Corvette Z06 GT3.R for 2024,” said Mark Stielow, director, Chevrolet Motorsports Competition Engineering. “The four drivers have exceptional records and history with Corvette.
“At the same time, we thank Jordan Taylor for his years of service and success with General Motors. He has been an important part of Corvette Racing and a great ambassador for Chevrolet. We wish him well.”
Garcia is a five-time IMSA champion with Corvette and co-drives the No. 3 Corvette C8.R GTD this season with the departing Jordan Taylor. Sims was the endurance driver for the No. 4 Corvette in 2021 before moving to the Cadillac GTP program this year. Prior to that, Sims was a five-time GTLM race winner with BMW in 2017-18.
“It’s been fantastic to drive the Cadillac GTP car,” Sims said, “but it’s great to be able to work with all the team at Pratt Miller again after two years as third driver. I know not only a lot of the engineers and team personnel but also the other full-time drivers and guys I’ve worked with before within Corvette Racing.
“It’s great to be going into a driver group where I know everyone and know that we get on well together. We will push each other hard, so from a performance point of view, it’s really good to know that we will all be on a similar level and eking more performance out of one another all the time.”
Catsburg was the No. 3’s endurance driver from 2020-22, teaming with Garcia and Taylor to win in GTLM at the 2021 Rolex 24 At Daytona and in GTD PRO at the 2022 Twelve Hours of Sebring. Catsburg and co-drivers Nico Varrone and Ben Keating guided a Corvette to the GTE Am championship this year in the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Milner has been a member of the Corvette program since 2011, winning 17 races and two championships in that span. He was also the lead development driver for the Z06 GT3.R.
“I’m very excited about being back full-time again,” Milner said, “especially in this new era of Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports, with the new Corvette Z06 GT3.R and all that it brings – customer race cars and more Corvettes racing on the track. It’s an exciting time for us as drivers and an exciting time for Corvette fans. As this team has shown for 25 years, the Corvette Racing name means a lot to sports car racing, so to see more examples of Corvettes racing around the world is really exciting and something we are looking forward to.”