Salih Yoluc, Rui Andrade, Scott Andrews and Adam Christodoulou Are Each Successful Drivers in Major Endurance Races
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Lone Star Racing has confirmed the four drivers who will drive the No. 80 Mercedes-AMG GT3 when the team makes its Rolex 24 At Daytona debut later this month. Salih Yoluç, Rui Andrade, Scott Andrews and Adam Christodoulou will co-drive the car for the 24-hour race at Daytona International Speedway on Jan. 27-28, with the plan for Yoluc, Andrade and Andrews continuing in the rest of the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup races throughout the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.
The lineup features a group of drivers that has excelled in major international sports car races. Yoluc was on the winning GTE Am team at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2020. Andrade raced for Tower Motorsports in the WeatherTech Championship’s Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class in 2022, finishing third at the Rolex 24 and second at the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen. Andrews was a winner in 2021 at the Rolex 24, Sahlen’s Six Hours and Motul Petit Le Mans driving for Riley Motorsports in the Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) class. Christodoulou was the overall 24 Hours of Nurburgring winner in 2016.
“Our first Rolex 24 At Daytona campaign marks another milestone for Lone Star Racing and we are ready for the challenge,” said AJ Petersen, Lone Star Racing team manager and technical director. “Our best result of the 2023 season was a close runner-up showing in our Mercedes-AMG GT4 in the four-hour (IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge) endurance race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. That same weekend, we returned to IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition with Scott Andrews co-driving a Mercedes-AMG GT3 and we are ready for more.
“We have been fortunate to assemble a top group of drivers that know how to win on the worldwide international sports car endurance racing stage and we know we will give them a competitive Mercedes-AMG GT3 that will keep them in the hunt in Daytona.”
Yoluc made history in 2017 as the first Turkish driver to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and later the first driver from his country to win the prestigious French endurance race with a GTE Am class victory in 2020. He has experience in everything from the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) to the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) to the Asian Le Mans Series. He won an ELMS championship in 2022 and an Asian Le Mans title last year, both in the LMP2 class.
“I am very happy to be back in IMSA with Lone Star Racing,” Yoluc said. “It was on my bucket list to do the IMSA Endurance Cup full season so I’m happy that is coming true now. I am very excited to be starting in the Rolex 24, which is ‘the’ 24-hour race I want to win personally, I cannot wait to get going and have a successful season with Scott and Rui and with Adam on the team at Daytona.”
Andrade and his teammates co-drove to a 2022 WEC victory in the 6 Hours of Monza, making Andrade the first Angolan to win an FIA-sanctioned World Championship race. He also wrapped up a successful 2023 campaign by winning the WEC LMP2 title in the final year of the championship.
“IMSA is one of the coolest series I’ve raced in,” Andrade said. “I love racing in the U.S. and I am excited to be back with Lone Star Racing. It will be quite a challenge to switch to GT mode after three seasons in prototypes, but I am looking forward to it. We have an epic calendar, including the Indianapolis Motor Speedway which has been on my bucket list for a long time.”
Returning to Lone Star after a full season as the team’s lead professional driver in 2023, Andrews won in his Rolex 24 debut in 2021 in the LMP3 class. He returned to the Rolex 24 the following year in the Korthoff/Preston Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 and finished third in the GTD class.
“I can’t thank Dan Knox and AJ Petersen enough for all of their hard work and not giving up on this program,” Andrews said. “For sure, in November and December it looked like we probably weren’t going to be on the grid in any sort of shape or form in 2024. … It’s really exciting to finally make Lone Star Racing’s debut at the Rolex 24. I have been fortunate to stand on the podium at this race twice, and one of those times in a Mercedes-AMG GT3. I am really excited to get back to this famous race. It is such an amazing atmosphere. It really is the biggest race of the year.”
Christodoulou also has Rolex 24 podium success on his resume, co-driving to a third-place GTD finish with the Riley team in the debut race in North America for the Mercedes-AMG brand in 2017. He has seven 24-hour sports car race wins to his credit.
“I am really looking forward to joining the Lone Star Racing guys,” Christodoulou said. “I was really happy when I got the call from Mercedes-AMG and AJ. I think it is a great opportunity. The last few times I raced in Daytona, I have finished sixth, fourth and third, so it is one of those where you want to be fighting for the top spot like everyone. It’s the biggest race to the start of the year.”
The Roar Before the Rolex 24 runs Jan. 19-21 at Daytona International Speedway, featuring test sessions and qualifying for the 62nd running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, which takes place the following week.