Credit: WTRAndretti
Former F1 world champion Jenson Button will make his debut at the upcoming 24 Hours of Daytona for Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti, as well as 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson.
WTRAndretti has finalised their driver line-ups ahead of the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season, and the Daytona 24 season opener on 27-28 January.
As confirmed last week, the #40 Acura ARX-06 GTP will be driven by Jordan Taylor, Louis Deletraz and Colton Herta; Button will join the trio for what will be his Daytona 24 debut.
The sibling #10 Acura features Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque, and Brendon Hartley for the 2024 season, and the 2022 Indy 500 winner will assist in the team’s efforts.
Button made his debut at the IMSA season finale in October, which saw him drive a Porsche 963 LMDh for JDC Miller MotorSports at the grueling 10-hour Petit Le Mans, finishing fifth with Tijmen van der Helm and Mike Rockenfeller.
Button said: “I am very happy to announce that I’ll be racing with Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti at the Rolex 24 At Daytona in the No. 40 Acura ARX-06 with one of my Le Mans teammates and good pal Jordan Taylor, super speedy Louis Deletraz and Colton Herta whose career in IndyCar I’ve watched with great interest.
“I had my first taste of IMSA last month at Petit Le Mans and loved it.
“I couldn’t be happier to race at Daytona with such a prestigious team that has achieved so much in endurance racing and especially at Daytona.”
“I’m very excited and proud to join the WTRAndretti team for the Daytona 24-hour,” added Ericsson.
“After getting a taste of the race in 2022, I have been eager to get back on the grid for this legendary race.
“It feels fantastic to be racing with one of the best and most successful teams in the sport.
“I’m already counting down the days and I’m looking forward to working with the team and my new teammates.
“It is extra special for me to be racing with Acura, HPD and HRC which I know very well from racing my entire IndyCar career with them. Bring on 2024.”
Jenson Button made his IMSA debut at the 26th running of Petit Le Mans in JDC Miller MotorSports’ yellow Porsche 963 LMDh – Credit: Richard Dole
Button returned to 24-hour endurance racing after a three-year hiatus at the Centenary Le Mans as a competitor in the Garage 56 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 NASCAR machine.
Ericsson previously made his IMSA debut in 2022 at the Daytona 24 with Chip Ganassi Racing’s Cadillac DPi, and finished sixth.
Team Principal Wayne Taylor added his thoughts to the news.
“Marcus is absolutely the perfect guy for our team because of the way he goes about racing.
“He’s finished in the top 10 something like 30 times in IndyCar, he’s won the Indy 500.
“He has really shown loads of interest by meeting with the team already and he is very dedicated and focused.
“I’m happy to have him, and of course, as he is part of Andretti Global program, so we are lucky to have him.
“Jenson and I have spoken for quite a few years.
“We’ve just never been able to make it happen, but this round we got it to happen.
“He drove for JDC at Petit Le Mans and the relationship that he’s built with Jordan from the Garage 56 program closes the loop on our driver lineups as Jenson will take the last driver slot that’s open.
“The guy is really fast. I mean he is a Formula One World Champion.
“He’s very motivated, my team is very motivated, HPD and Acura are motivated with having him as well as all our sponsors.
“We look forward to working with him.
“He obviously is coming from a different background, but we’ve had Formula One drivers before, and they’ve all done really well,” referring to their previous Daytona 24 winners Fernando Alonso and Kamui Kobayashi.
“I have no question about his ability to do well for us and for himself.
“I’m really excited after three years to finally get Jenson to sign up with us.”
Michael Andretti, CEO of Andretti Global, commented: “I’m very happy with the driver lineups that WTRAndretti will put forth in both the No. 10 and No. 40 Acura ARX-06 GTP cars for Daytona.
“WTRAndretti has a strong history of running at the top level and we’re pushing hard to put together all the pieces to bring home race wins and have two cars contending for the Championship.
“The addition of Marcus and Jenson to an already proven roster of endurance drivers will make for an exciting and competitive 24 hours.”
Keyword: Button and Ericsson set for Daytona 24 Hours with WTRAndretti