Ricky Taylor has described that the Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti team retains its family-feel with their fresh growth, after the recent IMSA-sanctioned test at the Daytona International Speedway.
WTRAndretti has bumped up to double the amount of drivers for the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, as the team will field and run two Acura ARX-06 LMDh cars.
An IMSA-sanctioned test took place at the Daytona International Speedway, which gave a glimpse of the 2024 season with one month remaining until the Roar Before the 24 (Hours of Daytona) testing commences, followed by the season-opener itself.
As a full-season GTP driver in the #10 entrant, Ricky Taylor explained: “It’s been so cool to see WTRAndretti grow this year.
“Obviously last year with the new GTP program it grew quite substantially since DPi, and then this year, again, growing to a two-car team,” having now utilised Meyer Shank Racing’s former GTP competitor.
“It’s something that none of us have experience with together, but everybody has experience separately.
“So, it’s been interesting to see how everybody contributes to figure out how to optimize our two cars and to learn the most and to work together.
“The great thing is that, I feel like the team has maintained that sort of tight-knit feel, so it still feels like a family.
“And it still feels like everybody’s working together. The communication is very open despite there being eight drivers and almost a hundred people at the race track.
“It still feels like a very open, tight-knit team, which is what always separated WTRAndretti in the past from other race teams.
“Everybody’s been super fast getting up to speed, so we’ve had to improvise to learn and get a head start for the Roar.
“And just, I think, setting a test plan for the #40 car and the #10 car separately to learn different things so we’re maximizing both cars to get the most out of it come January.”
WTR with Andretti has fronted eight capable drivers across their two cars, as Taylor shares the #10 full-season duty once again with Filipe Albuquerque, as four-time WEC champion Brendon Hartley will compete as their Endurance Cup driver, and former Indianapolis 500 race winner Marcus Ericsson joins for the 24 Hours of Daytona on 27-28 January.
Hartley competed in the race last year as their ‘Daytona’ driver, finishing second to the winning #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06.
Whilst Hartley’s Hypercar title was secured, upcoming full-time driver Louis Deletraz – in the #40 Acura – concluded a title-winning LMP2 campaign with Prema after taking victory in Bahrain.
The Swiss driver took part in selected IMSA races in the last two years, with both Tower Motorsports and Wayne Taylor Racing, with a most-recent P2 finish at the Battle of the Bricks – which will be a six-hour endurance race in 2024.
For the 2024 season opener, WTR with Andretti prose two talented driver lineups who could challenge for the prestigious victory.
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