Kamui Kobayashi will return to Wayne Taylor Racing subsequent yr when he bids for a third victory in three begins on the Daytona 24 Hours IMSA SportsCar Championship season-opener.
The two-time World Endurance Championship title winner with Toyota was named throughout the #40 WTR with Andretti Cadillac V-Assortment.R for Daytona in January when the crew launched an unchanged full-season driver line-up after its swap from Acura.
The regulars throughout the #40 vehicle shall be Jordan Taylor and Louis Deletraz, who obtained right here collectively when WTR expanded to 2 autos this yr, whereas Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque will proceed a partnership that dates once more to 2021 throughout the #10.
The drivers who will probably be part of the two widespread pairings are all veterans of earlier WTR campaigns.
Kobayashi drove WTR Cadillac Daytona Prototype worldwide gear sooner than the crew’s four-season stint with Acura at Daytona in 2019 and 2020, profitable the race every cases, with Fernando Alonso amongst his team-mates throughout the first yr.
The 38-year-old, who will be crew principal of the Toyota Gazoo Racing WEC squad, was unable to drive for WTR on its swap to a unique Japanese mannequin and moved to the Movement Categorical Racing Caddy DPi-V.R run alongside facet Hendrick Motorsports under the Ally Cadillac Racing banner in 2021 and 2022.
The road-up throughout the #40 V-Assortment.R shall be achieved by Cadillac widespread Alex Lynn, who will race the auto on the Daytona, Sebring and Petit Le Mans enduros that make up part of the five-event IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup part of the sequence.
Current Cadillac driver Lynn will probably be part of WTR for enduro events
Image by: Paintings Fleischmann
The Briton, who appears positive to proceed with Cadillac throughout the WEC on its swap of teams from Ganassi to Jota subsequent yr, has a 100% profitable report with WTR, like Kobayashi.
Lynn contested the 2017 Sebring 12 Hours with the crew, profitable the race aboard a Caddy DPi shared with the Taylor brothers, who’re the sons of crew founder Wayne.
Ricky Taylor, who’s returning to Cadillac after seven seasons with Acura that began at Penske in 2018, and Albuquerque shall be joined by Will Stevens for Daytona, Sebring and Petit Le Mans.
The Briton was part of the WTR Acura line-up in 2022 at Daytona and Sebring and is anticipated to maneuver over to Cadillac with Jota subsequent yr after racing one among its purchaser Porsche 963 LMDhs throughout the WEC since closing season.
Brendon Hartley, moreover a Toyota driver throughout the WEC, completes the line-up throughout the #10 vehicle with a one-off at Daytona.
The New Zealander has raced for WTR since 2022 when he joined the crew for the end-of-season Petit Le Mans 10-hour race at Road Atlanta and this yr contested three of the 5 IMSA enduros in one among its Acura ARX-06s.
Kobayashi described his return to WTR as a “homecoming”, together with: “I’ve such an unbelievable and pleasurable memory of racing collectively together with his crew and likewise with Cadillac Racing.
“I am truly appreciative not solely to WTR and Cadillac to supply me one different different to race for them however moreover Morizo-san [Morizo is the racing alias of Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda] and TGR for allowing me to compete on this historic event in america.”
WTR boss Taylor talked about that Kobayashi’s abilities “talk for themselves”.
