Wayne Taylor Racing and Andretti Autosport jointly announced Wednesday (Dec. 28) that they are entering a “long-term partnership,” effective immediately, that will see the two operations combine their efforts in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. As a result, Wayne Taylor Racing has been rebranded as Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport.
“It’s an honor to be partnering with a name like Andretti as we enter a new era of racing,” Taylor stated. “I was approached by Michael a year ago and, as we all know, timing is everything, especially as our GTP and GTD programs continue to grow with Acura and HPD. Having worked with Michael on this for nearly a year, I’m very excited to see it come together.”
Taylor believes that the 2023 season will look fairly similar to previous years for his team. That said, Taylor believes that the team will take advantage of what Andretti Autosport can provide in the interim. Meanwhile, Andretti Autosport is treating the move as a way to expand.
“This is an exciting time for us. We’re proud to be returning to the IMSA paddock in this way and the opportunity to be part of the launch of the GTP program alongside Wayne Taylor Racing and our friends at Honda Performance Development (HPD),” Andretti Autosport owner Michael Andretti stated. “Re-entering IMSA full time, and at this level, has been a goal of mine. I wanted it to be the right opportunity and at the right time – and we’ve found that. I’m looking forward to working closer with the team at WTR and meeting all of the team’s strong supporters. I want to personally thank Wayne [Taylor] and Travis (Houge) for already being such great partners as we plan for a successful future.”
The partnership is actually Andretti Autosport’s fourth motorsports partnership. The team partners with United Autosports to run Andretti United Extreme E in the Extreme E Championship. Both organizations partner with Walkinshaw Racing to run the two-car Walkinshaw Andretti United team in Australia’s Repco Supercars Championship. Finally, there is a partnership with Michel Jourdain Jr. to field Andretti Jourdain Autosport in Mexico’s Super Copa Championship.
The release explicitly mentions that the No. 10 Acura ARX-06 in the GTP class and the No. 93 Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 will both be part of this new program. The No. 93 Acura, which is scheduled to compete in the four Michelin Endurance Cup events, was originally announced as a joint venture between Wayne Taylor Racing and Racers Edge Motorsports.
The press release does not overtly mention Racers Edge Motorsports’ role with the No. 93 Acura. Frontstretch inquired with WTR in regards to whether that is still the case. We received confirmation that the existing relationship will continue.
WTR with Andretti Autosport will maintain their existing shop for now. However, the organization does plan to move into the new Andretti Global headquarters in Indiana once it is complete in 2025.
Andretti Autosport’s existing operation in the LMP3 class will continue for 2023. Jarett Andretti will continue to drive the No. 36 Ligier JS P320-Nissan full-time, but no co-driver was listed for him.
Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the site's FREE e-mail newsletter that publishes Monday-Friday and occasionally on weekends. He keeps TV broadcasters honest with weekly editions of Couch Potato Tuesday and serves as the site's Sports Car racing editor.
Outside of Frontstretch, Phil is the press officer for Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. He covers all the action on the high-banked dirt track from regular DIRTcar Modified racing to occasional visits from touring series such as the Super DIRTcar Series.