Wayne Taylor Racing Andretti Autosport announced Thursday morning (Aug. 17) that the team will expand to two Acura ARX-06s for the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. To drive the new car, the team has turned to two familiar drivers to the team, Louis Deletraz and Jordan Taylor, who will return to drive full-time.
“I’m excited to announce that Louis Deletraz and Jordan Taylor will be joining WTRAndretti as full-time season drivers of our second Acura ARX-06 GTP race car,” team co-owner Wayne Taylor stated in a press release. “Louis has been with us for over a year in our endurance events and has quickly become an integral part of our team. I am looking forward to having Jordan back in our home stable after his great career with Corvette. It was a natural for us, since he and his brother drove together with our team and the Cadillac DPi program. With two cars and the Rolex right around the corner, we thank GM and Pratt & Miller for making Jordan available to us at this early stage.”
Wayne Taylor continued on to state that Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque will continue in the No. 10. There will also be no team orders and both Acuras will be set up equally.
Jordan Taylor returns to the fold after racing for Corvette Racing since 2020. He started with the team when they were still in the GT Le Mans class, then stayed when they transitioned to the current GTD Pro class. In his four-plus seasons with Corvette Racing, Taylor has 11 class victories and won the last two GTLM championships (2020 and 2021).
“I’m super excited to be coming back to WTR, now partnered with Andretti Autosport, to go back and fight for overall wins with Acura alongside Louis [Deletraz],” Jordan Taylor said. “I’ve learned a lot and grown as a driver [with Corvette Racing in GT cars], so I’m looking forward to bringing that experience back to prototype racing.”
Corvette Racing is ending as a full factory program at the end of the 2023 season. However, the team will continue on in the GTD Pro class as a factory-supported team, Pratt Miller Motorsports.
Prior to his Corvette Racing years, Taylor drove the No. 10 for Wayne Taylor Racing starting in 2013, the last year that the team raced in Grand-Am’s Rolex Sports Car Series. In that time, he had 19 victories and won two championships (2013 in Grand-Am, 2017 in WeatherTech). That included two victories in the Rolex 24 at Daytona (2017 and 2019).
Deletraz currently has a split schedule in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. In the Michelin Endurance Cup races, he currently serves as the third driver for WTRAndretti and has made three starts this year with the team. His best finish was a second in the Rolex 24 at Daytona back in January.
In the sprint races, Deletraz races for Tower Motorsport in the LMP2 class. He was supposed to be alongside John Farano for the season, but an injury for Farano at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca has led to a series of substitutes. Given the LMP2 schedule, Deletraz has only raced the team’s ORECA 07-Gibson twice this year with a best finish of fourth at Road America.
“I am extremely happy to continue with WTRAndretti in a full IMSA GTP season role,” Deletraz stated. “I have really enjoyed working with the team, Acura & HPD this year and the 2024 two-car program makes it even more exciting. Sharing the car with Jordan is fantastic, having a multiple IMSA Champion in Prototypes and GT, I couldn’t ask for a better teammate, and I think with our different motorsport experiences we will have a strong package with hopefully many successes. I’m thankful for the opportunity and trust, I can’t wait to get started!”
The team has not announced a number for the new entry, which will be the first time that WTR has ever raced multiple cars in WeatherTech. The car number and additional drivers for the Michelin Endurance Cup races, will be announced at a later date.
About the author
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.
A daily email update (Monday through Friday) providing racing news, commentary, features, and information from Frontstretch.com
We hate spam. Your email address will not be sold or shared with anyone else.