Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti announced Tuesday morning (Nov. 14) that 2009 Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button and INDYCAR winner Marcus Ericsson will compete their lineups for January’s Rolex 24 at Daytona. Ericsson will drive the No. 10 Acura with Filipe Albuquerque, Brendon Hartley and Ricky Taylor, while Button will be in the No. 40 with Louis Deletraz, Colton Herta and Jordan Taylor.
Team co-owner Wayne Taylor believes that both Ericsson and Button will excel in Daytona. He indicated that he had wanted to run Button in something for years and never managed to get him until now. As for Ericsson, he appears to be a great fit with the team.
“Marcus is absolutely the perfect guy for our team because of the way he goes about racing,” Taylor said. “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.”
For Button, 2024 will be his first-ever run in the Rolex 24. He has only one prior start in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, that coming in the Motul Petit Le Mans just last month for JDC-Miller MotorSports. Button finished fifth in a Porsche 963 alongside Mike Rockenfeller and Tijmen van der Helm. Outside of IMSA, Button made four starts in the FIA World Endurance Championship back in 2018 for SMP Racing in their own BR Engineering BR1 in the LMP1 class. His best finish there was third at China’s Shanghai Circuit.
“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,” Button said in the press release. “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.”
Ericsson has roughly the same experience in IMSA. He also has one career start in the series. That was in the 2022 Rolex 24 at Daytona for Chip Ganassi Racing in a Cadillac DPi-V.R., where he finished sixth overall. The opportunity with WTRAndretti has come about in a similar fashion to his previous IMSA start. Ericsson will drive full-time for Andretti Global in INDYCAR in 2024 and WTRAndretti is now a sister operation to Andretti Global.
“I’m very excited and proud to join the WTRAndretti team for the [Rolex 24 at Daytona],” Ericsson stated. “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!”
The octet of GTP drivers for WTRAndretti will participating in offseason testing with the Acura ARX-06s. They’ll make their public debut at the ROAR Before the 24 in January.
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.
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