WTRAndretti, Conquest Bolster Lineups, AWA Gets Its ‘Vettes
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti announced today that Graham Doyle and Ashton Harrison will join full-season co-drivers Kyle Marcelli and Danny Formal in the No. 45 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 for the Rolex 24 At Daytona in January.
Doyle will be making his IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship debut and will serve as the third driver in the No. 45 Lamborghini in the Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) class for the five IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup races on the 2024 schedule. Harrison, who made her WeatherTech Championship debut this year driving in six races for WTRAndretti with Racers Edge Motorsports, is slated to drive only at the Rolex 24 in 2024.
“We are particularly proud of the driver lineup that WTRAndretti has put together for the GTD program,” said Giorgio Sanna, Head of Motorsport, Automobili Lamborghini. “With the success that WTRAndretti has had over the years in our Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America series, supporting young and talented drivers like Danny, Kyle and Graham as well as promoting the growth of female drivers as Ashton, we are very excited to have these drivers in our Huracán GT3 EVO2 starting from Daytona.”
All four WTRAndretti drivers have winning experience in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America series sanctioned by IMSA. Marcelli and Formal are two-time Pro class champions. In his first year racing cars, the 17-year-old Doyle won four North American Super Trofeo LB Cup class races this season and added another victory in the recent World Finals at Vallelunga, Italy. Harrison was a four-year Super Trofeo competitor, with five North American wins and one at the World Finals.
“It is hard for me to put together the words to express my excitement for the upcoming 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season,” Doyle said. “I will be competing in all five endurance rounds and it is truly a dream come true. I cannot wait to share the car with three people I truly consider family. Both Danny and Kyle have been like brothers to me throughout this past Lamborghini Super Trofeo season and Ashton has been the biggest supporter and help to me on race weekends. With Lamborghini and WTRAndretti, I truly believe this program is going to be something special and I can’t wait to be a part of it.”
Harrison teamed with Marcelli, Formal and Mario Farnbacher to finish sixth in GTD in the No. 93 Acura at this year’s Rolex 24. She’s eager to return there in two months.
“I feel that WTRAndretti has a really strong group of GT drivers, and I am honored to be one of those,” Harrison said. “I am also looking forward to being with Lamborghini on a full-time basis and getting back to proper GT3 racing in IMSA.”
Conquest Racing Adds Costa to Team with Franco in No. 34 Ferrari
Conquest Racing named Albert Costa to join Manny Franco as full-season drivers of the team’s No. 34 Ferrari 296 GT3 for the 2024 season in the GTD class.
Costa was part of the winning Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) team at this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans and finished second in the season standings with Inter Europol co-drivers Fabio Scherer and Jakub Smiechowski. Costa has made two previous WeatherTech Championship starts, at the Rolex 24 in 2020 and ’21.
“I’m extremely happy to be joining Conquest Racing with Ferrari,” Costa said. “The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is an incredibly important series with a high level of competition, and I’m thrilled to be a part of it. I’m really looking forward to racing on these old-school American circuits and the challenges that will come with it.”
AWA Takes Delivery of Corvette Racers
The first two customer Corvette Z06 GT3.R race cars are in private hands after AWA last week took delivery of its two Corvettes for the 2024 WeatherTech Championship season. AWA will enter both cars in the GTD class.
“Delivering the first two customer Z06 GT3.Rs to AWA marks the start of the next phase of our Corvette customer support program,” said Christie Bagne, Corvette Z06 GT3.R Program Manager. “A big thank you to our constructor Pratt Miller, our GM Performance and Racing team and everyone at the GM Assembly Plant in Bowling Green (Kentucky). We look forward to the continued collaboration with AWA ahead of their preseason test program and on toward the Rolex 24.”
Orey Fidani, Matthew Bell, Lars Kern and a driver to be named will share the No. 13 AWA Corvette at the season-opening Rolex 24. Anthony Mantella, Nico Varrone, Thomas Merrill and Charlie Eastwood will be in the No. 17 AWA Corvette.
“Receiving our two Corvette Z06 GT3.R was a special moment,” said Andrew Wojteczko, AWA team owner. “We are excited and motivated for this next chapter, and I’d like to extend my gratitude to Team Chevy for welcoming us with open arms. We can’t wait to get out on track.”