BRASELTON, Georgia (October 8, 2024) – One final event remains on the schedule for the Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti (WTRAndretti) pair of Acura ARX-06 GTP teams as they head to Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. The iconic 10-hour endurance classic – MOTUL Petit Le Mans – will mark the end of the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. MOTUL Petit Le Mans will also mark the end of the four-year manufacturer partnership between WTRAndretti and Acura in the prototype category. Together, WTRAndretti and Acura tallied a Rolex 24 at Daytona victory, eight additional wins, 19 podiums and ten pole positions across the four years leading into this weekend.
Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque will be joined by their IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup co-driver and 2017 Petit Le Mans winner, Brendon Hartley, to tackle all ten hours of racing action. In 2023, the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 showed impressive speed around the 2.54-mile road course as the team started from pole position. Although the blue and black team are not in contention for the championship, the team can be proud to boost a win on the streets of Detroit as well as podium and pole position as highlights of their 2024 season.
For Jordan Taylor and Louis Delétraz, their trio will be complete with the return of 2024 IndyCar Vice Champion for Andretti Global, Colton Herta, to the lineup of the No. 40 DEX Imaging Acura ARX-06 for the MOTUL Petit Le Mans. Both Delétraz and Taylor have their own success at Road Atlanta with Delétraz earning pole position in 2023 as the IMEC co-driver in the sister No. 10 car while Taylor is a two-time MOTUL Petit Le Mans winner (2014, 2018). Like their teammates, the No. 40 crew is unfortunately out of reach of the championship title, but they have their impressive win at the Twelve Hours of Sebring and podium at the Rolex 24 at Daytona as accolades on the team’s inaugural GTP campaign.
Preparations from Road Atlanta for the WTRAndretti team will begin with three practice sessions on Thursday, October 10. Qualifying for the GTP field is set for 4:215 p.m. ET on Friday, October 11 on Peacock. The MOTUL Petit Le Mans will begin the 10-hour countdown at 12:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 12. NBC will open the broadcast from 12 p.m. ET to 3 p.m. ET while USA Network will go on air at 6 p.m. ET. Peacock will serve host to full event coverage for all 10 hours.
Wayne Taylor, Team Principal, WTRAndretti: “This one of the first years we’ve gone to Petit Le Mans without a chance to win the championship overall. This is also our last race with Acura and HRC, so our focus is going to be to try and win the race – I think we’ve won it three times before. We’ve got nothing to lose in terms of championship. We can just go and push as hard as we can to try to get a 1-2 finish for Acura and HRC and that will be a good way to close the season out.”
No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 GTP Drivers
Ricky Taylor: “We have always had a strong car at Petit Le Mans. I feel like without the pressure of the championship on the line we can focus on purely a race win and not look at anyone else which will be refreshing for us to enjoy the race again. It is one of the more historic races of the season. The track is very high commitment, but the race is one of the most intense towards the end with all teams and drivers generally putting everything on the line to win the race/championship.”
Filipe Albuquerque: “Petit Le Mans is one of the coolest races in the world. The race, the characteristics of the track is unique for racing with all the classes. It’s super wild because everyone is fighting for the championship, for the race win, so no one is holding back anything. It just makes it so unique. I’ve never won this race before, I’ve led the last hour, last 30 minutes many, many times but never concluded with winning. I know we will be competitive again with the No. 10 team. The question is if we are going to win it or not, so we’re going to give it our best again. We have nothing to lose. We’re not fighting for the championship; the championship contenders will have to manage while we’re all in. That’s our approach. We are not holding back, and second place is not enough for us.”
Brendon Hartley: “Petit Le Mans is one of the endurance classics and a race I always try to put on the calendar if there is an opportunity. The track has old school small run off vibes and good flow. You can expect everything. WTRAndretti have been quick all year, but things have not fallen our way, full focus on the win and finishing on a high.”
No. 40 DEX Imaging Acura ARX-06 GTP Drivers
Louis Delétraz: “Petit Le Mans is one of my favorite races of the year; the track, the fans, the atmosphere, everything is amazing. We tested at the track few weeks ago and we were competitive last year. Everyone has worked hard so the objective is clear: go win the race and finish the year on a high! Colton is back with us in the 40 and last time out as a trio was pretty good, so hopefully we can repeat that. I already can’t wait to be back on track with WTRAndretti and the Acura ARX-06.”
Jordan Taylor: “I think our team is really suited to these big, classic endurance events. When you look at the team’s history, they have a lot of success in the big key races like Petit Le Mans. We won Sebring this year, so it would be amazing to close off the year with another big win. Petit Le Mans has always been an iconic race ever since it started back in 1998. I think as a team it’s especially important since my dad won the inaugural event. It is also usually a very stressful event because the championship is often on the line. Unfortunately, we haven’t had the year that we have wanted, but at the same time that opens up our race strategy to purely race for the win.”
Colton Herta: “I’m really excited to be back with WTRAndretti in the No. 40 Acura ARX-06. Petit Le Mans is a huge bucket list race for me to win and I’m excited to able to go for that win with this amazing group.”
ABOUT WTRANDRETTI
Andretti Global and Wayne Taylor Racing announced a new, long-term partnership in 2023 that combines the resources of the two championship-caliber teams to compete in IMSA’s top classes. In 2024, Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti (WTRAndretti) has expanded to a two-car GTP program as well as competes in the GTD class. Coming off its 2023 championship winning effort, WTRAndretti continues its Driver Development Program competing in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America series with a full stable.
WTRAndretti’s global motorsports enterprise boasts two IMSA driver championships (2013 and 2017), and back-to-back IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Championships (2020, 2021) which contributed to nine IMSA manufacturer championships for Acura, Pontiac, Corvette and Cadillac. In its brief 17-year history, WTRAndretti has accumulated multiple victories in sportscar racing’s most iconic events: Rolex 24 At Daytona, Twelve Hours of Sebring, Petit Le Mans, Mid-Ohio, Road America and the Six Hours of The Glen. With its back-to-back PRO Class Championship wins (2022, 2023), WTR also has ten North America Lamborghini Super Trofeo Championship titles and a Lamborghini World Finals title.
Andretti Global, a Championship-winning motorsports organization, competes in additional racing categories worldwide, including the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, Extreme E, Australian Supercars and the Mexico SuperCopa Championship. Additionally, the racing enterprise commits to driver development through competition in INDY NXT by Firestone and through support of Sebastian and Oliver Wheldon’s racing careers.
