Wayne Taylor Racing Makes Historic Debut at Le Mans 24 Hours
Wayne Taylor Racing, a seasoned team known for its victories at the Daytona 24 Hours, is set to make its first appearance at the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hours race this year. The team will be part of a formidable four-car Cadillac lineup competing in the World Endurance Championship’s flagship event.
The exciting news of Wayne Taylor Racing’s maiden participation at Le Mans was confirmed alongside the return of Action Express Racing with their Cadillac V-Series.R LMDh for a third consecutive season. As Cadillac’s partners in the IMSA SportsCar Championship in North America, both WTR and Action Express will be joining forces with the two full-season entries from the British Jota team, which has taken over from Chip Ganassi Racing as the General Motors brand’s representative in the series.
The official announcement of the four Caddys on the grid at Le Mans on 14-15 June was made by the race organizer, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, when they published the full 62-car entry list for the race. This year’s race will also feature a third Porsche 963 LMDh from the factory Penske team, bringing the Hypercar class entry list to a total of 21 cars.
### A Dynamic Lineup of Drivers
Wayne Taylor Racing has enlisted a formidable lineup of drivers for their V-Series.R entry at Le Mans. This includes Ricky and Jordan Taylor, the sons of team founder Wayne Taylor, along with Filipe Albuquerque, a seasoned driver who has been with the team since 2021. On the other hand, Action Express will feature full-season driver Jack Aitken, along with Frederik Vesti and Felipe Drugovich.
Vesti, who also serves as a Formula 1 reserve driver for Mercedes, will be taking on the enduros alongside his F1 commitments. Meanwhile, Drugovich, who has experience racing for the team at Le Mans and Daytona, will bring his expertise to the track once again. Earl Bamber, Aitken’s regular partner in IMSA, will be representing Jota at Le Mans.
### Exciting Additions to the Grid
In addition to the Cadillac entries, Porsche Penske Motorsport will be fielding an extra entry at Le Mans for the third consecutive year, with drivers Nick Tandy and Felipe Nasr confirmed for the race. The third driver for the team is yet to be announced, with speculation suggesting that Pascal Wehrlein, who recently made his sportscar debut at Daytona, could be a potential candidate.
The reduced Hypercar entry this year has resulted in an increase in LMP2 and LMGT3 entries compared to last year. The LMP2 field now includes 17 cars, all ORECA-Gibson 07s, with nine entries in the Pro-Am sub-class. Among the invited entries are teams like RLR M Sport, United Autosports, and Inter Europol, each bringing their own unique strengths to the competition.
Furthermore, the LMGT3 category features three cars with auto invites, including the Sky Tempesta Ferrari 296 GT3, which earned its entry by winning the GT World Challenge Europe Bronze Cup. The ACO has also unveiled a six-car reserve list, showcasing the depth and diversity of the field at this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours.
With such a talented lineup of teams and drivers set to compete at Le Mans, this year’s event promises to be an exhilarating showcase of endurance racing at its finest. Stay tuned for more updates and insights as the race day approaches.
