Wayne Taylor Racing & Andretti Autosport Join Forces In IMSA For 2023

Andretti Autosport and Wayne Taylor Racing have announced a new, long-term partnership that will see the two teams combine resources to compete in IMSA’s top classes.

Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport’s #10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 and its #93 Harrison Contracting Company Acura NSX Evo22 will make their official debut at the 2023 Roar Before the Rolex 24 and will be on the grid for the Rolex 24 at DAYTONA. The newly formed team will also compete in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America series.

During the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season, day-to-day operations and leadership remain as they have currently operated with the long-term goal of moving the programs into Andretti Global’s recently announced 575,000-square-foot headquarters in Fishers, Indiana, due to be operational in 2025.

Wayne Taylor’s global motorsports enterprise boasts two IMSA driver championships (2013, 2017) and back-to-back IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Championships (2021, 2020), which have contributed to nine IMSA manufacturer championships for Acura, Pontiac, Corvette and Cadillac as well as multiple victories in sportscar racing’s most iconic events – the Rolex 24 At DAYTONA (a total of six Rolex 24 At Daytona titles, two as driver and four of the past six years as team owner), Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, Motul Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, Road America, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen at Watkins Glen International. Wayne Taylor Racing claims eight Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Championship titles and a Lamborghini World Finals title.

For 2023, Andretti will continue to operate in IMSA’s LMP3 category with Jarett Andretti. The five-time Indianapolis 500 champions Andretti Autosport competes in six additional racing championships worldwide, including the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, INDY NXT by Firestone, ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, Extreme E, Australia’s Repco Supercars Championship and Mexico’s SuperCopa series.

Michael Andretti, Chairman & CEO, Andretti Autosport: “This is an exciting time for us. We’re proud to be returning to the IMSA paddock in this way and the opportunity to be part of the launch of the GTP program alongside Wayne Taylor Racing and our friends at Honda Performance Development. Re-entering IMSA full-time, and at this level, has been a goal of mine. I wanted it to be the right opportunity and at the right time – and we’ve found that. I’m looking forward to working closely with the team at WTR and meeting all the team’s strong supporters. I want to personally thank Wayne (Taylor) and Travis (Houge) for already being such great partners as we plan for a successful future.”

Wayne Taylor, Team Owner, Wayne Taylor Racing: “It’s an honour to be partnering with a name like Andretti as we enter a new era of racing. I was approached by Michael a year ago and, as we all know, timing is everything, especially as our GTP and GTD programs continue to grow with Acura|HPD. Having worked with Michael on this for nearly a year, I’m very excited to see it come together. While our 2023 program won’t look much different, there is a lot that Andretti Autosport can offer to us as we continue to build and expand. I’m looking forward to working closely with Michael (Andretti), J-F (Thormann), Rob (Edwards) and the entire Andretti team.”

DSC says: This new partnership potentially unlocks two stated short-term ambitions. That of Wayne Taylor to expand to a two-car top class GTP effort in the near future and that of Michael Andretti to bring his team into the GTP class.

Whether there are wider plans for the partners to operate more cars o in more Series together remains to be seen, but an effort at increased punch and sustainability for two major players should be welcomed.