DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Colton Herta arrived at Daytona Int’l Speedway for this week’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s Roar Before the Rolex 24 test sessions essentially already in “race mode.”
It’s been a particularly busy last few months for the American open-wheel star and past Rolex 24 At Daytona class winner.
The 25-year-old Californian and recent IndyCar Series headliner has just completed his first test laps in the Hitech TGR car he’ll race in the FIA Formula 2 Series this season. In addition to competing in F2, Herta has been named test driver for the Cadillac Formula 1 Team’s 2026 debut schedule.
This week, however, Herta is again taking to the Daytona road course in preparation for the annual twice-around-the-clock sports car classic, co-driving the No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V-Series.R in the headlining GTP (Grand Touring Prototype) class with Jordan Taylor and Louis Deletraz.
It’s a race Herta genuinely looks forward to competing in. And next weekend he’ll attempt to add an overall class victory to the two-trophy haul he already owns in the renowned event – claiming class wins in 2019 (Grand Touring Le Mans) and 2022 (Le Mans Prototype 2) which already has elevated him among the winning ranks in the great 24-hour classic.
“A lot of us open-wheel guys always use this as a pathway to getting ready for our season because it’s always in January and we can get in the car and warm up a little bit. I think that’s where some of the attractiveness comes from,’’ Herta said of his fondness for the Rolex 24.
“It is super special and this race is always one that hopefully for the rest of my racing career I can do every year. I love doing this one and all the endurance races, but this one is super special because it’s the hardest to win.’’
It may only be January, but Herta smiled and conceded the past few months have been the busiest time of his young career – something he considers to be nothing but positive.
“It’s been a crazy year already, already been in different cars before even coming here,” he said. “I’ll need to be a little bit of a chameleon, able to change shades and get in different race cars and adapt quickly. That will be the name of the game this year for me.”
On his day one of the Roar, Herta added: “I’m happy with how the first day went. It’s always nice when you get to drive race cars. This Cadillac V-Series.R is super fun. It sounds great. It’s great to drive inside the cockpit, it does what you want as a driver. All happy signs from me for Day 1.”
