MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Rick Ware Racing has added two-time Indy 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya to drive the team’s No. 51 LMP2 entry for a trio of IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship races this season.
Montoya, a native of Bogota, Colombia, will compete at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Road America and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He will team up with current RWR IMSA driver Eric Lux for the remaining sprint rounds.
“I have been very fortunate to race in multiple categories with some of the best teams in history,” Montoya said. “During those years, I have had a lot of success in each series constantly fighting for the championship. I love racing the LMP2 car and feel my experience can be a great asset to the team. I can see us winning races together.”
Some highlights of Montoya’s experience are championships in F3000, CART (IndyCar) and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Series. Notable race wins are the Indianapolis 500 (2000 and 2015), seven Formula 1 victories, including the Monaco Grand Prix (2003), 24 Hours of Daytona (2007, 2008 and 2013) and two NASCAR Cup Series triumphs.
Montoya is one of only three drivers to have won races in F-1, IndyCar and NASCAR. The other two are legends Mario Andretti and Dan Gurney.
“This is a big opportunity for RWR and our IMSA team,” said Rick Ware, team owner. “Juan Pablo Montoya brings a wealth of championship and race-winning experience to our LMP2 program. We are looking forward to seeing what we can do together for the three races Juan Pablo is in the car this year and build on that for the future.”
Lux likes the fact he’ll be sharing seat time with someone of Montoya’s stature.
“I am thrilled to be teaming up with Juan Pablo Montoya,” said Lux, the team’s Bronze Driver. “Juan is a legend in the world of motorsports and it’s an honor to work alongside him and learn from his vast experience. We have a strong team with Rick Ware Racing.
“I am confident we can achieve great things on the track and bring home multiple victories. I can’t wait to return to one of my favorite circuits in Laguna Seca and see what we can accomplish in the LMP2 Category.”
Of note, this will be the fifth former F-1 driver to compete for RWR in the past two seasons. Montoya joins Jenson Button, Pietro Fittipaldi, Romain Grosjean and Takuma Sato as RWR alumni.