FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – WeatherTech Racing will be competing with two cars in the new IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD Pro Class in the Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 27-30.
Cooper MacNeil of Illinois will be at the wheel of the No. 97 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 and No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R cars for the endurance classic next month. Both cars will be prepared by Proton Competition.
Driving the No. 97 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 will be MacNeil, Maro Engel of Germany, Jules Gounon of France and Daniel Juncadella of Spain.
Piloting the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R will be MacNeil, who will be joined by Julien Andlauer of France), Matteo Cairoli of Italy and Alessio Picariello of Belgium.
“The Rolex 24 is the equivalent of our Super Bowl,” MacNeil said. “Winning this race has been one of my racing goals since I started. I’ve won Sebring twice, Petit Le Mans three times, been on the podium at Le Mans twice, been a multiple series champion, and now need to win the Rolex 24. I’ve finished second at the Rolex 24 but they don’t give a watch out for second place.
“With two cars from different brands I think we have good shot at being on the top step of the podium come Sunday afternoon on the 30th. I am looking forward to the challenge of driving both cars and considering our driver line-up I like our chances.
“For the remainder of the season I will run the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R in GTD Pro with Julien Andlauer.”
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season will start with the traditional Roar Before the 24 test at Daytona Int’l Speedway on Jan. 22-24. The 80th running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona will take the green Jan. 29.