Richard Westbrook will make his return to full time prototype racing in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship with JDC-Miller Motorsports.
The Briton will partner Tristan Vautier as the full season pairing aboard the #5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-VR for the 2022 season.
It marks the first time that he has raced a full season in IMSA since 2019 and his first season in a Daytona Prototype since his second season with Spirit of Daytona Racing in 2015, where he took two wins.
“I’m really excited to be back in IMSA for 2021 and to be joining JDC-Miller MotorSports in the Cadillac DPi-V.R,” Westbrook said. “I’ve been in contact with John ever since my GTLM program ended in 2019 and we both were keen to work together when the opportunity was right.”
“I’m just so happy we finally did it and grateful to John and the entire team and partners for believing in me and I’ll do whatever it takes to help take this team move forward into 2022 after they had some strong races last year. Last time I raced in the top class in IMSA we narrowly missed out on the title going into Petit Le Mans in 2015, so I feel I have a lot of unfinished business to take care of and I can’t wait to get going at the Roar in January.
“I tested with the team back in October in Atlanta and I felt Tristan was someone I could really work with. He has a lot of pace and knows the car and team well. Having Loïc here for the rounds of the Michelin Endurance Cup is a huge plus; he’s one of the best in the business so I feel we have a top lineup. The team really impressed me at the test. They have a lot of talent on the crew side and on the timing stand so there is a lot to be optimistic about.”
Westbrook effectively takes the place of Loic Duval. The Frenchman will remain with the team but in a reduced capacity amidst his involvement in the Peugeot Hypercar programme. Duval will only contest the four endurance rounds.
Notably, the team has signed Bronze-rated driver Ben Keating to complete its line-up for the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Keating has not raced in the DPi category before, although he is the reigning champion in LMP2.
The 50-year-old Texan becomes the first Bronze driver to race a DPi since Jon Bennett’s time in the CORE Autosport Nissan DPi in 2019.
“It’s great to have Loïc and Tristan back for 2022, and we welcome Richard and Ben to the program,” said John Church, managing partner of JDC-Miller MotorSports.
“2021 was a challenging year for us. We were super competitive at Daytona until we had contact, then we bounced back and won the race at Sebring but after that we got a little unlucky at several of the races. We know we had the speed but just never got the results.”
“We had an opportunity to test Richard earlier this year and we feel he is the perfect fit for our program to partner with Tristan and Loïc for next year and in the future.
“The continuity we have with Loïc will prove valuable and with his previous commitments for a WEC program in 2022, he was the obvious choice for the endurance rounds of the Michelin Endurance Cup in 2022.”
“Ben has proven more than once that he is up to the task of running on this level. Not only is he the current 2021 IMSA LMP2 Champion but he has done so many 24-hour races in the past that he will be a valuable addition to the lineup when we get to Daytona in January.”
