WeatherTech Racing will contest the Rolex 24 at Daytona in the GTD Pro category with two cars: one from Porsche and one from Mercedes-AMG.
The Florida-based squad, which won both the Twelve Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans in the GTLM class in 2021, will be competing in the Florida classic with a host of factory drivers from both marques supporting Cooper MacNeil.
MacNeil will be driving in both cars throughout the twice-around-the-clock enduro. The American driver will be joined by Julien Andlauer, Matteo Cairoli and Alessio Picariello aboard the #79 Porsche 911 GT3 R, also sharing the Porsche with Andlauer for a full-season campaign.
The #97 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, meanwhile, will be driven by MacNeil, Maro Engel, Jules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella. The Hinsdale native has raced Mercedes machinery in IMSA before with Riley Motorsports in 2017.
Both cars will be operated by the German Proton Competition operation, which also ran the team’s GTLM effort during the 2021 season.
“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 in GTD Pro with Julien Andlauer.”
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