Wayne Taylor Racing announced its 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship lineup, which will include a reunion with Kamui Kobayashi.
The Japanese driver, who won the Rolex 24 with WTR in 2019 and 2020, will be the team’s fourth driver at Daytona International Speedway, pairing on the No. 40 Cadillac with full-time drivers Louis Deletraz and Jordan Taylor and 2025 endurance driver Alex Lynn.
“Kamui Kobayashi’s abilities speak for themselves, having run with us before and won the Rolex 24 twice, once with Jordan,” team owner Wayne Taylor said in a release. “Everyone in this group works to get the job done. No egos. It is what wins races, especially the Rolex 24.”
WTR’s No. 10 Cadillac V-Series.R will feature veterans Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque (who have been paired since 2021) joined by endurance driver Will Stevens. Brendon Hartley will be the car’s fourth driver for the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
“I’m excited for the No. 10 lineup in 2025; three of the four drivers have been with us at least four years and working together,” Taylor said. “Adding in Will Stevens for the endurance races will be a big advantage as well. All four drivers understand the setups and are used to working closely together – a necessity for winning in Daytona and for being on top in this incredibly close championship.”
After four seasons with Acura, Wayne Taylor Racing is switching back to Cadillac next season after racing with the manufacturer in IMSA’s premier prototype category from 2017-2020.
Kobayashi, who has competed as a driver and team principal for Toyota in World Endurance Championship, won at Daytona twice in Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillacs. The 2021 24 Hours of Le Mans winner also raced a Cadillac as a teammate to Jimmie Johnson on the Ally Racing team from 2021-22.
“I am thrilled to announce that I will be racing for Wayne and his wonderful WTR teams for 2025 Daytona 24 hours,” Kobayashi said in a release. “I had such an amazing and fun memory for racing with his team and also with Cadillac Racing. I am really appreciative not only to WTR and Cadillac to give me another opportunity to race for them, but also Morizo-san and Toyota Gazoo Racing for allowing me to compete in this historic event in the United States.
“It just feels like a homecoming for me. The competition in IMSA has been very intense and I am looking forward to race to bring the best result as possible to WTR and Cadillac.”
In conjunction with Wayne Taylor Racing’s announcement, Cadillac Racing also revealed the drivers for the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Action Express Racing entry. Earl Bamber (replacing Pipo Derani) and Jack Aitken are the full-season drivers with Frederik Vesti joining for endurance races.
