Ford Chip Ganassi Racing has confirmed it will run two Daytona Prototypes in this year’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, featuring two strong lineups in a pair of Riley-Fords to go along with their two Ford GTs.
As expected, the 2015 winners, Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan, Kyle Larson and Jamie McMurray will be back to defend their overall win in the No. 02 Riley-Ford DP.
Meanwhile, the surprises come in the sister No. 01 car. Canadian teenager Lance Stroll has been confirmed alongside three international stars, in Alex Wurz, Andy Priaulx and Brendon Hartley.
“We’re proud to have the defending Prototype Champions from last year, along with the excitement worldwide with the reintroduction of the Ford GT,” said team principal Chip Ganassi.
“I think we’ve built a very strong effort for the 2016 race in the Prototype class, which gives us two more solid chances to get to victory lane.”
Stroll has been linked to the DP seat for a few weeks, while Priaulx, who has formally announced his departure from BMW after more than 13 years, is expected to be confirmed as a part of Ford’s lineup within the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Wurz and Hartley, meanwhile, enter the Ganassi fold from other manufacturer teams in the WEC.
Wurz recently announced his retirement from driving and was named an ambassador and advisor for Toyota Gazoo Racing, while Hartley is fresh off winning this year’s World Championship for drivers in the WEC with Porsche.
Hartley’s past Daytona starts have come with Starworks Motorsport, while Wurz, a two-time overall winner at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, will make his Rolex 24 debut.
Sponsorship details and liveries for the two Prototype entries will be announced at a later date, as will the endurance drivers for the Ford GT cars within the GT Le Mans class.
Alexander Wurz took to Twitter shortly after the announcement to clarify that the Rolex 24 will be a “one-off:”
proud to have been asked to join @CGRTeams for the 24h of Daytona in January! A one-off race I always wanted to do and now have time to do.
— alex wurz (@alex_wurz) December 29, 2015
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