Da Costa, Habsburg Complete Jackie Chan DCR JOTA Lineup for Daytona

Photo: BMW

Antonio Felix da Costa and Ferdinand Habsburg will complete Jackie Chan DCR JOTA’s driver lineup for next month’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, the team confirmed on Sunday.

The BMW factory driver and rising open-wheel star Habsburg join team regulars Ho-Pin Tung and Alex Brundle in the Chinese squad’s second Oreca 07 Gibson, alongside its previously announced lineup of Lance Stroll, Felix Rosenqvist, Robin Frijns and Daniel Juncadella.

“I’m really glad to have Antonio and Ferdinand join Ho-Pin and Alex to complete the a stellar line-up across both cars,” team co-owner David Cheng said. “This will definitely give the team the best edge in a very competitive field this year at Daytona.

“It’s great to have everything wrapped up before the holiday break with all the drivers. I know all the guys are very eager to go racing and the team is well prepared to give them the best competitive shot, across both cars.”

Formula E driver Da Costa, who has been involved in the development of BMW’s new M8 GTE and will be part of BMW Team MTEK’s lineup in the FIA World Endurance Championship next season, is set for his prototype debut.

“I am really happy to compete in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, specially with such a strong team and driver line up,” he said. “Looking forward to getting to grips with the car and the team which, having won Le Mans 24 Hours in 2017, is the perfect squad for my first Rolex 24 at Daytona.”

Habsburg, the 20-year-old FIA Formula 3 Championship standout, who is part of the Habsburg Austrian Monarchy, meanwhile, will make his first sports car racing outing.

“The 24 hours of Daytona has always been a dream of mine and I have always wanted to experience sports car racing,” he said. “To do both of these things with the dream Team of Jackie Chan DC Racing JOTA is just unbelievable.

“I’m going to have team mates that I really look up to and drive one of the most spectacular cars in the world.”

Both Cheng and Thomas Laurent are notable absences in the lineup, with the Frenchman, who starred in his rookie season in the WEC with the team, having been announced as a driver for Rebellion Racing next year, but with a contract reportedly not yet having been signed.

It’s understood Cheng is likely to focus on the team operations for the race.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John