Andretti to Add GTD Program for Selected Sprint Races

Andretti Autosport will expand into the GTD class for some of the WeatherTech Sprint Cup races in this year’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season according to Jarett Andretti.

The Indianapolis-based team has purchased a GT3 car in addition to its Ligier JS P320 Nissan which is participating in the four-round Michelin Endurance Cup.

Sportscar365 understands that Andretti will run an Aston Martin Vantage GT3 with Andretti and Gabby Chaves as the driver lineup, although the team hasn’t officially announced its plans.

Andretti, who previously drove a McLaren 570S GT4 in Pirelli GT4 America competition before switching to LMP3 two years ago, said that he wants to open the door to opportunities in a wider variety of major endurance races.

“We’re going to do some GTD stuff and we’re looking forward to that,” he told Sportscar365.

“We just have to see what races we’re going to do. I really like GT cars and that’s my background, more than the prototype stuff which happened kind of on accident.

“The plan was always to go GT racing at some point. We’ve got that opportunity now and we’re going to take it.

“With the convergence [to GT3] happening, we can race the same GT car hopefully without bodykit changes now from here to Spa, to Le Mans, to Suzuka and Kyalami.

“It’s going to be the best years of GT racing we’ve seen in a long time. You want to get involved.”

Andretti suggested that his team is set to do “at least four” of the shorter WeatherTech Championship races, most likely the ones within easy reach of Indianapolis.

Appearances at Road America, Virginia International Raceway and Lime Rock Park are likely, while the western swing to Long Beach and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, plus the round at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, are currently less probable.

“There are some races that are harder to get to and then you also don’t want to compromise the Endurance Cup program,” Andretti explained.

“I ran the eight-hour this year at Indy, and I don’t even have to get on the highway to get there from my house. If we can put the eight-hour into a program, that would be awesome as well.

“Nothing is off the table right now. We know we’re going to do the four Endurance Cup races [in LMP3] and we know we’re going to do some GT3 stuff. We’re just going to mix and match.

“My background is from sprint car racing. If it was raining up in the north, we’d just go south and race the same night. I’m OK not having a set schedule, as long as it doesn’t compromise performance.”

Andretti Autosport has not decided whether it will switch to full-time GTD operations, or if it will run the planned Aston Martin customer program alongside its LMP3 venture.

The team joined the LMP3 class in 2021, racing in the now-defunct Prototype Challenge series and the WeatherTech Championship from the third round.

It then committed to a full-season program last year and ended the campaign with a class victory at Motul Petit Le Mans for Andretti, Chaves and Josh Burdon.

“Honestly, those discussions have been ongoing internally about what makes sense for us to do,” Andretti said.

“I feel like we’re picking up momentum with the P3 program and we’ll see how the GTD program goes this year. We can go either way.

“We’re very blessed because we have a lot of great partners with Gallant, Window World and MI. They’re excited about sports car racing and not necessarily picky about what class we do.

“So we’re very lucky, in that sense, to have the flexibility.”