Johnson, Esterson Named Full-Time RLL Team McLaren Drivers

Photo: Nikita Johnson FB

Nikita Johnson and Max Esterson have been named full season drivers for RLL Team McLaren’s new IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship venture, in a lineup that has one combined sports car start between three drivers and all four pilots being Rolex 24 at Daytona rookies.

The two drivers will be joined by McLaren factory driver Dean MacDonald and sometimes NTT IndyCar Series pilot Juri Vips for next weekend’s season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona in the team’s GTD Pro class McLaren 720S GT3 Evo.

Johnson, 17, comes from an abbreviated season of FIA Formula 3 after several years in the junior U.S. open-wheel ranks and is set for his sports car racing debut alongside fellow American Esterson, who starred in his first-ever sports car race in last October’s Motul Petit Le Mans in JDC-Miller Motorsports’ Porsche 963.

While Johnson has yet to drive the car, Esterson, Vips and MacDonald and the Bobby Rahal co-owned team took part in last November’s IMSA-sanctioned test at Daytona International Speedway, which marked its first test with the GT3 contender.

“I am very happy and honored to help build the new McLaren era with RLL and I am excited to run the full-year with Max,” said Johnson.

“As a Florida native, I am especially excited to start it all off in Daytona with a great four-driver lineup. Thank you to all of RLL for this opportunity.”

Esterson added: “After racing in single seaters my whole career up to this point, making the switch to IMSA in the GTD Pro class is a very big and exciting new chapter for me.

“It’s great to be joining such a strong and established team like RLL and I’m excited to see what we can do together with McLaren this season starting at Daytona.”

Like the full-season drivers, Estonian pilot Vips is also set for his sports car debut after most recently taking part in three IndyCar races with RLL over the last two years.

MacDonald, meanwhile, heads into next weekend’s season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona as the veteran within the team, although he too is set for his first outing in the Florida endurance classic.

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