Herta Rejoins WTR for Daytona, Sebring, Petit Le Mans

Photo: Mike Levitt/IMSA

Colton Herta will rejoin Wayne Taylor Racing for a three-race IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup program in the team’s No. 40 Cadillac V-Series.R next year in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

The Cadillac F1 test driver, who will undertake his first season of FIA Formula 2 Championship competition with Hitech Racing in 2026, will rejoin the returning full season driver pairing of Jordan Taylor and Louis Deletraz for the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona, Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and Motul Petit Le Mans.

Herta teamed with Taylor and Deletraz to win last year’s Sebring race and also had a podium at Daytona in 2024.

It will mark Herta’s first experience in the Cadillac V-Series.R after previously racing the Acura ARX-06 and BMW M Hybrid V8 in previous WeatherTech Championship endurance races.

“We had some success last time I was with the team and I hope to continue that,” said Herta. “Jordan and Louis are some of the best drivers in the business, and it’s a pleasure to join them on this adventure.

“I can’t wait to get behind wheel of the Cadillac’s naturally aspirated engine. Daytona can’t come soon enough!”

Cadillac WTR’s lineup for the 2026 WeatherTech Championship season otherwise remains unchanged, with Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque back in the No. 10 entry for their sixth consecutive season as co-drivers.

They’ll be joined by fellow Cadillac factory driver Will Stevens, who drives for Hertz Team JOTA in the FIA World Endurance Championship, for the three long-distance WeatherTech Championship enduros.

“I’m excited to get going for next year,” said team co-owner Wayne Taylor. “It will be our second year with the Cadillac V-Series.R and we have learned so much this year.

“Having the same drivers for the full season and Will Stevens in the No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing for the IMEC rounds brings great continuity to our program and ensured success.

“We are delighted that Colton Herta can join Jordan and Louis in the No. 40 Cadillac WTR V-Series.R for the endurance events.

“The trio has been a great match and had great success working together in 2024. Our team has so much positivity going into 2026 and we are all looking forward to the November test in Daytona.”

TWG Motorsports CEO Dan Towriss added: “This lineup shows what makes Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing special – a mix of consistency, teamwork and the drive to win.

“Wayne’s built a strong legacy with Cadillac, and we’re happy for TWG to help carry that forward. The strength of these pairings, combined with the continuity across both cars, positions us to keep building momentum and delivering for partners and fans.”

Herta is the first driver to have crossover between Cadillac’s sports car racing program and its new venture into F1, which is also owned by Towriss’ TWG Motorsports group.

Unchanged Lineup at Action Express Racing

Fellow Cadillac factory WeatherTech Championship squad Action Express Racing, meanwhile, will continue with an unchanged lineup in its No. 31 entry next year in Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber and Frederik Vesti, the latter pilot for the Endurance Cup rounds plus the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, which clashes with the WEC race at Imola.

Vesti is understood to again fill in on the conflicting weekend for Bamber, who is set to continue his full-season WEC campaign with JOTA, although Aitken is also understood to be in contention for a season-long WEC seat with the team as well amid Jenson Button’s retirement from full-time racing.

The Whelen-sponsored AXR team capped off its season with wins in the final two races of the season at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta that vaulted Aitken to a second place finish in the GTP drivers’ championship.

“We are thrilled to have our drivers, Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber and Fredrick Vesti, returning for 2026,” said general manager Gary Nelson.  “Over the past couple years, we have enjoyed watching them drive at a very high level in every race.

“Unfortunately, many times, in early events of 2025 we did not get the results they deserved. We saw all along how well Jack, Earl and Fred were working together and how fast they were. We just seemed to not get the trophies they deserved.

“That all changed for the final two events, Indy and Atlanta. Everything came together and we brought home the trophies. With our team ending 2025 with wins at the final two events, in 2026 we expect to pick up where we left off.”

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