Lone Star Commits to Endurance Cup With Mercedes-AMG

Photo: Jake Galstad/IMSA

Lone Star Racing will embark on an IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup campaign with its Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, which will feature Scott Andrews, Salih Yoluc, Rui Andrade and Adam Christodoulou as drivers.

The Texas-based squad announced its GTD class program on Thursday, one day after the finalized entry list for the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona was distributed by IMSA.

Andrews, Yoluc and Andrade are set to take part in all five Endurance Cup races, with Mercedes-AMG driver Christodoulou serving as the fourth for the Rolex 24.

“Our first Rolex 24 At Daytona campaign marks another milestone for Lone Star Racing and we are ready for the challenge,” said team manager and technical director AJ Petersen.

“Our best result of the 2023 season was a close runner-up showing in our Mercedes-AMG GT4 in the four-hour endurance race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“That same weekend, we returned to IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition with Scott Andrews co-driving a Mercedes-AMG GT3 and we are ready for more.

“We have had some success with our Mercedes-AMG GT3 cars in a support role with international teams in recent years, including a victory in the 2022 Intercontinental GT Challenge 8 Hours of Indianapolis and a second-place finish in the same race at the Brickyard last year.

“We have been fortunate to assemble a top group of drivers that know how to win on the worldwide international sports car endurance racing stage and we know we will give them a competitive Mercedes-AMG GT3 that will keep them in the hunt in Daytona.”

Andrews and Anton Dias Perera, who is taking a year off from racing in 2024, drove Lone Star’s Mercedes-AMG in its only WeatherTech Championship appearance at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last year.

The team had been eying an expanded effort in the series for 2024 although faced a curveball during the off-season.

“I can’t thank [team owner] Dan Knox and AJ Petersen enough for all of their hard work and not giving up on this program,” Andrews said.

“For sure, in November and December it looked like we probably weren’t going to be on the grid in any sort of shape or form in 2024. Plans can fall through, but to literally start entirely from scratch in November is hard.

“We all put our heads together, and I suppose I tried to take on a bit more of a role as not just a driver on the team but being there for AJ and doing everything I can to possibly help him.

“It’s really exciting to finally make Lone Star Racing’s debut at the Rolex 24.

“I have been fortunate to stand on the podium at this race twice, and one of those times in a Mercedes-AMG GT3. I am really excited to get back to this famous race. It is such an amazing atmosphere. It really is the biggest race of the year.”

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