Winward Set for Rolex 24 Title Defense With Revised Lineup

Photo: Rick Dole/IMSA

Winward Racing will have a revised driver lineup for its Rolex 24 at Daytona GTD title defense, with Lucas Auer and Mikael Grenier joining 2021 class winners Russell Ward and Philip Ellis in the team’s Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo.

The four drivers were confirmed in a social media post by the Texas-based team on Monday ahead of an expected full-season effort.

Ward and Ellis teamed with Maro Engel and Indy Dontje for class victory in last year’s race at Daytona before returning to IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition in November’s season-ending Motul Petit Le Mans.

Both Auer and Grenier are no strangers to Winward, with the Mercedes-AMG affiliated driver having driven for the team in DTM last year, while the Canadian has been a regular part of its lineups in both the North America and European competition as well.

As reported by Sportscar365, Winward plans to contest its first full season of GTD, although it has yet to announce its full-time pilots.

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