Ilott Headlines New Intake of JOTA Hypercar Drivers

Callum Ilott will race in the FIA World Endurance Championship for the Hertz Team JOTA Porsche Hypercar squad in 2024, it has been announced.

The British driver, who moves to the WEC after two full seasons in IndyCar, was one of three new drivers to be announced by JOTA on Monday along with Norman Nato and Phil Hanson.

Ilott and Nato and join the previously-announced Will Stevens in the No. 12 Porsche 963, while Hanson joins Oliver Rasmussen in the sister No. 38 car, which still has one driver to be announced.

Despite being best known for his exploits in the single-seater racing world, 25-year-old Ilott is no stranger to sports car racing, having spent a full season in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS in 2021 in an Iron Lynx Ferrari.

That year, he also made his debut in the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the same team, finishing third in the GTE Am class alongside Matteo Cressoni and Rino Mastronardi.

Earlier in 2023, he also made a one-off outing in the Indianapolis 8 Hour presented by AWS with the Wright Motorsports Porsche team.

“I’m so excited to be racing a Porsche in the top-class with Hertz Team JOTA,” commented Ilott. “I had a two-day test recently [in Qatar] and the car felt great and was enjoyable to drive.

“I’ve been ultra-impressed with the team, they’re incredibly professional, and I already know that with the Porsche, we’re going to be challenging for top results next season and hopefully success at Le Mans itself.”

Nato meanwhile is making his return to WEC competition after a season away, having last raced for the RealTeam by WRT squad in the LMP2 class in 2022.

The Frenchman, who drove the JOTA 963 in the Bahrain rookie test in November, has previous top-class experience thanks to his experience with Rebellion Racing in the 2019-20 season.

Nato however is understood to be likely to skip the Spa round in May due to a clash with his Formula E program with Andretti Autosport.

Hanson steps up to the WEC’s Hypercar class after four seasons in the WEC with United Autosports in LMP2.

The British driver has already been confirmed as the third driver for another Porsche LMDh outfit, JDC-Miller Motorsports, in the Michelin Endurance Cup leg of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.