JOTA Finalizes LMP2 Lineup with Retention of No. 38 Crew

JOTA has confirmed that Antonio Felix da Costa, Anthony Davidson and Roberto Gonzalez will continue with the team in the FIA World Endurance Championship next season.

The British squad announced on Thursday that the unchanged driving trio will again pilot the No. 38 Oreca 07 Gibson in the six-round 2021 campaign.

The No. 38 crew finished second in the 2019-20 LMP2 teams’ standings, while da Costa and Gonzalez were classified third in the drivers’ championship behind United Autosports’ champions Filipe Albuquerque and Phil Hanson, and runner-up Paul di Resta.

Davidson missed the Silverstone season-opener but contested the next seven races.

JOTA’s three-man crew went on to claim victory in the 4 Hours of Shanghai and also notched up podiums in both 8 Hours of Bahrain events, the 6 Hours of Circuit of The Americas and the 24 Hours of Le Mans where they finished second to United Autosports.

“Continuity over the seasons is quite rare in endurance racing, so it is great to see Roberto, Anthony and Antonio back together again for the upcoming season with us here at JOTA,” said team co-owner David Clark.

“They all clearly showed that they had flair, consistency, a great team ethic and many other attributes to mount a serious title challenge last time around.

“These are all traits that JOTA also revel in when we go racing, so each of these guys fits in very well with the whole team.

“Roberto has really proved to be one of the most impressive genuine Silver-ranked drivers in the business and he excelled through the support, advice and experience of both Anthony and Antonio.

“So, we are really looking forward to achieving more great results together throughout the 2021 WEC season.”

Reigning ABB FIA Formula E champion Da Costa will balance his WEC program with another season at DS Techeetah in the electric single-seater series.

A lack of date clashes between Formula E and WEC enabled the Portuguese driver to represent JOTA in the full 2019-20 campaign, and the same conflict-free situation is currently set to play out this year.

“I’m super happy to be back in the WEC with JOTA and racing with Roberto and Anthony once again,” said da Costa, who drove for BMW’s factory GTE-Pro squad in 2018-19.

“I am a big fan of continuity, and we will be able to carry the momentum we gained last season to have another crack at winning the WEC and also Le Mans. I can’t wait to get started and go racing in Sebring.”

Former Toyota LMP1 driver Davidson is set for his third season in LMP2, having represented DragonSpeed and JOTA in the previous two campaigns.

Davidson and Gonzalez were co-drivers at DragonSpeed in 2018-19, while Gonzalez has been racing in the WEC LMP2 division for one season longer than his British teammate.

JOTA has now finalized both of its driver lineups for 2021, off the back of last week’s confirmation that Formula E drivers Stoffel Vandoorne and Tom Blomqvist will share the team’s sister Oreca 07 with FIA Formula 2 competitor Sean Gelael.

Sportscar365 understands that the previously JOTA-operated Jackie Chan DC Racing program has come to an end after four seasons of WEC competition.