Lone Star Racing Makes Rolex 24 At Daytona Debut

Lone Star Racing makes its IMSA Rolex 24 At Daytona debut in the 62nd running of the nation's premier 24-hour sports car endurance race this month on the 3.56-mile road course at Daytona International Speedway (DIS). A winning lineup of international sports car drivers that have each captured major endurance race victories around the globe has come together to co-drive the No. 80 Lone Star Racing/ACS Manufacturing Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the GT Daytona (GTD) class in the season-opening IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race.

The driver lineup includes 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner Salih Yoluç, Petit Le Mans class victor Rui Andrade, Rolex 24 class champion Scott Andrews and overall 24 Hours of Nürburgring 2016 winning co-driver Adam Christodoulou.

The Rolex 24 At Daytona begins next weekend, January 19 - 22, with the annual Roar Before the Rolex 24 three-day test session at Daytona International Speedway that includes qualifying to set the starting grid for the 62nd running of the twice-around-the-clock race on January 27 - 28.

"Our first Rolex 24 At Daytona campaign marks another milestone for Lone Star Racing and we are ready for the challenge," said AJ Petersen, Lone Star Racing Team Manager and Technical Director. "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."

Yoluç made history in 2017 as the first Turkish driver to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and later the first driver from his country to win the prestigious French endurance race with a GTE Am class victory in 2020. He began his international sports car racing career in 2015 and co-drove to a victory in his first year of competition in the 24 Hours of Dubai. He has experience in everything from the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) to the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) to the Asian Le Mans Series. He won an ELMS championship in 2022, an Asian Le Mans title last year - both in the LMP2 class - and a Blancpain Endurance Cup championship in 2019 in Pro-Am Cup. He finished fourth in LMP2 in his only previous start in the Rolex 24 in 2021 and his most recent IMSA start was with Tower Motorsports at last year's Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen filling in for John Farano.

"I am very happy to be back in IMSA with Lone Star Racing," Yoluç said. "It was on my bucket list to do the IMA Endurance Cup full season so I’m happy that is coming true now. I am very excited to be starting in the Rolex 24, which is “the” 24 hour race I want to win personally, I cannot wait to get going and have a successful season with Scott and Rui and with Adam on the team at Daytona."

A native of Angola, Andrade first raced in the Rolex 24 in 2022 as part of a season-long IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup (IMEC) LMP2 campaign with Tower Motorsports. A third-place finish in the Daytona opener set the tone for a competitive run for Andrade in the four endurance races that culminated with a victory in the season-ending Petit Le Mans and runner-up finish in the final IMEC P2 standings. The same year, Andrade and his teammates co-drove to a 2022 WEC victory in the 6 Hours of Monza, making Andrade the first Angolan to win an FIA-sanctioned World Championship race. He also wrapped up a successful 2023 campaign by winning the WEC LMP2 title in the final year of the championship.

“IMSA is one of the coolest series I’ve raced in," Andrade said. "I love racing in the U.S. and I am excited to be back with Lone Star Racing. It will be quite a challenge to switch to GT mode after three seasons in prototypes, but I am looking forward to it. We have an epic calendar, including the Indianapolis Motor Speedway which has been on my bucket list for a long time."

Returning to Lone Star after a full season as the team's lead professional driver in 2023, Andrews won in his Rolex 24 debut in 2021 in the LMP3 class. He returned to the Rolex 24 the following year in the Korthoff Preston Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 and finished third in his Rolex SportsCar Championship GTD debut. After the 2021 victory, Andrews went on to win the Michelin Endurance Cup LMP3 Championship with his Riley Motorsports teammates. He co-drove to last year's Pilot Challenge Indy 4 Hour second-place finish and was closing on the leader when time expired. 

"I can't thank 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." 

Christodoulou also has Rolex 24 podium success on his resume, co-driving to a third-place GTD finish with the Riley team in the debut race in North America for the Mercedes-AMG brand in 2017. He has seven 24-hour sports car race wins to his credit, including co-driving to the breakout 2016 victory in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring that anchored a dominating performance in that race with a Mercedes-AMG GT3 sweep of the overall top four and five of the top-six finishing positions.

"I am really looking forward to joining the Lone Star Racing guys," Christodoulou said. "I was really happy when I got the call from Mercedes-AMG and AJ. I think it is a great opportunity. The last few times I raced in Daytona I have finished sixth, fourth and third, so it is one of those where you want to be fighting for the top spot like everyone. It's the biggest race to the start of the year."

Lone Star Racing competes in the 2024 season with the support of ACS Manufacturing, Sonangol and Visit Angola.