Tower Motorsport will return to the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship for a full 2022 season, competing in the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona later this month with its # 8 Oreca 07 Gibson.
Team boss John Farano and the reigning champion of the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) Louis Delétraz will lead the championship of seven races and will be supported by 2021 ELMS champion Rui Andrade for the four endurance races. Ferdinand Habsburg, winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2021, will be the team’s fourth driver for the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
Tower Motorsports finished the 2021 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with a win at Petit Le Mans (below), thus defending the team’s victory at the same event in 2020. The team finished third in the LMP2 championship standings and placed in six of the Top 3 of the seven races.
The 2022 season marks Tower Motorsport’s third year in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Sponsored primarily by Tower Events and Tower Scaffold Services, the # 8 Oreca will once again sport its signature orange and white colors, with a black base replacing last year’s purple paint job. With three reigning champions, Tower Motorsport’s strong line-up will prove to be a strong new addition to the bulging Rolex 24 field.
“I am very happy to be driving alongside Louis for the entire IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship 2022 and I am delighted that Rui is supporting us for the entire Michelin Endurance Cup Championship and Ferdinand is anchoring the team for the 24th,” said Farano. “I already had the pleasure of testing at Daytona with these great drivers who immediately demonstrated their speed and talent. I’m really looking forward to another great season with Rick Capone (Capone Motorsports) leading our technical crew (Erwan, Richie, Martin, Damien, Daniel, Alain, JJ, Jan and John) and our fantastic engineering group led by Matthieu Leroy and supported by Viktor and Townsend who I am sure will continue to have one of the best performing cars on the grid. “
The 24-year-old Louis Delétraz, who mainly drove in formula racing, made a name for himself, rose to Formula 2 and spent two years as a Formula 1 reserve driver for the Haas F1 Team. In 2015 he became Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup champion, and in 2021 he again won top awards in the European Le Mans Series with Team WRT.
“I’m very excited to be able to take part in the 2022 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Tower Motorsport,” said Delétraz. Together with John, Rui and Ferdinand, I think we have a super competitive line-up. The preparation for 2022 has already started with some tests in Daytona, we all have the same goals and the same motivation for a successful 2022 season. Preparations for the off-season have already started, ready for Rolex 24 At Daytona at the end of January, where we want to start strong! “
Rui Andrade will join the duo for the entire season for the Michelin Endurance Cup. The LMP2 Pro-AM champion of the European Le Mans Series 2021 began his karting career at the age of 12 and made his single-seater debut in the Asian Le Mans Series championship in 2018.
“I’m very excited about the opportunity to be part of the Rolex 24 At Daytona with John, Louis and Ferdinand,” said Andrade. “It’s one of the most prestigious auto races in the world, and having spent most of my childhood in America, I feel very privileged to be able to come back to do what I love most. I know Tower is an incredible team and I’ve already had the chance to test with them and get to know everyone, it just got me even more excited about what’s to come. ”
The Tower Motorsport team will be rounded off for 2022 by the 24-year-old Ferdinand Habsburg, who will be the fourth driver to start in the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Habsburg, also with a background in single-seaters in Europe, has achieved great success in sports car racing, winning the title of the FIA World Endurance Championship LMP2, the Rolex 24 Hours of Le Mans and the title of the Asian Le Mans Series in 2021.
“Racing in America is different,” said Habsburg. “I’ve driven all over the world, but on race day nothing beats the atmosphere in Daytona. It just pulls you in and makes you want to come back again and again. I’m really looking forward to sharing a car with my colleague Bullet Rui, REMUS Ambassador Louis and Tower Motorsport star John Farano. My goal is very clear: I missed the watch at Le Mans, so I’ll give everything to get one at Daytona. ”
The confirmation from Tower Motorsport confirms a 10-car LMP2 entry for the Rolex 24 with two cars each from PR! / Mathiesen and G-Drive from APR as well as single car submissions from High Class Racing, United Autosports, Era Motorsport, Racing Team Nederland, and DragonSpeed, all with ORECA 07s.
