Ilott to run full FIA WEC Hypercar season with JOTA

Callum Ilott will contest the full FIA World Endurance Championship calendar with Hertz Team JOTA in the Hypercar class with the No. 12 Porsche 963. The move comes after earning two top five finishes for the Juncos Hollinger Racing team in the NTT IndyCar Series and commits the Briton to the WEC’s eight-race international calendar that starts in Qatar and ends in Bahrain.

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

“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. The team were incredibly impressive this season especially considering they began their season at Spa in May after limited running and then performed extremely well at Le Mans the following month.

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“2024 will mark my first full year in WEC, having made a one-off Le Mans appearance a couple of years ago. The calendar looks fantastic and it’ll be great racing at some of the historic European tracks again like Imola, Spa and of course Le Mans. It’s a super-impressive series attracting many famous car manufacturers and top-class drivers from around the World. I can’t wait for Qatar.”

With his full-season schedule racing the 4.6-liter twin-turbo V8-powered Porsche prototype in focus, Ilott would be free to contest 10 of IndyCar’s 17 races and any IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship rounds that do not conflict with WEC events.

"The super-sub role for most events is on the table," Ilott told RACER. "The Indy 500 is also on the table and something that is obviously very appealing to do. As of right now, nothing is finalized, but it is an interest of mine to do. And looking towards the future, IndyCar is an environment that you know, I want to stay in contact with and I spent two and a half years within it, so I started to know and understand it quite well."

Joining Ilott in the No.12 entry – the number recognizing the NFL jersey worn used by team backer Tom Brady – will be fellow JOTA newcomer Norman Nato and returning driver Will Stevens, while Phil Hanson joins the team to share the No.38 car with Oliver Rasmussen, who moves up from JOTA's LMP2 program, and a yet-to-be-named third driver.

Neither Antonio Felix da Costa or Yifei Ye, who shared the car with Stevens in 2023, will return to JOTA next season. Da Costa will focus on his 2024 Formula E campaign while Ye is believed by RACER to be moving to AF Corse to compete in its privately-run Ferrari 499P.