Esterson, Johnson land full-time RLL Team McLaren rides

Max Esterson and Nikita Johnson will run full-time for RLL Team McLaren in the first year of a multi-year partnership between RLL and McLaren Automotive.

Johnson completes the No. 59 McLaren 720S GT3 EVO’s line-up for the 64th Rolex 24 At Daytona, with he and Esterson sharing the car with Juri Vips and McLaren factory GT driver Dean MacDonald.

All four drivers will make their Daytona 24 Hours debuts this year, and for Johnson and Vips, Daytona will be their first-ever competitive sports car races. Esterson’s only IMSA start prior to Daytona came at the Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in October.

The team tested its new 720S GT3 EVO for the very first time during the November IMSA Sanctioned Test at Daytona, with Esterson, MacDonald, and Vips taking turns behind the wheel.

“After racing in single-seaters my whole career up to this point, making the switch to IMSA in the GTD Pro class is a very big and exciting new chapter for me,” said Esterson, who moves on after running in the FIA Formula 3 Championship from 2023-24, and running most of the 2025 Formula 2 season. “It’s great to be joining such a strong and established team like RLL and I’m excited to see what we can do together with McLaren this season starting at Daytona.”

“I am very happy and honored to help build the new McLaren era with RLL and I am excited to run the full-year with Max,” added Johnson. “As a Florida native, I am especially excited to start it all off in Daytona with a great four-driver lineup. Thank you to all of RLL for this opportunity.”

Johnson will also contest the full 2026 Indy NXT season with Cape Motorsports, in addition to his new full-time ride at RLL Team McLaren.

MacDonald, a fixture of GT World Challenge Europe and British GT Championship racing since 2017, said: “I’m very happy to be doing my first Daytona 24 Hour race, and to be doing it with RLL in the McLaren makes it even more exciting. I got my first taste of Daytona and working with the team not too long ago and I believe we can go into the race challenging for a win in the GTD PRO class so I can’t wait to finally get going again at the Roar (Before The 24)!” 

“I’m excited to get my first taste of endurance racing, especially at such an iconic event like the Rolex 24 At Daytona,” said Vips, who’d previously driven for RLL in the IndyCar Series.

“The test went well; there were no big hiccups, and we got a lot of mileage. I had a lot of things to get used to. Driving a GT3 car is very different to anything I've done before but I've got a much better idea now. I feel good and prepared; McLaren has been really helpful as well with everything to get me up to speed with all the systems and things they have in the car. I’m looking forward to it.”