Kamui Kobayashi To Race 2020 Daytona 24 With WTR And Cadillac

Fan-favorite racing driver Kamui Kobayashi will vie for back-to-back wins in the Rolex 24 at Daytona next year.

The Japanese racing driver will return to the cockpit of the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R in January, team owner Wayne Taylor announced at a recent media event in Tokyo for team sponsor Konica Minolta.

Kobayashi won the 2019 edition of the endurance race with co-drivers Jordan Taylor, Renger van der Zande and fellow Formula 1 alumnus Fernando Alonso. No other drivers were announced at the event in Japan this week, although it is likely that WTR will re-sign the full-time IMSA duo of Taylor and van der Zande.

Kobayashi’s full-time job is driving the Toyota TS050 Hybrid LMP1 car in the FIA World Endurance Championship. He recently re-signed with Toyota for the 2019-2020 WEC season and will continue to share the No. 7 TS050 Hybrid with Mike Conway and Jose Maria Lopez.

Kobayashi is also competing in the open-wheel Japanese Super Formula Championship this year with single car team Carrozzeria Team KCMG.

The No. 10 Cadillac DPi-V.R took the overall victory in the race last year after it ended early due to inclement weather. The WTR entry had moved into the lead after Alonso passed the Action Express Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R of Felipe Nasr when he went wide in Turn 1. Less than 10 minutes later, the race was ended due to the worsening conditions.

Taylor and van der Zande currently sit fifth in IMSA DPi class standings, with the Daytona win and the runner-up finish at Sebring being the team’s only two top three finishes of the year. The team has struggled for pace compared to the Action Express Cadillac of Nasr and Pipo Derani, while the consistency of the two Team Penske Acura DPis has also been tough to overcome.