Pato O’Ward and Felix Rosenqvist no longer will be NTT INDYCAR SERIES teammates in 2024 after three seasons together at Arrow McLaren, but they will reunite with United Autosports during the 62nd Rolex 24 At Daytona in January.
Arrow McLaren NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver O’Ward will team with Ben Keating, fellow Indianapolis 500 veteran Ben Hanley and Nico Pino in United Autosports’ No. 2 ORECA 07 prototype in the LMP2 class of the twice-around-the-clock endurance classic that opens the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season Jan. 27-28 on the 3.56-mile road course at Daytona International Speedway.
“I’m really happy to get a deal done with Zak (Brown) and Richard (Dean),” O’Ward said. “It’s something I’ve been bugging them about for a while, so Daytona 2024 was a complete no-brainer.
“We want some shiny Rolexes on our wrists when we’re done with that race weekend.”
O’Ward will aim for his third Rolex 24 victory in January, adding to his class victories in Prototype Challenge in 2017 – at age 17 – with Performance Tech Motorsports and LMP2 in 2022 with DragonSpeed USA.
“We have been trying to get Pato in a United Autosports car for a while now,” said Richard Dean, United Autosports CEO. “After a few false starts, finally we have our man. Pato brings experience as a Daytona race winner and is just plain fast in everything he drives.”
Rosenqvist, who moved from Arrow McLaren to Meyer Shank Racing for the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season, will share the No. 22 ORECA 07 LMP2 prototype with Daniel Goldburg, Paul di Resta and a driver to be announced. This will be Rosenqvist’s debut with United Autosports and his third Rolex 24 At Daytona appearance.
“I’m super excited to be back in sports car racing,” Rosenqvist said. “It’s been five years since I did a sports car race … I used to do it a lot back in the day. But it’s been put on pause recently because I’ve been focusing on my INDYCAR career. It’s something I love doing, and to be racing with United Autosports is really cool. This team has won a lot of LMP2 races before, so they’re coming in with the expectation to do well, which matches my goals.”
Rosenqvist raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2017 in the LMP2 class, finishing 12th, He also has raced in GT3 and Super GT competition.
“Felix Rosenqvist is a winner,” Dean said. “He has won races across an impressive range of series through his racing career and, over the past five years has made a real name for himself in INDYCAR. We are really excited to see Felix in the United Autosports car this January and feel very proud to partner with him in his quest for success at Daytona.”
O’Ward and Rosenqvist will be part of a growing contingent of active NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers competing in the prestigious sports car race that kicks off the major North American racing schedule.
The field will include six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion and three-time Rolex 24 overall winner Scott Dixon, two-time series champion and reigning Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden, 2022 “500” winner Marcus Ericsson, Colton Herta and Tom Blomqvist in the premier GTP class. O’Ward and Rosenqvist will race in the LMP2 class, while 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner Alexander Rossi and Kyle Kirkwood will compete in the GTD Pro category, along with NBC NTT INDYCAR SERIES analyst James Hinchcliffe.
The 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season starts Sunday, March 10 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.