Mercedes-AMG factory driver Thomas Jaeger and newly crowned Virgin Australia Supercars Champion Shane van Gisbergen will complete WeatherTech Racing’s lineup for next month’s Rolex 24 at Daytona.
The pairing will join full-season drivers Gunnar Jeannette and Cooper MacNeil at the wheel of the Riley Motorsports-run Mercedes-AMG GT3, which will make its IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship debut in the Florida endurance classic.
“Having competed in many endurance races around the world, 2017 will be my first Daytona 24 hour race, so I´m excited and looking forward to it,” Jaeger said.
The 40-year-old German also serves as coordinator for the AMG Customer Sports program, having played a key part in Mercedes-AMG’s arrival into North American racing for next year.
“I’m in the AMG Customers Sports department since the very beginning in 2010 and was deeply involved in the development of the Mercedes-AMG GT3 as a test driver,” Jaeger added.
“So I’ll share all my experience and knowledge to make the program successful in the U.S.
“It’s a very professional team with nice people, I feel really comfortable. Also [the] driver lineup is great, all team players with the same target.”
Van Gisbergen, who also won this year’s Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup title, as well as the Bathurst 12 Hour, got his first laps in the AMG GT3 during this week’s IMSA-sanctioned test at Daytona.
“The WeatherTech Racing Mercedes is fun to drive,” van Gisbergen said. “I am getting more and more used to it here at Daytona.
“These two days we are all about getting comfortable with the car and the team.
“It is a little different from what I am used to with the McLaren that has the engine in the middle. This Mercedes is more like my V8 Supercar, so the transition is a little easier.”
