Cadillac has announced that Ricky Taylor and Antonio Felix da Costa will join its factory Jota team in the World Endurance Championship in 2027.
The pair will replace Sebastien Bourdais and Alex Lynn, both of whom will leave the American manufacturer at the end of next month’s Monza season finale.
Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber, Norman Nato and Will Stevens will remain with the team next year, although the exact driver line-ups for its two Cadillac V-Series.R LMDh cars have yet to be revealed.
“We are incredibly excited about our driver line-up for 2027,” said Jota team principal Sam Hignett. “In Antonio and Ricky, we are welcoming two enormously talented drivers who already know the team well and understand what we are about.
“Both bring a huge amount of experience, but just as importantly, they are great team players and will fit seamlessly into the group we already have. Alongside Jack, Earl, Norman and Will, we believe we have a formidable line-up for 2027, with the experience, speed and team spirit to achieve great things together.”
Taylor is already well acquainted with Cadillac’s LMDh prototype, which he has been racing for his father’s WTR team in the IMSA SportsCar Championship since the beginning of 2025.
The 37-year-old had been linked to a full-season WEC drive ever since he joined Jota at the Lone Star Le Mans in September as a substitute driver for the injured Lynn.
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He is expected to combine his new Hypercar commitments with Jota with another IMSA campaign, following in the footsteps of fellow Cadillac drivers Aitken and Bamber.
“I’m incredibly honoured to be joining Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA for the 2027 season,” said the two-time Daytona 24 Hours winner.
“Racing full-time in a FIA World Championship is something I’ve never had the opportunity to do before, so I’m excited for the prospect and to be joining a team that has spent so many years achieving podiums and wins on the world stage.
“I already know many of the team and drivers from my time in IMSA, and I also had the opportunity to race with Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA in Austin this year, so I already feel right at home. I can’t wait to get started!"
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Da Costa, meanwhile, will reunite with Jota after a forced hiatus from Hypercar in 2024 and 2025 and a one-year spell with Alpine in 2026.
The Portuguese had been exploring options to extend his stay in the championship ever since Renault Group announced that it will pull the plug on its Hypercar programme at the end of 2026.
Da Costa has maintained a close relationship with Jota, with which he won the LMP2 title in 2022 before the team stepped up to Hypercar the following year with a customer Porsche 963.
“It feels really special to be coming back to JOTA,” said da Costa, who will also race for Jaguar in Formula E next year. “I have some amazing memories with this team, we achieved a lot together and I still have so many friends here, so in many ways it feels like coming home.
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“At the same time, this is a completely new challenge and one that I’m incredibly excited about. The team has shown what it is capable of at the very highest level and I’m coming back with one goal – to help Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA fight for wins and championships.”
With Taylor and Da Costa joining Cadillac Jota, the British-based team will part with Bourdais and Lynn.
The latter, who is returning from a long injury layoff at the Barcelona 6 Hours this weekend, was confirmed to be joining McLaren’s new Hypercar team on Thursday.
“We are delighted to welcome Alex to the McLaren Hypercar Team," said McLaren team principal James Barclay.
"He is a proven winner with extensive experience at the highest level of endurance racing, and his speed, technical understanding and knowledge of the FIA World Endurance Championship will be a real asset to our programme.
"Alex has consistently demonstrated his ability on the biggest stages, including at Le Mans, and his signing adds further strength and depth to an already exciting driver line-up as we prepare for our return to the pinnacle of sports car racing.”
Bourdais’ future remains uncertain after he failed to reach a new agreement with Cadillac. The 47-year-old, who has enjoyed success in everything from sportscars to IndyCar, is still searching for his maiden outright victory at the Le Mans 24 Hours.
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