Juan Manuel Correa to make IMSA debut in Sebring 12 Hours
The Ecuadorian-American driver last raced an LMP2 car in 2023
Juan Manuel Correa will make his IMSA SportsCar Championship debut in this month’s Sebring 12 Hours.
The 25-year-old has been signed by United Autosports to contest the four remaining rounds of IMSA’s Michelin Le Mans Cup, which includes races at Watkins Glen, Indianapolis and Road Atlanta in addition to the round-the-clock enduro at Sebring International Raceway
Correa will drive United’s #2 ORECA 07-Gibson in the LMP2 class alongside Nick Boulle and Ben Hanley, replacing Garnet Patterson as the crew’s designated silver-rated driver.
“I’m thrilled to be back racing stateside after an extended period in Europe,” said Correa.
“IMSA has been on my radar for a while, so it is exciting to join the grid for the remaining endurance events. I’m eager to start working with my new teammates and team, I am confident we will find shared success.”
The Sebring outing on 15 March will mark Correa’s return to sportscar racing and specifically the LMP2 division after a year’s absence.
The Ecuadorian-American previously appeared in the European Le Mans Series and the World Endurance Championship with Prema between 2022-23 , scoring a maiden victory in the Portimao round of the former series in ‘22.
He also made his Le Mans 24 Hours debut two years ago together with Filip Ugran and Bent Viscaal.
However, Correa took a break from sportscar last year to return to Formula 2, the championship in which he suffered critical injuries to his legs at Spa-Francorchamps in 2019.
Joining DAMS at the advent of the series’ new era with Dallara’s F2 2024 car, he scored a podium at Zandvoort in July before splitting with the team with two rounds remaining in the season.
“It is great to welcome Juan to the IMSA team,” said Richard Dean, United Autosports CEO. “I’ve been keeping an eye on his progress in endurance racing and, with an ELMS race win and solid results in the WEC, it’s clear he will be a strong addition to our line- up.
"Our #2 IMSA crew had huge potential at Daytona and with the addition of Juan and a bit more luck on our side, I look forward to celebrating their IMSA successes this season.”
