Era Motorsport has confirmed Connor Zilisch as the final driver of its No. 18 ORECA 07 LMP2 car for the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The 17-year-old Zilisch will join team drivers Ryan Dalziel and Dwight Merriman for the Michelin Endurance Cup, as well as Indy NXT champion Christian Rasmussen for the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
“I’m super excited to get going in 2024 with Era Motorsport for my first season in endurance racing,” said Zilisch, “but I have a lot to learn as this is a very different style of racing than I’m used to. Thankfully, I have a great team around me and very experienced teammates in Ryan, Dwight, and Christian that I will be able to learn from throughout the season.”
Zilisch started his driving career at age four behind the wheel of a kart. After moving up through the ranks, he became a karting world champion in 2017 at the Rok International Championship in Italy, and followed it up by becoming the first American to win the FIA Karting Academy Championship in 2020.
In 2021 at the age of 14, Zilisch began his race car career and set seven track records at six different tracks that year, and winning the 2021 MX-5 Cup Scholarship, and took MX-5 Cup Rookie of the Year honors the following year.
Signing on as a Chevrolet Junior Development Driver in 2022, Zilisch finished fourth overall in the this season’s Trans Am TA2 class, with five wins during the season.
“I’m super happy to have a promising up-and-comer like Zilisch in the car,” said team owner Kyle Tilley. “Even after just one test it’s clear that he’s going to be one of the best drivers in the field any time he hits the track. I think with him joining our already strong lineup we have great odds at a strong performance not just at Daytona, but for the overall championship”
