The 23-year old Austrian made his LMP2 class debut in the 2018 enduro at the Daytona International Speedway for Jota Sport alongside Ho-Pin Tung, Alex Brundle and current Formula E champion Antonio Felix Da Costa. This year, Habsburg will be partnered with Robert Kubica, Anders Fjordbach and Dennis Andersen in the High Class Racing ORECA 07 LMP2 with sights set on the overall race win.
“Daytona 24 Hours is a highlight of my career so far,” said the REMUS Sports Exhausts-supported driver. “It was my first 24-hour race and I was totally mesmerised by it – it was like nothing I’d ever experienced before. I can’t wait to go back – I’ll definitely approach it with more experience and with the maturity that I’ve developed over the last couple of years racing in DTM and at Spa 24 Hours, but I hope I never lose that buzz of excitement.”
Since his LMP2 debut in January 2018, Habsburg has focused his attention on the highly competitive DTM series. The 2020 season proved fruitful for the youngster who set a lap record, took a pole position and scored multiple podiums for Audi Sport Team WRT.
Meanwhile, High Class Racing stepped up from the European Le Mans Series to the World Endurance Championship (WEC), which it has announced it will once again contest in 2021. The Daytona 24 Hours entry is currently a one-off outing in North America for the Danish team, which counts former F1 driver Jan Magnussen as one of its full-time WEC pros.
“High Class Racing have really climbed up the ranks of sportscar racing, earning themselves a spot on the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans grid for the last couple of years,” continued Habsburg. “I hope to learn a lot from the team’s experience despite it being their Daytona debut.
“I’ve said it before that being a pro at the 24 Hours of Le Mans is a definite goal for me and it’s looking more achievable than ever with the introduction of Hypercar and LMDh. There are exciting times ahead in sportscar racing so I’m grateful to High Class Racing for giving me the opportunity to ensure I’m in the right place right now. I’ll give the team everything I have for a great result in Daytona.”
The 2021 Rolex 24 at Daytona takes place on 29th-31st January and will be livestreamed on the IMSA website.