Barrichello joins Wayne Taylor Racing

Barrichello, who won 11 of his 322 Formula 1 Grands Prix, will join Jordan and Ricky Taylor and Max Angelelli in the car. This will be his third Rolex 24, the Brazilian having raced in GTs in 2013 and Starworks Motorsport in last year.

The 43-year-old Brazilian said: “I’m excited for this opportunity as the Rolex 24 has always been a race that I’ve had a great interest in and, when I recently expressed an interest to drive this year for Wayne and his team, he made it possible for me.”

“This is one of the most successful teams in the history of sports car racing and it’s a great pleasure to be able to race in the Rolex 24 with such a competitive team.

“I have known Max since we raced together in Formula 3 in the early ’90s, and I have been a fan of Ricky and Jordan for some time, now. If they’re not out there winning races, they always seem to be fighting to win at the end. I am looking forward to this opportunity.”

After his Formula 1 career ended, Barrichello drove for KV Racing in the IndyCar Series in 2012, and has spent the last three years in the Stock Car Brasil series, where he won the championship in 2014.

Just last weekend, Barrichello finished sixth in MaxSpeed Entertainment’s kart Rotax Max DD2 division of the Florida Winter Tour.

Team owner Wayne Taylor said: “I’ve known and watched Rubens for many, many years, including his incredible driving last year at Daytona.

“For us to add a fourth driver, it definitely has to be somebody who is at the top of his game and, quite simply, it’s a pleasure to add a guy like Rubens, who I have been in awe of for so many years.

Taylor, who won the Rolex 24 in 1996 driving a Riley & Scott-Oldsmobile, and again in 2005 piloting a Riley-Pontiac, explained his reasoning for adding a fourth driver for 2016.

“Jordan has been a little under the weather, lately, and with a race of this magnitude and intensity, you want to be sure you have plenty of driver support. This is something of a precautionary move, but to include a driver of Rubens’ caliber in our already stout driver lineup, we should be in absolutely great shape.”