Jota

Jota Sport was started in 2000 by Sam Hignett, a university student in materials engineering, and racing driver John Stack. Their initial focus was endurance racing, competing in events such as the 24 Hours Nürburgring and Spa 24 Hours with a Honda Integra. In 2001, the team continued to race the Honda Integra at the 24 Hours Nürburgring and also entered the Renault Clio V6 Trophy.

The team progressed to the FIA Sportscar Championship in 2002, purchasing an SR2 class Pilbeam and finishing second overall in the SR2 championship. A further season with the Pilbeam in 2003 resulted in a third-place finish. In 2004, Jota purchased Zytek’s first car, the Zytek 04S, beginning a long-standing relationship with the engineering company. Gianni Collini joined Hignett and Stack to drive the Zytek in the Le Mans Endurance Series, finishing 6th overall in the championship.

The team continued with the Zytek 04S in the 2005 Le Mans Endurance Series, again achieving sixth overall. They also made their debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, holding fifth place until an accident ended their race in the 22nd hour. In 2006, Jota ran the Zytek factory team in the Le Mans Series and the final two rounds of the American Le Mans Series, achieving a second-place finish at Petit Le Mans.

In 2007, Jota ran a Lola-Judd LMP1 for Charouz Racing Systems, finishing fifth in the series and eighth overall at Le Mans. They also competed in the American Le Mans Series for Zytek, finishing fourth overall and third in the LMP2 class at Petit Le Mans. 2008 saw the introduction of the Jota Sport brand, partnering with Simon Dolan and Sam Hancock in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB, where they finished second in the championship. The team also ran a Zytek in the American Le Mans Series and an ex-Charouz Lola-Judd at Le Mans.

The Team Jota brand was retired in 2009, with Jota Sport running a Ligier JS49 prototype in various European championships. In 2010, Jota became an Official Partner Team to Aston Martin Racing, competing with a GT4 Aston Martin in the Spa 24 Hours and Britcar Silverstone) 24 Hours. Mazda UK also commissioned Jota to run MX-5 sports cars at endurance races.

In 2011, Jota competed in the Le Mans Series with an Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT2, and commissioned to create a GT4 version of the MX-5 for the Britcar Dunlop Production GTN Championship. The team placed an order for two Aston Martin AMR-One cars from Prodrive, but the project was cancelled, and the cars were never delivered.

Jota returned to the European Le Mans Series in 2012 with a Zytek Z11SN Nissan, achieving a class win at Spa. In 2013, they continued in the European Le Mans Series, winning a class at Silverstone) and finishing third overall in the championship, and seventh in class at Le Mans.

2014 marked a significant achievement with a class win and fifth overall at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, alongside success in the European Le Mans Series. In 2015, the team raced a Nissan Nismo powered Gibson 015S LMP2, achieving a second-place finish at Le Mans and a third place in the European Le Mans Series.

The 2016 season saw Jota partner with Gazprom, competing as G-Drive Racing in the FIA WEC and European Le Mans Series. In 2017, Jota Sport joined forces with Jackie Chan DC Racing to run two Oreca 07 LMP2 cars in the FIA World Endurance Championship, finishing on the podium at Le Mans.

The 2018/2019 season saw Jota continue their partnership with Jackie Chan DC Racing, finishing second and third in the WEC championship. In 2019/2020, they again finished second and third in the WEC, with a podium at Le Mans. 2021 saw a second-place finish in the WEC and a championship win in the Asian Le Mans Series.

A dominant 2022 season saw Jota win the FIA World Endurance Championship, 21 points ahead of the competition. For 2023, Jota became Porsche's customer racing team to campaign the Porsche 963 LMDh, but delays forced them to miss the opening races of the WEC. In 2024, Jota expanded to two Porsche 963 Hypercars, achieving a surprise win at Spa. For the 2025 season, Jota will switch to running the Cadillac V-Series.R, becoming a factory entry for the first time.