Brownsburg, Ind. (May 11, 2021) The current 2021 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship leaders will compete at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course this weekend for the first sprint race of the season. Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque will co-drive the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 around the 2.258-mile, 13-turn track for the two-hour, 40-minute Acura Sports Car Challenge Presented by the TLX Type S.
Although the No. 10 Konica Minolta team has yet to achieve a victory at the famed Ohio sports car course, Acura, as a manufacturer, has won the past three races in a row at this venue. Earning their first Mid-Ohio podium last year the team hopes having last year’s race winner, Ricky Taylor back in their Acura ARX 05 cockpit, will bring them to the top rung In Victory Lane.
Ricky Taylor, who has two victories and one pole position at Mid-Ohio, is eager to produce the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05’s first victory at the track and, equally importantly, extend the team’s championship lead.
“It’s been too long a break since Sebring,” said Ricky Taylor. “I can’t wait to get in the rhythm of the season with Filipe and I working together. Mid-Ohio has always been a great track for the Acura ARX-05, so we need to capitalize on that and build on our championship lead and try and get the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 its first victory at that racetrack.”
“I can’t wait to go to Mid-Ohio,” noted Filipe Albuquerque. “It’s a track that suits the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 perfectly. This will be the first sprint race of the year and my first sprint race with the team and with Ricky. I always came to Mid-Ohio with a bad perspective because I was never competitive there with my previous car, so I’m really looking forward to going with the Acura because they were so competitive in the past. Now we just need to deliver a win.”
“We are really looking forward to going to Mid-Ohio this weekend,” said team owner Wayne Taylor. “ After such a long break, it feels like we’re starting a new season. It’s the only track we haven’t won as a team which is strange for us. The last three years the Acuras have dominated there, so hopefully going there with a better car can get the job done. Brian Pillar and the crew have been doing a great amount of work to prepare. Filipe recently won at Spa, so he’s coming over after winning another race and I think that Ricky and he are ready to give it what it needs to get that win at Mid-Ohio.”
Practice for the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 team begins on Friday, May 14th at 4:30 p.m. ET. Qualifying for Sunday’s main event begins at 12:20 p.m. ET with green flag on May 16th at 2:40 p.m. ET. Live coverage of the Acura Sports Car Challenged Presented by the TLX Type S will begin at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports.
About Konica Minolta
Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. is reshaping and revolutionizing the Workplace of the Future™. The company guides and supports its customers’ digital transformation through its expansive office technology portfolio, including IT Services (All Covered), content services, managed print services and industrial and commercial print solutions. Konica Minolta has been included on CRN’s MSP 500 list nine times and The World Technology Awards recently named the company a finalist in the IT Software category. Konica Minolta has been recognized as the #1 Brand for Customer Loyalty in the MFP Office Copier Market by Brand Keys for fourteen consecutive years, and received Keypoint Intelligence’s BLI 2021 A3 Line of The Year Award and BLI 2021-2023 Most Color Consistent A3 Brand Award for its bizhub i-Series. Konica Minolta, Inc. has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for nine consecutive years and has spent four years on the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World list. Konica Minolta partners with its clients to give shape to ideas and works to bring value to our society. For more information, please visit us online and follow Konica Minolta on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter. Wayne Taylor Racing’s existing lineup of partners that also features Harrison Contracting, Acura Motorsports , Hammer Nutrition and CIT.
