Lexington, Ohio (May 16, 2021) The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 scored a stunning victory in the Acura Sports Car Challenge Presented by the TLX Type S at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in a race that came down to the very final corner.
Filipe Albuquerque took the green flag from the team’s position on the front row and consolidated their second position during the opening exchanges of the race. As the race cycled through the opening pit stops, Albuquerque pitted for a second time just before half distance from the lead, when Ricky Taylor took control of the the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 and cycled back out on track in the second position.
The sole caution of the race came with 55 minutes remaining, and upon resumption, Taylor executed an outstanding overtaking maneuver on the No. 31 car around the outside of turn five and into turn six. Taylor set about controlling the field at this point, but with 10 minutes remaining, it was clear the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 machine was close on fuel. On the final lap, the No. 31 car closed right in, but Taylor somehow held his nerve and saved enough fuel to score the team’s second win of the season and extend their lead by 55 points over second position in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
“Amazing day for Acura to get the fourth straight win at Mid-Ohio,” mentioned Ricky Taylor. “It’s equally amazing for Konica Minolta and Wayne Taylor Racing as it’s the first ever team win at this track. It just shows the great partnership that everyone has together. Acura had never won the Rolex 24 and Wayne Taylor Racing had never won at Mid-Ohio, so between the two we win both. Today was a hard race. Filipe did an amazing double stint at the beginning and because he gave me the car in the position that he did really set me up for the end of the race. Moving to the end, all the credit to the guys for a great pit stop to beat the Mazda out and put us in second. And second, on the strategy of exactly what fuel numbers we had to hit and to get us to the end was masterful. I can’t say enough about the guys and the team, it was an entire team effort.”
“Unbelievable race, this is all about IMSA,” said Filipe Albuquerque. “It was an amazing show for everyone. Two hours and 40 minutes of craziness. I fought hard during my stint and then it continued like this until the last corner. It was an amazing strategy with the fuel consumption going on because everyone was tight and seeing what strategy everyone was taking. We were simply saying ‘Ricky you need to save fuel and hold position.’ We were asking everything from him, and he just pulled it off. It was just unbelievable. Thank you so much to everyone at the Konica Minolta and Acura team to win our second race of the year. We’re trying new things with the limited experience we have with the car and we’re pulling it off. It’s unbelievable. We can see how tough the championship will be because I was fighting with guys who ended up last and we won the race. That’s shows how much shuffles during the race. It feels even better to be winning.”
“I’m just ecstatic,” said team owner Wayne Taylor. “This weekend has been all about Acura. They just launched the new Acura TLX Type S, and we had all the support from all their management, starting with Jon Ikeda and everyone at HPD. Then all of the support my team, my crew and my partners, including Konica Minolta and Harrison Contracting, and everyone that supports us and makes this happen. The combination of Ricky and Filipe is unbeatable! Plus, Brian with the strategy, it was just perfect. We have never won here before, so it was a big deal for everybody. Got a bit tense in the end with fuel consumption, but we did really well.”
The 2021 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship returns to action June 11-12 for the Detroit Grand Prix, the second sprint race of the season. Once again, full time drivers Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque will be on hand as the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 continue their championship challenge.
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.
