Brownsburg, Ind. (August 3, 2021) – The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 team arrives at Road America as the current 2021 IMSA WeatherTech Championship points leaders in what has become one of the most competitive seasons in recent memory. While the team has not won at Road America in their 15-year history, they will be looking to both hold onto their Championship lead as well as their first victory at the track.
Co-drivers Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque will pilot the blue and black No. 10 Konica Minolta DPi machine around the 4.0 mile, 14-turn permanent road course. The No. 10 Konica Minolta team’s history includes four podium finishes, two pole positions and 133 laps led.
Ricky Taylor’s last pursuit at Road America concluded in his sole victory at the track while driving the Acura ARX-05. His success at the track includes three podium finishes and two pole positions.
“So far this season we’ve had some strong runs controlling the points situation,” said Ricky Taylor, coming off two recent poles at the back-to-back races at Watkins Glen. “When we get to Road America that’s somewhere where the Acura really excels. Last year Wayne Taylor Racing finished second and the Acura won, so I think the combination of the two should bode well for us. Road America is always a tough race for managing traffic, but when you’ve got pace it makes everything a little easier. Hopefully we keep building on the momentum of this season. We want to win races and hopefully we can win at Road America.”
This will be Filipe Albuquerque’s third time racing at Elkhart Lake. The Portuguese driver will look to best his top finish of sixth place at the track.
“Road America is a track that everyone really likes,” said Filipe Albuquerque. “It’s a track that suits our car again. We are seeing that strategy is playing a big role with a mix of luck this year too as the competition is so close. We’ve only have had one race where we haven’t been to the podium this season and that shows our performance and execution from the entire team.”
“Now that we have a narrow lead in the championship, we just have to take it race by race,” said team owner Wayne Taylor. “Everyone is just so competitive that it is difficult, so we have to keep our nose clean. Road America is one of our favorite tracks because it’s very much like a European track, but it’s the one race that we have never won at. Ricky and Filipe have both raced there which is great and everyone is upbeat about it. We’re going to have a lot of guests at the track with Konica Minolta and Harrison Contracting, plus we are running the Lamborghini Super Trofeo program. It’s going to be a good weekend. We’ve been off for too long, so I’m looking forward to getting back to racing.”
Practice for the IMSA SportsCar Weekend at Road America will begin this Friday at 6:10 p.m. ET. Qualifying for two hour and 40-minute sprint race will begin at 4:05 p.m. ET on Saturday. Green flag for the IMSA SportsCar Weekend race will wave at 2:40 p.m. ET on Sunday with live broadcast coverage beginning at 2:35 p.m. ET on IMSA.TV and TrackPass on IMSA Sports Gold.
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.
