Brownsburg, Ind. (April 26, 2022) — The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 team continues the California segment of the 2022 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship schedule this weekend with the Hyundai Monterey Sports Car Championship Presented by MOTUL at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
Filipe Albuquerque, who put the blue and black Konica Minolta machine on pole in 2021’s iteration, and co-driver Ricky Taylor, who drove the second stint and secured the victory on race day, are both confident that they can return to the top step of the podium at one of the team’s favorite tracks.
Tire management will play a key role, and Taylor is certain that the team’s Acura developed package will suit the 2.238-mile, 11-turn purpose-built road course far better than the bumpy surfaces of the past two events. Acura has won the past three IMSA events at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
“It’s always nice to go back somewhere that you’ve had success,” said Ricky Taylor. “Laguna is a track that suits our car. Its smooth surface and medium to high-speed corners play into the strengths of the ARX-05. Laguna favors track position, so we will place a big emphasis on qualifying well. Strategically, this race always seems quite unpredictable and normally offers multiple strategy options, so executing well on our decisions will be important.”
Having secured his first IMSA career pole at Laguna Seca in 2021, Albuquerque is excited to be back.
“Laguna is a track where we always go with high motivation,” said Filipe Albuquerque. “We are in California and it’s a great place that’s pretty far from my home. Last year, we had the perfect weekend with pole position and a race win, so we are aiming to achieve that again. Especially after the hard weekend we had in Long Beach. There is a lot of pressure on us to maximize what we can do with our car here as the track really suits the Acuras. It’s never easy, because we don’t have a massive advantage, it just suits us better. We’ll be focused and have our heads down, ready for the job.”
Winner as a driver at Laguna Seca in 2006 and two-time winner at the Northern California track as a team owner, Wayne Taylor is looking to secure the team’s second victory in a row.
“I’m really excited about heading back to Laguna,” said team owner, Wayne Taylor. “Last year we got the pole and won the race. However, this year we just have to see the pace of the Cadillacs because they clearly dominate speed-wise. This is a track that suits us more, but I’m not sure if we’re going to have an advantage or not. We certainly won’t have the advantage that they had over us at Long Beach. Both Ricky and Filipe love the track and we had a good car last year, so we’re going to unload as we loaded up from the race last year and then we’ll see!”
Practice for the Hyundai Monterey Sports Car Championship Presented by MOTUL begins this Friday, April 29th at 4:30 p.m. PT. Qualifying is set for Saturday at 12:50 p.m. PT. Green flag for the main event will wave at 12:10 p.m. PT on Sunday, May 1st with full coverage streaming on Peacock and network coverage on NBC beginning at 12:00 p.m. PT.
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 clients’ digital transformation through its expansive office technology portfolio, including IT Services (All Covered), intelligent information management, 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. The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 effort and Wayne Taylor Racing is supported by an outstanding lineup of partners including Harrison Contracting, Acura Motorsports, Hammer Nutrition and CIT.
