(Long Beach, Cal.) April 11, 2023 — The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 with Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport (WTRAndretti) heads west for the first sprint event of the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Settled on the streets of Long Beach, California, full season co-drivers Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque are on a mission to stand on the top step of podium to represent Acura at their home event.
The WTRAndretti team has an impressive record around the 11-turn, 1.97-mile street course with five podiums, three victories and two pole positions. As the first two endurance events of the year are in the books, all focus for Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque and the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 team switches to sprint racing and closing the 10-point championship gap.
“Starting the sprint race portion of the season is exciting,” said Ricky Taylor, 2017 Grand Prix of Long Beach winner. “We get to go to another new track with the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06, so it will be interesting how the new GTP cars adapt to the first street course of the year. Being the shortest race of the year, we can transition our energy from purely reliability to hopefully a bit more risk-taking for Acura’s home race in Long Beach.”
“Long Beach is a special one,” said Filipe Albuquerque, two-time winner at Grand Prix of Long Beach. “I call it the Monaco of the United States. IndyCar is there and it’s in the city, near L.A., and there is a lot of action going around that weekend – classic cars are there as well. It’s always cool to go there. This year I think that we have a shot to go for the win. Especially after the past two years, we struggled a lot of with the DPi and we knew it was not a track for us, that delta is way smaller now. Bring on Long Beach and the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 team is super motivated.”
“We just finished a shakedown prior to going to Long Beach,” said Wayne Taylor. “Long Beach has always been one of the hardest circuits for us. HPD has been working really hard on throttle response, traction control and things like that. The team has been working on figuring out a way how we can run over curbs, which we normally don’t do. We have seen at Long Beach though it is a must when you go through the fountain area. We have had two races so far this year and we have shown we have a dominant car. This is an Acura event, so the pressure is on. It’s the first sprint race of the season, so it’s an important one. We will do whatever it takes to try and win this race for HPD and Acura. It’s really important to them and for us in the championship.”
Practice for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach begins Friday, April 14 at 9 a.m. PT followed by qualifying for the spring race at 5:40 p.m. PT. The green flag waves for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Saturday, April 15 at 2:05 p.m. PT with broadcast live on USA Network and Peacock for all 100 minutes.
ABOUT KONICA MINOLTA
Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. is reshaping and revolutionizing the workplace to achieve true connectivity through the Intelligent Connected Workplace. 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 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 fifteen consecutive years, and is proud to be ranked on the Forbes 2021 America’s Best-in-State employers list. The company 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. The company recognizes 150 years in global business in 2023. 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-06 effort and Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport is supported by an outstanding lineup of partners including Harrison Contracting Company, Acura Motorsports, Honda Performance Development and Hammer Nutrition.
