(Watkins Glen, N.Y.) June 25, 2023 – A disappointing end to the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06’s race at the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen to retire just 30 minutes shy of the checkered flag. There was no shortage of challenges against the Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport (WTRAndretti) team to ultimately finish seventh in the GTP class at Watkins Glen International after the retirement due to a mechanical issue.
Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque were joined by endurance co-driver Louis Deletraz to complete the WTRAndretti’s lineup for the six-hour endurance event. Much of the weekend at the historic road course in Upstate New York saw tricky conditions due to weather, with heavy rain canceling Saturday’s qualifying session leading to the field being set by championship points standings.
IMSA Michelin Endurance Championship co-driver Louis Deletraz began the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen with sights set on progressing forward to the front of the field after starting third. Although he fell back to fifth after the race start, Deletraz made up ground on the leaders over the course of his stint. The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 came into pit lane in third, just shy of the two-hour mark where he traded controls with Filipe Albuquerque.
Albuquerque took the reins of the blue and black machine and quickly began putting pressure on the front running GTP cars. Closely in contention for the lead, Albuquerque unfortunately suffered an issue that caused a tire to come loose from the car. The Portuguese full season co-driver was able to bring the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 safely to pit lane for the WTRAndretti crew to replace the missing tire. In combination with loose tire and a drive-through penalty for pit lane speed violation, the WTRAndretti team fell three laps down off the lead lap. With over three hours remaining in the six-hour event, it was heads down and ready to battle back to the lead lap.
In impressive efforts and a beneficial caution, Albuquerque was able to obtain one lap back and handed the driver’s seat over to teammate Ricky Taylor just before the four-hour mark. All efforts seemed to be slowly playing in favor of the blue and black team to rebound from the tire issue until an untimely mechanical issue with the brakes forced the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 back to the garages in the closing half hour of the event.
“We needed a result today,” said Ricky Taylor, full season co-driver of the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06. “Unfortunately, these are the kind of days we have in racing. The car was really fast, really strong. Things just happen to go wrong today, and we will look into why they went wrong. Luckily, Mosport is short and we have short memories. We will get to Mosport and put this behind us really fast.”
“Definitely not our Sunday,” said Filipe Albuquerque, full season co-driver of the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06. “Just too many issues. The only thing that is really annoying is that we were really, really quick even with the issues we were having with the car. Again, at the end of the day, it is the team that has less problems that wins. Everyone has had problems this year and today it was us. It hurts because I think we really had the pace to win. We continue working, we analyze, and we come back stronger!”
“Not the day we wanted,” said Louis Deletraz, IMSA Michelin Endurance Championship co-driver. “The car was fast. We definitely had the pace to fight for the victory. Some things were unlucky, a few issues. It is racing, it happens. I think we will be back stronger. What is key is that as a team, we worked well. No mistakes. Without those issues we would have been fighting for the win. I look forward to Petit Le Mans.”
“I will just say I’m happy that we did not destroy the car or hurt Ricky because we ended up having brake failure,” said Wayne Taylor. “We lost a wheel with Filipe, and it appears that the left right wheel also came loose which caused the brake failure. Ricky said he spun the car to avoid going into the wall. It is very disappointing because this is something that we never have had – ever. This year just doesn’t get any better. We just have to keep our heads up and try and figure out what is going on.”
The WTRAndretti team will see a short break and travel across the northern border to Canada, returning to the sprint portion of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season with Canadian Tire Motorsports Park on July 9th, 2023.
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 .
