WTRAndretti Acura ARX-06 GTP Teams Aiming for Success at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring

SEBRING, Florida (March 12, 2024) – The Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti (WTRAndretti) pair of Acura ARX-06 GTPS enter the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring for the second round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Sebring International Raceway is a 17-turn, 3.74-mile road course that serves host to the iconic endurance event for 12 hours of intense racing action. As the duo of the No. 10 Konica Minolta and No. 40 DEX Imaging Acura ARX-06s enter the weekend, the elusive Twelve Hours of Sebring title is on the radar for the WTRAndretti teams, seeking their first victory at the famed event since 2017.

No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 co-drivers, Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque, return alongside IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup co-driver, Brendon Hartley, with redemption on their minds. Although the Rolex 24 At Daytona didn’t provide the result the blue and black team had anticipated, it’s a fresh mindset for the trio in the No. 10 machine heading into Sebring. In the 2023 12-hour event, the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 team led over a third of the event (115 laps) before an incident in the closing minutes took the No. 10 out of win contention

The No. 40 DEX Imaging Acura ARX-06 team piloted by Louis Delétraz and Jordan Taylor will be joined by Colton Herta, the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup driver for the red and black team. Taylor is a two-time Twelve Hours of Sebring winner – one victory as an overall winner in 2017 with WTRAndretti and another in 2022 as GTD PRO class winner. Delétraz will look to provide his experience in the 12-hour endurance event after competing in the No. 10 team in 2023 while this weekend’s event will mark Herta’s third time competing at Sebring International Raceway. After a successful debut of the No. 40 at the Rolex 24 At Daytona with a podium finish, it’s all about continued momentum at Sebring.

The WTRAndretti team will get to work with on-track preparations beginning with practice at 10:05 a.m. ET on Thursday, March 14 while qualifying is set for 1:10 p.m. ET on Friday, March 15 around Sebring International Raceway. The 72nd Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring will see the green fly at 9:40 a.m. ET on Saturday, March 16, with Peacock providing flag-to-flag coverage of the endurance event with USA Network broadcast set for 4:00 p.m. ET to 10 p.m. ET.

Wayne Taylor, Team Principal, WTRAndretti: “This is our second race as a two-car team at WTRAndretti. We had a good result with the No. 40 car at Daytona, unfortunately the No. 10 car had problems, so they didn’t finish as well. I think the team has grown a lot since Daytona and we are perfecting everything that goes with going from one car to two cars. I’m just excited to go racing again, it’s been a long break. Everybody is really focused. All I can say is we’ve never had any good luck at Sebring, but we’ve always had a good car there. So now that we have two, maybe we can at least get one to have a good result, obviously we want both of them. I’m looking forward to it, I’m not sure what the weather forecast is yet but excited to go racing.”

No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 GTP Drivers
Ricky Taylor, 2024 Full Season Co-Driver: “Sebring is our second longest race of the year, but still only half of Daytona. It is such a grueling event that is difficult to make it to the end between how many cars are on track, how bumpy the track is, and how the conditions can change so dramatically. We had a great test and have prepared ourselves to endure the 12 hours, and with two very strong race cars. Even in our second season with the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06, we are continuing to learn each weekend about not only what makes the car faster but how to manage a whole stint and all of the other details that go into being competitive. And we always learn things in races that cannot be learned in testing when it comes to comparing ourselves with our competitors. We had a great test a few weeks ago and it will again, be our first Sebring 12 hour with two cars, so I am really looking forward to having two bullets in the WTRAndretti gun. The cars had strong pace at the test and felt nice to drive, and I don’t think the drivers and team could be any more motivated to go for the first Sebring victory for the team since 2017.”

Filipe Albuquerque, 2024 Full Season Co-Driver: “I can’t wait to go to Sebring. It seems like this break has been awhile, feels almost like two months, so I just can’t wait to get back in the car and drive. Daytona was tough for the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 car, but let’s go again and I think the pace was good due to the circumstances that we had so full motivation on. Last year was chaotic, crazy, and wild – most likely will be same this year – let’s just hope it’ll come to our end this year. The performance is there, the WTRAndretti team is super motivated. We have great lineup in me, Ricky, and Brendon as well as the 40 car, they are doing amazing, so let’s go racing.”

Brendon Hartley, 2024 Endurance Co-Driver: “I love racing at Sebring and love racing with WTRAndretti, so I have only positive vibes heading to the Sebring 12 hour. They don’t make tracks like this anymore and I think all the drivers have a love-hate relationship with the quirks that Sebring has to offer. No room for error and high adrenaline for 12 hours of hard racing, how good! The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 was fast in Sebring last year and felt great when I tested there a few months back. Let’s go!”

No. 40 DEX Imaging Acura ARX-06 GTP Drivers
Louis Delétraz, 2024 Full Season Co-Driver: “I’m very excited to go back to Sebring, it’s a track and event I absolutely love. We have scored strong points in Daytona and worked hard since then to be ready and competitive. We are strong as a group and I’m looking forward to push the No. 40 DEX Imaging Acura ARX-06 to its limits with my teammates, Jordan and Colton. Let’s try to keep the good momentum going and bring another trophy home!”

Jordan Taylor, 2024 Full Season Co-Driver: “Daytona feels like a year ago, so it feels great to be getting back to a racetrack. We had a fantastic finish at Daytona all things considered, but I think we should be more in the hunt for the Sebring 12 hour. We had a great test at Sebring last month, so I’m excited to get back and pick back up where we left off. I think we made some good steps at the test itself and some more progress with the sim time we had last week. It’s another hectic endurance race where a lot can and will happen, so hopefully we can have a clean race and be in the fight for it at the end.”

Colton Herta, 2024 Endurance Co-Driver: “I’m excited to get back in the No. 40 DEX Imaging Acura ARX-06 and get back to sports car racing. I haven’t done the Twelve Hours of Sebring in a few years so I’m excited to get back to that track and see what this car has to offer for it. Rolling off a really good finish at Daytona and we have a positivity going into this weekend so hoping it’s good one and I’m confident we can be fast there.”

ABOUT WTRANDRETTI
Andretti Global and Wayne Taylor Racing announced a new, long-term partnership in 2023 that combines the resources of the two championship-caliber teams to compete in IMSA’s top classes. In 2024, Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti (WTRAndretti) has expanded to a two-car GTP program as well as competes in the GTD class. Coming off its 2023 championship winning effort, WTRAndretti continues its Driver Development Program competing in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America series with a full stable.

WTRAndretti’s global motorsports enterprise boasts two IMSA driver championships (2013 and 2017), and back-to-back IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Championships (2020, 2021) which contributed to nine IMSA manufacturer championships for Acura, Pontiac, Corvette and Cadillac. In its brief 17-year history, WTRAndretti has accumulated multiple victories in sportscar racing’s most iconic events: Rolex 24 At Daytona, Twelve Hours of Sebring, Petit Le Mans, Mid-Ohio, Road America and the Six Hours of The Glen. With its back-to-back PRO Class Championship wins (2022, 2023), WTR also has ten North America Lamborghini Super Trofeo Championship titles and a Lamborghini World Finals title.

Andretti Global, a Championship-winning motorsports organization, competes in additional racing categories worldwide, including the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, Extreme E, Australian Supercars and the Mexico SuperCopa Championship. Additionally, the racing enterprise commits to driver development through competition in INDY NXT by Firestone and through support of Sebastian and Oliver Wheldon’s racing careers.

WTRAndretti’s long term partnerships include Acura, Honda Racing Corporation US (HRC), Konica Minolta Business Solutions USA, DEX Imaging, Harrison Contracting Company and Gainbridge.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpeedwayMedia.com

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