DETROIT, Michigan (May 31, 2024) — The Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti (WTRAndretti) Acura ARX-06 GTP teams battled through the streets of downtown Detroit in an effort to set the grid for Saturday’s Detroit Grand Prix. With a split strategy amongst the ten GTP entrants, both WTRAndretti Acura ARX-06s elected to stay out on track for the entirety of the 15-minute qualifying session. Wheeling around the bumpy, 1.645-mile street circuit, Filipe Albuquerque displayed impressive lap times, contending the top three positions before a red flag for a car stopped in the middle of the track with under five minutes remaining placed the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 fourth on the starting grid. Much of the same was for Jordan Taylor and the No. 40 DEX Imaging Acura ARX-06 crew as they competed alongside their No. 10 teammates for the top qualifying spots and encountered the same late session red flag track blockage to earn a fifth place starting position.
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP teams will see the green flag fly for the 100-minute sprint race from the downtown streets of Detroit at 3:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 1. USA Network will serve host to the Detroit Grand Prix with the broadcast beginning at 3 p.m. ET.
TOP FIVE GTP STARTING GRID
- No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsports (Porsche 963) N. Tandy, M. Jaminet (90.564 mph)
- No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsports (Porsche 963) D. Cameron, F. Nasr (90.392 mph)
- No. 01 Cadillac Racing (Cadillac V-Series.R) R. van der Zande, S. Bourdais (90.052 mph)
- No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 (Acura ARX-06) R. Taylor, F. Albuquerque (90.045 mph)
- No. 40 DEX Imaging Acura ARX-06 (Acura ARX-06) J. Taylor, L. Delétraz (89.725 mph)
Filipe Albuquerque, No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06: “It’s always fun to qualify on a street course; going close to the walls, taking so much risk, one little mistake will cause a red which in the end can happen. The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 car was okay, I think we were running consistently improved laps in the top three. Unfortunately, my last lap was P2 and the lap after that was improving, but then we got the red flag and I couldn’t finish that lap. I thought I was P2, but they improved because they were able to finish their lap and I dropped down to P4. It’s a bit frustrating, but it is what it is. Everyone is so good, and the field is so competitive. We are still lining up in the second row; it’s decent, obviously I wanted more – especially when we were so close. Tomorrow it’s a different day. I think tomorrow is going to be wild in GTs and overtaking GTs. They go fast and when they are battling, there is no place for three cars here. It’s going to be curious to see the race, so just stay put, because even we are looking forward to how it going to happen. As you can see if a car spins, no one can pass, so it’ll be interesting.”
Jordan Taylor, No. 40 DEX Imaging Acura ARX-06: “We made some ground from practice, we were a little bit off I think and made some good changes to the car. I think we’re in the hunt and in the battle for the race with the No. 40 DEX Imaging Acura ARX-06. It’s going to be a difficult track to pass on, so obviously the higher up you start, the better. But it’s going to be about execution in the pits with it being a one-stop race. We will work on our driver change a little, it could come down to a fast driver change, but I think we have good team around us in WTRAndretti to execute in the pits. If we need to jump a couple spots, that may be the place to do it. Starting where we are, that’s better than we expected coming out of practice.”
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.
