ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin (August 4, 2024) – Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti (WTRAndretti) capped off the sprint portion of the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with Sunday’s IMSA SportsCar Weekend at Road America. The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 team led the charge for the WTRAndretti stable to bring home third place on the podium.
Starting from the pole position for Sunday’s two-hour, 40-minute sprint race, Filipe Albuquerque and the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 had control of the field as the green flag waved. With a handful of cautions in the opening 30 minutes of the race, Albuquerque and the No. 10 team opted to keep the Portuguese driver behind the wheel while other teams completed driver changes in early pit stops. Albuquerque continued to extend the gap to those behind and soon came to pit lane to switch positions with co-driver, Ricky Taylor.
Alongside their No. 10 teammates, the No. 40 DEX Imaging Acura ARX-06 team started on the front row in second for the IMSA SportsCar Weekend at Road America. Jordan Taylor started off strong and took the lead in the opening half hour of the race. A string of cautions and strategy at play, Taylor pitted from the lead and the red and black crew went to work, changing tires and switching drivers from Taylor to Louis Delétraz.
With a busy pit lane under yellow and opting for a driver change, Delétraz and the team cycled to the rear of the GTP before the field came to the restart. Knowing the speed and strength in the No. 40 DEX Imaging Acura ARX-06, Delétraz used patience and precision to work his way forward. The No. 40 team and Delétraz experienced a roller coasters stint on track, including a penalty then to leading through pit sequences. With the final push to the end, Delétraz had his sights set on working up to top five contention but got shuffled back in the running order. The No. 40 DEX Imaging Acura ARX-06 team tallied an eighth-place result at Road America.
Next on the schedule for the duo of WTRAndretti Acura ARX-06 GTPs is the team’s home race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The new addition to the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup, the Battle on the Bricks six-hour endurance event will take place on Sunday, September 22, 2024.
Wayne Taylor, Team Principal, WTRAndretti: “Disappointing day for the whole team. We really had dominated the whole weekend, but we didn’t dominate when it really counted which was at the end of the race. The No. 40 DEX Imaging Acura ARX-06 had a great start and then the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 got out front and ran a really, really good race. Ricky’s run at the end of the race, from ninth to third was exceptional, but lots of questions we have to ask ourselves about today’s race. Thankful for the support from HRC, Konica Minolta, DEX Imaging and all of our partners and we will be ready come Indy.”
No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 GTP Drivers
Ricky Taylor: “We had a great car today in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06. Both cars were fantastic, locking out the front row. I think it’s just a shame not to come away with a result, honestly. Hats off to the guys for the test we did, improving the car. Between HRC and WTRAndretti, we developed some really good processes that we put into practice in the race that gave us a lot of performance. But at the end of the day, it’s still not the result we wanted. We need to win races, and this was a bad day in the points for the No. 40 car. I’m looking forward to our home race in Indianapolis, but this one stings for sure.”
Filipe Albuquerque: “With such strong pace in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06, obviously the win was what we wanted, but strategy was a bit crazy and chaotic with the yellows. It seemed like we couldn’t get quite to the end, so we had to pit for fuel, and Ricky did a monster job on recovering from last to third. Obviously, he had the advantage of new tires, but he still made it happen. There was great pace in the car; it was just a shame we couldn’t come away with the win, so that’s a bit frustrating.”
No. 40 DEX Imaging Acura ARX-06 GTP Drivers
Louis Delétraz: “A difficult day. Jordan had a fantastic start, and took the lead, then we had control of the race. Our first pit stop was bad and went from first to basically last. That more or less ended our race. It was very hard to overtake without tire advantage. I tried everything to overtake and come back forward and made some mistakes on the way. We had pace today, but once you’re behind, you’re behind, and we didn’t have the tire advantage at any point to come back. So, one to learn from and forget, and we’ll be back in Indianapolis.”
Jordan Taylor: “Not a great day overall. Starting one-two was great, and we led some laps in the beginning, which was nice. It felt like we had a great car in clean air, and I think once we lost track position early on after that first stop, it was so tough to make passes. We were kind of stuck from then on, and the field is so competitive these days. We didn’t have enough traffic to make moves again. It was good to see the No. 10 car bounce back to get a podium, but I think it was a day of ‘would’ve, could’ve, should’ve’.”
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.
