Ricky Taylor Tag

By IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The first three races of the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship have reinforced one thing about racing in the Prototype class: competition is really tough. Heading into its debut season in the WeatherTech Championship at the beginning of this year, expectations for the two-car Acura Team Penske program and the new ARX-05 Daytona Prototype international (DPi) race cars were high. And with good reason. After all, the driver lineup includes a pair of WeatherTech Championship Prototype champions racing alongside a pair ofRead More

By IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Saturday’s 100-minute BUBBA burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach provided a departure from the endurance racing mindset of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s first two rounds – January’s Rolex 24 At Daytona and the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts – to a sprint racing approach. But there was no shortage of strategy, intrigue and drama on the famed Southern California street circuit. Here are five things we took away from the weekend. 1. Portugal,Read More

By IMSA Wire Service SEBRING, Fla. – The stage is set for an epic battle to the finish in the 66th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts. Six cars were on the overall and Prototype class lead lap with the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R and driver Eric Curran leading the way with eight hours complete. Leading at the eight-hour mark also enabled the No. 31 team to extend its lead in the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup Prototype standings after the secondRead More

By IMSA Wire Service SEBRING, Fla. – For the second consecutive year, Tristan Vautier will start the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts on the pole. This season, however, when he takes the green flag Saturday, there won’t be any cars in front of him. That’s because his Motul Pole Award in 2017 came in the GT Daytona (GTD) class driving a Mercedes-AMG – the first in history for the German manufacturer. This time around, it’s in the top Prototype class driving the No. 90Read More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Florida — The 2018 Rolex 24 at Daytona is going green shortly and here we will have live updates throughout the race. 00:00- Race went green at 2:40 p.m. ET, The No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac DPi with Renger Van Der Zande leads over the No. 7 Acura Team Penske Acura DPi of Helio Castroneves. The two Ford GTs are 1-2, the No. 66 ahead of the No. 67 in GTLM. In GTD the No. 82 Risi Competizione Ferrari is leading over theRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Florida — The 2018 edition of the Rolex 24 at Daytona is upon us and with 50 cars entered it is one of the more talent-filled rosters in the race’s history. Let’s make some predictions about Winners, losers and everything in between. Overall winner: No. 7 Acura Team Penske Team Penske has a stacked lineup with Helio Castroneves, Ricky Taylor and Graham Rahal behind the wheel. All three have extensive racing experience and know how to bring a car home in one piece. ThisRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer The 2018 Rolex 24 at Daytona has achieved star power status with world championship-caliber drivers and manufacturers in the Prototype ranks in the second year of the DPi/LMP2 rules package. (what is a DPi? https://www.imsa.com/qa-2017-daytona-prototype-international-dpi-concept) The entry list has four manufacturers in the DPi ranks with Nissan (two cars), Mazda (two cars), Acura (two cars) and Cadillac (four cars) going up against 10 LMP2 cars from Oreca (six cars), Riley/Multimatic (one car) and Ligier (three cars). Let’s look at the Prototype portion of the entry listRead More

By Josh Farmer, IndyCar Reporter Ricky Taylor got his first taste of a Verizon IndyCar Series car at the Homestead-Miami Speedway road course. The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship stalwart took some laps in Simon Pagenaud’s championship-winning No. 1 PPG Chevrolet for Team Penske at the 2.21-mile course. The test was a reward from General Motors for his win in the 2017 Rolex 24 at Daytona alongside brother Jordan, Max Angelelli and four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R owned by father Wayne Taylor. “Every driver dreamsRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer Felipe Albuquerque has every right to be upset. I would be upset too if I lost the overall lead in the final 10 minutes of a 24 hour race, especially the Rolex 24 at Daytona. However, it would be in his best interests to not be upset with Ricky Taylor. Instead, the former factory Audi driver should be upset with himself. As time dwindled away in Sunday’s Rolex 24, Albuquerque led his No. 5 Action Express Racing Cadillac DPi ahead of Taylor’sRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Appropriately enough, after 24 hours of seemingly non-stop action, the fastest car still running was the overall winner of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Luis Felipe “Pipo” Derani, a baby-faced 22-year old racing prodigy from Brazil, took the checkered flag on Sunday afternoon in the No. 2 Tequila Patron ESM Honda-powered Ligier JS P2, 26.166 seconds ahead of 2005 overall winner Max Angelleli in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette DP. Derani brought home victory for teammates Scott Sharp,Read More