|
| The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 as it negotiates The Hairpin - Turn 11 at the Acura Grand Prix Of Long Beach. Image Credit: Brandon O'Brien - Motor Driven Images (2021) |
Full 2022 Endurance Racing Driver Line-Up Announcement For Wayne Taylor Racing
Wayne Taylor Racing announces full-time drivers, Michelin Endurance Cup and Rolex 24 driver lineup for the 2022 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar DPi championship season in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05.
Drivers announced include the 2021 Michelin Endurance Cup Champions and 2021 IMSA WeatherTech DPi Vice Champions Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque returning as full-time co-pilots of the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 in 2022 with hopes of back-to-back wins at the 2022 Rolex 24 at Daytona.
Keeping continuity for the Endurance Cup, the 2021 Michelin Endurance Cup
Champion for WTR and standout INDYCAR pilot Alexander Rossi will once again
assist the team as it looks to make history during this iconic 24-hour
endurance battle of wits, stamina and strategy. Filling out the racing
line-up card has veteran driver from England and Rossi’s former Formula 1
teammate, Will Stevens, joining WTR as the team’s endurance co-driver at the
Rolex 24 at DAYTONA, the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring, and Motul Petit Le
Mans for the 2022 season.
“I’m excited to finally announce our 2022 driver lineup for the full
season, the Michelin Endurance Cup and for the Rolex 24 at DAYTONA,”
expressed team owner Wayne Taylor. “Each year, we speak with many drivers
as we develop our driver lineup, and I feel very good to officially
announce everyone. Ricky and Filipe will be back as full-time co-drivers.
Continuity is always a good thing and both of them work really well
together. We have Alexander Rossi joining us again. He did a great job
with us last year helping us win the Rolex 24. Will Stevens will be
running all Michelin Endurance Cup races for us. He’s been someone that
we’ve been watching over the last year or two and gathering info on. Alex
and he were teammates in Formula 1 years ago, so the drivers meshed very
well at the recent two day test in Daytona where Will came up to speed
very quickly. The most important thing is having everybody with the same
goal which is to win. Thank you to Acura, HPD, Konica Minolta, Harrison
Contracting and CIT who have all helped to make this happen and I can’t
wait to get back to Daytona.”
Established in 2007, Wayne Taylor Racing has asserted itself as a
perennial leading force in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
The 2021 Michelin Endurance Cup Champions have won three IMSA Driver
Championships and nine IMSA Manufacturer Titles since their formation. In
the team’s 15 seasons, they have seized four of the last five Rolex 24 at
DAYTONA titles, two 12 Hours of Sebring victories and three Petit Le Mans
wins. The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 team will look to make
history by winning four Rolex 24 at DAYTONA events in a row with their
exceptional driver line-up for 2022.
Ricky Taylor returns to Wayne Taylor Racing for the second consecutive
year and his fifteenth season in topflight sports car racing. The IMSA
veteran won the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2017 and 2020 and
brought his team within one corner of the overall title on their way to an
Endurance Cup victory in 2021. Statistically one of the greatest drivers
in IMSA history, Taylor boasts a record of 27 victories, 23 pole
positions, and 64 podium finishes including wins at all the series’
marquee endurance events—the Rolex 24 at DAYTONA, the 12 Hours of Sebring,
the Six Hours of the Glen and Petit Le Mans.
“2022 is going to be a fantastic season,” commented Ricky Taylor, the
two-time IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Champion. “WTR, Konica Minolta,
Harrison Contracting and CIT came out of the gates so strongly with the
ARX-05 in their first season running it, already fighting for a
championship. Along with Filipe and Alex rejoining the team, we should
have some really strong continuity moving into next season to keep
building on our success with HPD and Acura. It’s also great having Will on
board with us. He is a world class sportscar driver and we are lucky to
have him join the team. He has already contributed greatly to the team,
and I think our Rolex 24 lineup is as strong as ever. The competition will
be tough with the addition of a second Ganassi Cadillac, but we will
welcome it and look forward to fighting for another championship.”
Full-time pilot Filipe Albuquerque continues his tenure with the No. 10
Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 team for the 2022 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar
Championship. The 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship multiple race
winner, 2020 European Le Mans Champion and LMP2 WEC Champion carries a
resume as diverse as it is impressive. His 2021 run with WTR produced a
trio of wins, including the Rolex 24 at DAYTONA, en route to the Endurance
Cup title.
“The IMSA offseason break is not so long, especially this year, given that
the last race was a bit later than normal,” said Filipe Albuquerque. “For
someone that enjoys racing, as I do, that is great. I am looking forward
to 2022 with my great teammate Ricky. Now that we have more experience
with the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05, maybe we can grab that one
extra point that made us miss the DPi title in 2021. We came off a
fantastic test with the whole team a few weeks ago with Alex and our new
team member Will Stevens, I am happy to have Will onboard. He has a lot of
experience; we had many fights in the past in ELMS and WEC, so I know how
good he is. I hope we can achieve many victories together.”
Seven-time INDYCAR race winner and 2016 Indianapolis 500 champion
Alexander Rossi rejoins Wayne Taylor Racing after a productive run across
all the four endurance races with the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05
team. Having captured a Rolex 24 victory, Baja 1000 win and the Michelin
Endurance Cup title last season, he’ll look to build on 2021’s successes
in 2022.
“I am thrilled to be returning to Daytona with Wayne Taylor Racing and
Acura,” said Alexander Rossi. “It was such a privilege to be able to
continue driving with Ricky for what was our third year together and the
addition of Filipe couldn’t have gone any better as shown by the result
that we were able to achieve last year. It is great to work again with
Will Stevens as we were actually teammates back in our F1 days and we were
able to get straight back to business after not seeing each other for six
years. I can’t wait to get back to the track and hopefully deliver Wayne
his 5th 24-hour win in 6 years.”
Will Stevens is currently a Formula 1 Test & Development Driver for
McLaren and a standout in the World Endurance Championship and European Le
Mans Series. Will has held roles with various F1 teams dating back to 2008
and made his Grand Prix debut in 2014 before earning a full-time seat with
Manor Marussia F1 Team for 2015. His recent career highlights include
class wins in the World Endurance Championship and a runner-up campaign in
the Blancpain GT Series.
“I’m super excited to join the Wayne Taylor Racing family and the IMSA
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Daytona, Sebring and Petit Le
Mans,” said Stevens. “This team is very respected and one that I’ve always
wanted to be part of. IMSA Is a huge market in motorsport that is growing
massively and it’s a relationship that I want to build on for the future.
I have known Ricky, Filipe and Alexander a little bit over the past few
years, so it’s nice to have that relationship already with the guys. It’s
an honor to be part of this exceptional No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05
team and to help with the success for this year.”
In 2022, Konica Minolta and Wayne Taylor Racing continue their storied
history together. Michael Mathe, President, International Operation,
Konica Minolta Business Solutions USA, Inc. has been a driving force in
the strong relationship between WTR and Konica Minolta.
“We are very excited to start another season supporting WTR!” exclaimed
Michael Mathe.” We are really thrilled with the driver line-up this year
and look forward to many wins and to challenge for the IMSA WeatherTech
DPi Championship.”
After a historic 2021, HPD looks forward to another year of victories with
the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 team.
“Winning both the Rolex 24 and the Michelin Endurance Cup last year were
important milestones for Acura’s IMSA racing program,” said David Salters,
President and Technical Director of Honda Performance Development, the
North American racing arm for Acura Motorsports. “In just the first year
of our association, Wayne Taylor Racing has proven to be an important
partner in our IMSA effort, and the WTR driver lineup for 2022 is
extraordinarily strong. It’s a great racing team, Wayne leads from the
front and all our engineers just work well together and want to go racing.
We look forward to seeing these very talented drivers in Victory Circle
next year for Acura.”
Harrison Contracting enters their third year as an important partner with
Wayne Taylor Racing, who also fields standout Ashton Harrison and the No.
25 Harrison Contracting Huracan in the North America Lamborghini Super
Trofeo Series for the Painting and Contracting Services company.
“I’m really glad that Harrison Contracting Company (HCC) is once again
partnering with WTR and Konica Minolta because of the professionalism and
winning spirit they possess,” said Bill Harrison, President and
Co-Founder. “Our outlook at HCC is the same as WTR when it comes to
quality and the desire to be the best we can be. The efforts on both sides
are endless when striving to be number one. At HCC, we provide it through
the painting and maintenance services, while WTR does it through
racing—and we both do it by building lasting relationships. In our world
of business, image is everything, and Wayne and Travis Houge (Vice
President and General Manager of WTR) see things in the same fashion that
we do here at HCC. The level of what they are providing, and the level of
driver development we’ve experienced with Ashton Harrison, is a major part
of our desire to reunite again this year with WTR and Konica Minolta.
Likewise, working with Acura and Honda is another reason why we wanted to
come back this year and rejoin the team. Working alongside their proven
success worldwide, and their passion for supporting all levels in racing,
helps us know that this is where we want to be on the manufacturer’s
side.”
(ht:
WTR)
The 2022 season officially begins in less than two months ... on January
21 at Daytona International Speedway for the annual Roar Before the 24
with the momentous Rolex 24 at DAYTONA immediately following. Practice
begins on Thursday, January 27 with the race running January 29-30. The
No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 will work to win a historic four
24-hour events in a row.
... notes from
The EDJE
FEATURED ARTICLE >>>
TAGS: Konica Minolta, Acura, Wayne Taylor Racing, IMSA, 2022, WeatherTech
SportsCar DPi championship season, The EDJE
No comments:
Post a Comment