Wayne Taylor Racing won the Rolex 24 at Daytona for the third consecutive year, using a new car and team to beat some of the best drivers in the world.
Filipe Albuquerque outsmarted Kamui Kobayashi and Renger van der Zande – both WTR winners the past two seasons and both looking for their first three consecutive victories in a Rolex race – to give the reorganized Taylor team its fourth win in five years at Daytona International Speedway.
Albuquerque was challenged in the final 25 minutes by Van der Zande at the wheel of Chip Ganassi Racing’s Cadillac until the team suffered a second flat tire with seven minutes to go.
Kobayashi finished second, but was unable to catch up with Albuquerque, sealing Acura’s first overall victory in the prestigious two-lap endurance race.
The new Wayne Taylor Racing team, consisting of Filipe Albuquerque, Ricky Taylor, Helio Castroneves and Alexander Rossi, gave the team its fourth win in five years at Daytona International Speedway. Jasen Vinlove/USA TODAY Sports
WTR left General Motors after 28 years at the end of last season to become an Acura factory program, and the team needed every minute of the last two months to prepare its car for Daytona. Wayne Taylor changed his entire team with the move to Acura. He signed in Albuquerque with his oldest son Ricky Taylor, Helio Castroneves and Alexander Rossi. The trio drove Acura for Team Penske the past three seasons, but needed a new job when Penske closed late last year.
Ricky Taylor and Castroneves, three-time Indianapolis 500 winners, are the reigning IMSA champions and knew Acura well. So the team was ready, despite the lack of off-season testing.
It was the Rolex WTR’s fourth win in five years and fifth overall, one length behind Ganassi’s record of six. Three wins for Ganassi.
For Castroneves and Rossi, this is their first Rolex. Albuquerque won in 2018 in a Cadillac and Ricky Taylor won in 2017 in a Cadillac for his father’s team.
Ricky Taylor, who took the 2017 Rolex victory for WTR, was late and had a chance to finish the race, but opted to hand it over to Albuquerque as the Portuguese driver was equipped and could handle the track conditions, which included higher wind speeds.
We decided we wanted someone as fresh as possible in the car, Ricky Taylor said. He went in, was an absolute monster and ended up wearing it.
The victory ended a four-year winning streak for Cadillac, which finished second in the Action Express All-Star with seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson. Kobayashi carried the load for the Action Express team, which also included Indianapolis 500 winner Simon Pagenaud and Le Mans 24 Hour winner Mike Rockenfeller.
When Taylor switched to Acura, he fired drivers van der Zande and Ryan Briscoe and opted for a new series that was familiar to him. Ganassi pinned Van der Zande, who scored his first double in a row against Kobayashi.
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The Dutchman closed the gap on his former teammate several times in the last 25 minutes, but could not take over the lead and had to leave the track due to a puncture.
I saw his eyes in my mirrors. Albuquerque was talking about Van der Zand. He wanted it so bad, especially with the whole Wayne Taylor departure thing. I’m lucky they’re broken.
Team Ganassi suffered a puncture less than two hours earlier while six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon was at the wheel and also suffered two punctures from rookie Kevin Magnussen, who has driven in Formula One for the past seven seasons. The team dropped to fifth place.
Absolutely exempt, Magnussen said. Looks like we won the race. Renger had a very good rhythm, overtaking car no. 10 and I think he would have had a very good chance of winning the race.
Jordan Taylor, the youngest son of the winning team’s owner, also won the Le Mans GT class to ensure Corvette Racing’s victory. The team includes Nicky Catsburg and Antonio Garcia, who according to General Motors was removed from the car after the race because Garcia tested positive for COVID-19 in preparation for the American event. Garcia drove nearly eight hours in the race and was last in the car Sunday morning.
While Antonio Garcia tested negative for the Rolex 24, we have learned that he has now tested positive for his departure, the GM said in a statement.
Era Motorsports won the Le Mans Prototype 2 class with an Oreca LMP2 car; Riley Motorsports won the Le Mans Prototype 3 class with a Ligier JS P320 car; and Winward Racing won the GT Daytona class with a Mercedes-AMG GT3 car, which with 20 cars was the largest class in the 49-car field.
Wayne Taylor Racing won the Rolex 24 at Daytona for the third consecutive year, using a new car and team to beat some of the best drivers in the world.
Filipe Albuquerque outsmarted Kamui Kobayashi and Renger van der Zande – both WTR winners the past two seasons and both looking for their first three consecutive victories in a Rolex race – to give the reorganized Taylor team its fourth win in five years at Daytona International Speedway.
Albuquerque was challenged in the final 25 minutes by Van der Zande at the wheel of Chip Ganassi Racing’s Cadillac until the team suffered a second flat tire with seven minutes to go.
Kobayashi finished second, but was unable to catch up with Albuquerque, sealing Acura’s first overall victory in the prestigious two-lap endurance race.
The new Wayne Taylor Racing team, consisting of Filipe Albuquerque, Ricky Taylor, Helio Castroneves and Alexander Rossi, gave the team its fourth win in five years at Daytona International Speedway. Jasen Vinlove/USA TODAY Sports
WTR left General Motors after 28 years at the end of last season to become an Acura factory program, and the team needed every minute of the last two months to prepare its car for Daytona. Wayne Taylor changed his entire team with the move to Acura. He signed in Albuquerque with his oldest son Ricky Taylor, Helio Castroneves and Alexander Rossi. The trio drove Acura for Team Penske the past three seasons, but needed a new job when Penske closed late last year.
Ricky Taylor and Castroneves, three-time Indianapolis 500 winners, are the reigning IMSA champions and knew Acura well. So the team was ready, despite the lack of off-season testing.
It was the Rolex WTR’s fourth win in five years and fifth overall, one length behind Ganassi’s record of six. Three wins for Ganassi.
For Castroneves and Rossi, this is their first Rolex. Albuquerque won in 2018 in a Cadillac and Ricky Taylor won in 2017 in a Cadillac for his father’s team.
Ricky Taylor, who took the 2017 Rolex victory for WTR, was late and had a chance to finish the race, but opted to hand it over to Albuquerque as the Portuguese driver was equipped and could handle the track conditions, which included higher wind speeds.
We decided we wanted someone as fresh as possible in the car, Ricky Taylor said. He went in, was an absolute monster and ended up wearing it.
The victory ended a four-year winning streak for Cadillac, which finished second in the Action Express All-Star with seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson. Kobayashi carried the load for the Action Express team, which also included Indianapolis 500 winner Simon Pagenaud and Le Mans 24 Hours winner Mike Rockenfeller.
When Taylor switched to Acura, he fired drivers van der Zande and Ryan Briscoe and opted for a new series that was familiar to him. Ganassi pinned Van der Zande, who scored his first double in a row against Kobayashi.
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The Dutchman closed the gap on his former teammate several times in the last 25 minutes, but could not take over the lead and had to leave the track due to a puncture.
I saw his eyes in my mirrors. Albuquerque was talking about Van der Zand. He wanted it so bad, especially with the whole Wayne Taylor departure thing. I’m lucky they’re broken.
Team Ganassi suffered a puncture less than two hours earlier while six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon was at the wheel and also suffered two punctures from rookie Kevin Magnussen, who has driven in Formula One for the past seven seasons. The team dropped to fifth place.
Absolutely exempt, Magnussen said. Looks like we won the race. Renger had a very good rhythm, overtaking car no.10 and I think he would have had a very good chance of winning the race.
Jordan Taylor, the youngest son of the winning team’s owner, also won the Le Mans GT class to ensure Corvette Racing’s victory. The team includes Nicky Catsburg and Antonio Garcia, who according to General Motors was removed from the car after the race because Garcia tested positive for COVID-19 in preparation for the American event. Garcia drove nearly eight hours in the race and was last in the car Sunday morning.
While Antonio Garcia tested negative for the Rolex 24, we have learned that he has now tested positive for his departure, the GM said in a statement.
Era Motorsports won the Le Mans Prototype 2 class with an Oreca LMP2 car; Riley Motorsports won the Le Mans Prototype 3 class with a Ligier JS P320 car; and Winward Racing won the GT Daytona class with a Mercedes-AMG GT3 car, which with 20 cars was the largest class in the 49-car field.
