WTRandretti Still “Adjusting” to Acura’s Two-Car GTP Effort – Sportscar365

Photo: Mike Levitt/IMSA

Wayne Taylor Racing and Andretti is still “adjusting” to run a two-car Acura team in the GTP class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship according to Ricky and Jordan Taylor, who expect more gains to come as the season moves into racing.

The Indianapolis-based organization is fielding the No. 40 Acura ARX-06 for Jordan Taylor and Louis Deletraz for the first time this year, which is currently tied for the championship lead with the two No. 7 Penske Porsche 963 of Felipe Nasr and Dane. Cameron heads into this weekend’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque, meanwhile, sit eighth in the standings after a challenging start to their campaign in the return of the No. 10 Acura.

“The team is obviously doing very well, leading the championship by 40 cars,” said Ricky Taylor. “I think there has been an adjustment to driving two cars, which is not an easy thing from every aspect.

“Especially in our opinion, communication has become something to get used to, how the process goes and how we communicate with all the engineers and the other car and how we work together.

“With the podium at Daytona and the win at Sebring, you can’t say it’s been anything but positive. Obviously 10 cars, we’ve had our problems.”

Taylor said he believes the two-car team’s success will begin to show this weekend in Long Beach.

“I think the first two races are where the effort of one car doesn’t hurt you at all,” he said.

“There’s a lot of track time (at Daytona and Sebring). You have a lot of time to get up to speed. The cars are very refined at those two tracks. We have a lot of testing.

“When we come to Long Beach, having two cars is the ultimate reward.

“We’re usually on track towards the start of the weekend, before anyone runs. Our track time is shorter than it looks on paper.

“There are no important races, so having two cars, being able to trust the other car to drive something different and learn as much as possible, I think it accelerates our learning compared to previous years.

“Even though we had a good car last year, it gives us the confidence to try something new that we might not have done.”

Ricky’s younger brother Jordan, who is returning to WTRAndretti for the first time since 2019, noted some shared features between the two cars in the opening races at Daytona International Speedway and Sebring International Raceway.

“At Daytona, two of our guys went down at the same time,” Jordan Taylor said. “Half of the 10 car teams made pit stops at the same time.

“Then at Sebring, Chris Bennett, who was our leader, made any major changes (engine-related) to the 10th car, and fixed their car during that long yellow stop.

“I think there’s a big push for our team on the inside is that a 40-run win is a 10-run win and vice versa.

“On the podium at Sebring, if you looked at some of the pictures, there was a lot of blue support equipment.

“I think it’s a big deal for the team, one team, one dream thing.”

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports reporter for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous motorsports publications around the world. Contact John