Brothers Ricky Taylor and Jordan Taylor continued their perfect IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season on Saturday with a win at Detroit’s Belle Isle. Photo: Richard Dole LAT Images
It wasn’t exactly how the team drew it up, but the points-leading No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R of brothers Jordan and Ricky Taylor kept its perfect season alive Saturday with a fifth consecutive IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship win in the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic at Belle Isle.
Starting the race in the 12th position after a Friday qualifying incident, Ricky Taylor methodically moved his way through the field before pitting from the fifth position during the race’s lone caution period, which came 26 minutes into the 100-minute sprint race. His younger brother Jordan Taylor took over from there, and with the help of pit strategy from the No. 10 team, eventually took the lead from the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac DPi-V.R of Dane Cameron with 21 minutes remaining when Cameron made his final pit stop.
“I almost ruined it yesterday with my mistake in qualifying,” said Ricky Taylor. “The car was in a million pieces and we were starting from the back. I thought today was just going to be a points day and just finish in the top three or four. This one was earned by the team, staying up past midnight and giving us an unbelievable car today.”
While the Taylors have been nearly flawless this season, the Detroit win largely can be attributed to the crew of the No. 10 Cadillac. In addition to making repairs late into the night, it was the work on pit road during the race that ultimately won the team the race.
The first pit stop saw the team move from fifth to third under the yellow flag. When it came down to final green flag pit stops, Jordan Taylor pitted from the third position with 43 minutes remaining, and came out in the second position. With Taylor clicking off a series off fast laps, including the fastest lap of the race, by the time the race-leading Cadillac of Cameron hit pit road, Taylor easily claimed the lead.
Cameron and co-driver Eric Curran matched their season-best finish of second, 4.948 seconds behind the Taylors. Rounding out the podium was the No. 55 Mazda Motorsports Mazda DPi of Tristan Nunez and Jonathan Bomarito, the team’s first podium with the Mazda DPi.
For many IMSA competitors the conclusion of the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic marks the start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the race’s Test Day on Sunday. Among those making the trek immediately from Detroit to France are the Taylors, who would like to translate their IMSA success into a 24 Hours of Le Mans victory.
“It’s always good to have confidence in yourself, especially at a place like Le Mans,” said Jordan Taylor. “It’s a stressful event, but coming out of here with a win will help me sleep a little better on the plane tonight.”
Four In A Row For Performance Tech In PC Class
The Performance Tech Motorsports duo of James French and Pato O’Ward are marching to a dominant drum of their own. Following in the footsteps of undefeated Prototype drivers Ricky and Jordan Taylor, the Prototype Challenge (PC) class duo won Saturday’s Chevrolet Sports Car Classic to score their fourth consecutive win to start the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.
Brent O’Neill’s Performance Tech has been a fixture in the IMSA paddock for years, but recently found another gear, as evidenced by the team’s perfect start. The domination has continued throughout the season, with French and O’Ward perfect in wins and only short one TOTAL Pole Award. In the midst of heated battles in the Prototype, GT Le Mans and GT Daytona classes, the pair have quietly cruised to victory after victory.
“It was a different race, pretty much the whole race, in my stint and James’ stint, we were saving fuel,” said O’Ward. “We were trying to do it on one stop. If there were enough cautions, it could have been push, push, push. Otherwise, I just tried to coast around.
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Acura Wins First WeatherTech Championship Race with Legge, Lally in Detroit
Masterful pit strategy from the Michael Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian crew and flawless driving by co-drivers Andy Lally and Katherine Legge delivered a history-making first global victory for the new Acura NSX GT3 in the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic at Belle Isle Park.
It was the strongest weekend to date for the first-year IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship program, as Legge qualified the No. 93 Acura second Friday afternoon and ran comfortably in second place throughout her driving stint before pitting under caution just past the 30-minute mark in the race. With track position at a premium, team owner Mike Shank decided to change only two tires during the pit stop, which vaulted Lally into the lead.
That pit stop made all the difference. Lally managed to keep the No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3 of Alessandro Balzan in his mirrors for the remainder of the race and went on to win by 2.441 seconds.
“I wanted three tires, because I wanted a right-front hot tire when we came out,” Lally said. “(Shank) made the decision to just put in left sides to save time. I plugged my last belt in and he said, ‘Go.’ We had another second on them. It was perfect tires and a really fast driver change. We knew the right front would be OK by the end, but the right rear was really just skating over by the end of the race.”
In addition to making history for the manufacturer, Legge made personal history, earning her first career WeatherTech Championship race victory.
“It’s a testament to the team,” Legge said. “The team gave us a car that was capable of winning. The team has really been working hard between each race. We’ve been strong at points, but today we put it together. Today was the longest hour of my life watching Andy drive. I was telepathically talking to him. It was harder to watch than actually drive. Thank you to everyone who has given us a chance to put together this car and this ride.”
There were two women on the GTD podium at Detroit. Christina Nielsen partnered with Balzan to take second. Nielsen and Balzan are defending WeatherTech Championship GTD champions.
Finishing third were No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 co-drivers Madison Snow and Bryan Sellers. Snow claimed the final podium spot in the closing minutes of the race, getting around Jeff Segal, who was aiming to give Acura two podium spots in the No. 86 NSX.
GTD pole-winner Lawson Aschenbach led the first 30 minutes of the race in the No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports Audi R8 LMS. Co-driver Andrew Davis was positioned for at least a podium result after taking over in the car, before a driveline issue removed the car from contention.
The next WeatherTech Championship race is the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen from Watkins Glen International on Sunday, July 2. The race – which also represents the third round of the four-race Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup – will feature all four WeatherTech Championship classes.
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