Wayne Taylor Racing
Wayne Taylor Racing (WTR) is a sports car racing team that was founded in 2004 by racing driver Wayne Taylor. In 2023, the team began a partnership with Andretti Autosport that also saw them rebrand as Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport (WTRAndretti).[1][2] The team currently competes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship, campaigning the No. 10 Konica Minolta-sponsored Acura ARX-06 full-time for Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor in the GTP class.[3]
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| Founded | 2004 |
|---|---|
| Team principal(s) | Wayne Taylor (Owner; Team Principal) Travis Houge (VP, General Manager) Brian Pillar (Technical Director) |
| Current series | IMSA SportsCar Championship |
| Former series | Rolex Sports Car Series |
| Current drivers | 10: Filipe Albuquerque Ricky Taylor Louis Delétraz (Endurance) Brendon Hartley (Rolex 24) |
| Drivers' Championships | 3 ('05, '13 Grand-Am, '17 IMSA) |
History
The team was founded in 2004 as the Riley Technologies factory team, with title sponsorship from bank holding company SunTrust. The lineup of Wayne Taylor and Max Angelelli finished second in the Daytona Prototype teams championship in 2004 and won the Daytona Prototype team and driver championships in 2005.
For the 2007 season, Riley and Wayne Taylor split ways and Wayne Taylor Racing began to run the #10 SunTrust Racing entry.[4] Wayne Taylor retired as a driver for the 2008 season and signed Michael Valiante as second driver; also the team switched to a Dallara chassis. In 2009, Ford engines were adopted and Brian Frisselle became the second driver.
For the 2010 season, Angelelli was joined by Ricky Taylor, son of Wayne Taylor. They collected a win and seven podiums, finishing runners-up. In 2011, SunTrust Racing switched to Chevrolet engines; they won three races and got eight podiums, resulting runners-up. After adopting the Corvette DP3 chassis, the duo got three wins in 2012 and resulted 6th in the drivers standings.
In 2013, Wayne Taylor Racing lost the SunTrust sponsorship. Ricky Taylor left the team, and was replaced by Jordan Taylor, also son of Wayne Taylor. Angelelli and Jordan Taylor would go on to win the final Daytona Prototype championship before the merger of Grand-Am and the American Le Mans Series in 2014, winning five races, including the final three.
For 2014, the first year of the United SportsCar Championship, Angelelli entered into semi-retirement, racing with the team for the endurance events. Ricky Taylor rejoined the team to drive full-time alongside brother Jordan.
Before the start of the 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship season, Wayne Taylor Racing announced a partnership with Andretti Autosport, revealing that Andretti would play a role in the teams day to day operation and leadership going forward. They also stated that they have a longtime goal of moving into Andretti's new headquarters in 2025.[5] WTR would retain Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor for the season, with Louis Delétraz driving in the Endurance cup races, and Brendon Hartley in the car for the 24 Hours of Daytona.[6]
Racing results
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Notable race victories
- 24 Hours of Daytona – 2005, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021
- 12 Hours of Sebring – 2017
- Petit Le Mans – 2014, 2018, 2020
- 6 Hours of Watkins Glen – 2011, 2016, 2022
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship wins
References
- Dagys, John. "WTR, Andretti Autosport Join Forces in New Partnership – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
- "2023 GTP ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA PRE RACE REPORT". waynetaylorracing.com. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
- "WTR ANNOUNCES 2022 DRIVER LINE UP FOR IMSA WEATHERTECH DPI CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON". Wayne Taylor Racing. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- SunTrust Team Reorganizes - Motor Racing Network, 26 May 2006
- "Wayne Taylor Racing partners with Andretti Autosport in IMSA". us.motorsport.com. 2022-12-28. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
- "Wayne Taylor Racing". waynetaylorracing.com. Retrieved 2023-07-21.