Wayne Taylor Racing wins third straight
Wayne Taylor Racing won its record-tying third consecutive Rolex 24 at Daytona, using a new car and a new lineup to beat some of the best racers in the world.
Filipe Albuquerque held off Kamui Kobayashi and Renger van der Zande — both part of WTR’s winning teams the last two seasons and both seeking to become the first winners of three consecutive Rolex races — to give the overhauled Taylor team its fourth win in the last five years at Daytona International Speedway.
Albuquerque was challenged over the final 25 minutes by van der Zande, driving a Cadillac for Chip Ganassi Racing, until a punctured tire sent van der Zande to the pits with seven minutes remaining.
Kobayashi cycled into second but didn’t have enough to catch Albuquerque, who closed out the first overall Rolex victory for Acura in the prestigious twice-round-the-clock endurance race.
Wayne Taylor left General Motors after 28 years at the end of last season to become a factory Acura program. He brought his oldest son, Ricky, back to the team for the refresh and they celebrated the overall victory as youngest son, Jordan, earned a class victory Sunday with Corvette Racing.
“Today is probably one of the best days I’ve ever had,” Wayne Taylor said, equating it to the 2017 WTR victory when both sons drove for him. “We won it with Ricky, and Jordan won the GT class with Corvette, and then the Wayne Taylor Racing program won it overall.
“As a family, it was a very, very special day.”
Wayne Taylor took ownership of his new cars — used Acura’s handed down when Roger Penske closed his team at the end of last season — in November and needed every day during the offseason to prepare for Daytona. He replaced his entire lineup with newcomer Albuquerque and Acura holdovers Ricky Taylor, Helio Castroneves and Alexander Rossi.
The trio all drove the Acura the last three seasons for Team Penske and Taylor hoped would help the transition.
“I was getting a whole new car, with a whole new engine, with a whole new partnership and I thought I needed something to be consistent. So I hired all the same drivers Roger had,” Wayne Taylor said.
The three-straight wins tie Ganassi’s mark.
It’s the first Rolex for Castroneves and Rossi, who have won four combined Indianapolis 500s. Albuquerque won in 2018 driving a Cadillac; Ricky Taylor won in a Cadillac for his father’s team in 2017.
The victory snapped a fouryear winning streak for Cadillac, which got a second-place finish from an Action Express all-star car that included seventime NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson. Kobayashi carried the load for an Action Express lineup that also included Indianapolis 500 winner Simon Pagenaud and 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller.
Garcia tests positive for COVID-19 during race. Jordan Taylor closed the race to earn a a 1-2 Corvette Racing finish in the GT Le Mans class. The winning lineup included Nicky Catsburg and Antonio Garcia, who was pulled by General Motors with seven hours remaining when he tested positive for COVID-19.
Garcia was tested during the race weekend so he could return to Spain after the Rolex. He drove nearly eight hours in the race and was last in the car Sunday morning. “Surface-tosurface, we’re wearing gloves, we’re wearing balaclavas and helmets in the car, so nothing in the car could be a risk for us,” Jordan Taylor said.