Wayne Taylor Racing eager to repeat 2022 Road America Victory.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Sebring. #10 Konika Minolta Acura ARX-06 did lead 115 laps (120 for #01 Cadillac V-Series.R) out of 322 run during the 12 Hours of Sebring 2023.

In 2022, Road America was the scene of a crucial win for the Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport (WTRAndretti) team as Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque finally brought the blue and black machine to the Road America Victory Lane for the first time in the team’s history. The goal is to repeat the win once again this year.

Following a podium-finish in Canada, the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 team is ready to continue their late-season momentum heading to Road America. In 2022, Road America was the scene of a crucial win for the Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport (WTRAndretti) team as Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque finally brought the blue and black machine to the Road America Victory Lane for the first time in the team’s history. The goal is to repeat the win once again this year.

With the success that the WTRAndretti team saw at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park last month, Taylor and Albuquerque’s second place result has the team sitting third in the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, only 29 points out of the lead with three races remaining on the calendar.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Daytona. #10 earned the 350 points allocated to the winners even though they ended second after #60 Meyer Shank Racing was penalised for manipulating tire-pressure data sent to IMSA during the race. The team lost 200 points in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship but remains the official winner of the race.

“Road America was the site of a great win and championship boost for us last year,” said Ricky Taylor. “This year has been very dramatic in terms of results. But CTMP gave us a sense of calm and positivity moving towards the home stretch of the season. The whole WTRAndretti team is looking forward to putting that positive momentum to use at Road America as we continue the fight back in the championship.”

“We’re looking forward a lot to Road America,” said Filipe Albuquerque. “We were really happy there last year and there is something I really like about this track. For me, I put it on pole position then we won last year. But this year it’s a different car, obviously, and new asphalt, so a lot of new aspects to deal with. We want to keep the same momentum closing the difference on the championship to the leaders and eventually grab the lead of the championship. We will go on from there and enjoy, have fun with the WTRAndretti team and aim to bring a good result.”

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Watkins Glen. #10 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 anbandoned.

“I’m looking forward to going to Road America,” said Wayne Taylor. “The guys did a great job in Canada, and we made up a lot of points – which is important because we were over 100 points behind coming going and came out a 29-point deficit. The focus now is clearly on the championship. We won the race at Road America last year so hopefully we will have a competitive car again. They resurfaced the track, so not exactly sure how that is going to work. I’m confident now; the team is working really well; the drivers are doing a good job and as I said before the focus is to take as many points as we can. We want to win every race, but it’s not the objective right now, we just need to have three more good races with good points to try and win this championship.” Source: Wayne Taylor Racing.

BMW M Team RLL aiming for third consecutive GTP podium.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Watkins Glen. #6 was disqualified and #7 only ran 100 laps out of the 201 run by the winners..

Porsche Penske Motorsport heads to the eighth round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season with a clear goal: After some mediocre results recently, the team wants to build on the good performances from the spring with the two Porsche 963 at Road America. In the 2:40-hour race on the Road America circuit, which is highly popular with fans and drivers, the two driver crews hope to finish on the podium and bring home a bundle of points towards the championship. In the team standings, the crew sharing the No. 6 factory car currently occupies fourth place. The gap to the top, however, is only 63 points. There are 350 points for a race win and 35 for pole position.
“After our unsatisfactory results in the FIA WEC and the IMSA series recently, we have to turn things around quickly,” asserts Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President of Porsche Motorsport. “We want to get back on the path to success, and at least achieve podium results. I’m confident that we’ll be able to match the pace of the competition in the GTP class at Road America. The racetrack is a big challenge for the drivers and engineers. I hope that we were able to gain a small advantage during our test drives in June and turn the full potential of the Porsche 963 into a top result.”. Source: Porsche.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at ROLEX 24 2023. Both Porsche 963 suffered mechanical issues during the race ending 14th overall for #7, 34 laps behind the top 4 overall and 42nd for #6, 83 laps behind the winners.

“Our test results and the lap times in the IndyCar Series in June made one thing very clear: Road America has become much faster thanks to the new asphalt,” summarises Urs Kuratle ahead of the eighth round of the season. The Director of Factory Motorsport LMDh adds: “The surface offers a lot of grip and that traction will only continue to build throughout the weekend due to the rubber left on the track. We need to take this into account in figuring out the optimum setup for the race. I’m confident that our on-track test will help us greatly, especially in this regard.”
“The IMSA championship is heading into the home stretch, and Road America will be a crucial part as the Porsche Penske Motorsport team chases the GTP Championship over the final three races of the year,” describes Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director Porsche Penske Motorsport. “Road America will be a unique challenge as it has undergone a full repave in the offseason. This serves as a reset and erases some of the historical characteristics of this long and unique track. All of the notes from previous years won’t directly apply. We had the ability to test in early June at the circuit to get some exposure to the ideal setup for the new surface, but the track surface will continue to evolve all the way up to the race weekend. Road America one of the most scenic and beautiful road courses in the country, so it would look good to have one of our Porsche 963s in Victory Lane and bring home a 1-2 finish for the entire organization.” Source: Porsche.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Sebring. #6 Porsche 963 took the lead for the first time during the 12 Hours of Sebring with 13 laps to go and was hit by #10 Acura with 7 laps to go. #7 Porsche 963 who was just behind the two couldn’t avoid the accident putting the two Porsche Penske Motorsport out of contention.

Mathieu Jaminet (Porsche 963 #6): “We’re currently lying fourth in the championship. That’s not ideal, but at least the gaps to the front are relatively small. The first four crews are not separated by much at all. So, our goal must be to rake in as many points as possible at Road America to make up some positions in the drivers’, teams’ and manufacturers’ standings. We’ve gone testing on the track and that’ll be very helpful.”

Matt Campbell (Porsche 963 #7): “Road America is one of my favourite circuits in the USA. I always love driving there. We did a test at Road America right after the race weekend at Le Mans. That was hugely important because the track was re-sealed at the beginning of the year. We gained some important insights in terms of performance but still have work ahead of us. Adapting the setup over the weekend for the race will be one of the keys to our success.” Source: BMW Group.

Porsche customers

Proton Competition will field the Porsche 963 for the first time. The squad owned by the German entrepreneur and race driver Christian Ried will tackle Road America with works driver Gianmaria Bruni from Italy and the experienced UK driver Harry Tincknell. “During our debut with the Porsche 963 at the FIA WEC race in Monza, we learned a lot and our pace was immediately very good. We now want to use those insights in the IMSA series and get as far to the front of the field as possible at our first event,” explains team owner Christian Ried. “We have a strong team and an experienced, fast driver crew. The ingredients for possible success should be there.”

The customer team JDC-Miller MotorSports also contests the GTP class with another ca. 515 kW (700 PS) Porsche 963. Germany’s Mike Rockenfeller and Dutchman Tijmen van der Helm take turns in the cockpit of the American team’s hybrid prototype. The squad from Minneapolis, which finished the last two races in fourth place overall, regard the event at Elkhart Lake as a home race.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Watkins Glen. #5 JDC Miller Motorsports Porsche 963 ended 4 the Shlen’s Six Hours of The Glen 2023, 2 laps behind the top 3 overall.

The IMSA SportsCar Weekend at Road America kicks off with practice on Friday, August 4th at 11:05 a.m. CT. followed by GTP qualifying on Saturday, August 5th at 2:05 p.m. CT. Sunday’s green flag is set for 10:10 a.m. CT and USA Network will broadcast the full two-hour, 40-minutes race at Road America.