Continental Tire IMSA Spotlight: Wayne Taylor

IMSA Spotlight: Wayne Taylor
Team Owner, No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette DP
Follow: @WayneTaylorRcng

How does it feel to get back-to-back wins at Long Beach?

“Obviously, Long Beach is a very, very event, a big event, home of Konica Minolta, so winning there is extremely important to us.

“We have, as I’ve said many times, two of the best drivers and the best team out there. Everybody did his job, the execution of every move was spectacular – the driving, the pit stops, the car preparation.

“Ricky won the race on the first lap and Jordan finished it like he normally does. I’m just ecstatic. For Konica Minolta and Team Chevy, it’s great to win back-to-back.

“But when we won, I really had no idea we also won last year and finished second the year before. I was already thinking about Laguna Seca, the next race, like we always do.”

How close is the competition for the Prototype championship this year? And what will it take for Wayne Taylor Racing to win?

“It’s extremely competitive. I think the Mazdas have been a lot quicker than we’ve ever seen them. At Laguna, I think they’ll be extremely fast. But there are a lot of races still to go. You don’t necessarily have to win. It’s all about points.

“We had a bad race at Sebring and that’s going to happen at some point in the season. Hopefully we got ours out of the way. At this point, it looks like it’s between the Corvettes and the Mazdas.

“The 5 car is extremely competitive. I guess it’s going to tense. It’s going to be a difficult year. And that’s the way we want it to be. It’s good for the sport and it’s good for the fans.”

What are your thoughts on the Balance of Performance in the Prototype class this year?

“BoP is the worst term of all the terms I ever hear, not just in racing but anywhere. It just drives me insane. I think this weekend proved to everybody that everything is really close, now. If they mess with it again, I just don’t know.

“At some tracks, the Corvettes will be faster. I think at Laguna the Mazdas will be faster. I don’t know what will happen at Detroit.

“I think the Mazdas were extremely fast at Mosport when they tested there last year. They seem to have the edge in BoP, even though people say the Corvettes are winning all the races.

“It’s just that we’ve been at it a lot longer – the same teams running these Corvettes year in and year out, all have good drivers, good equipment.

“That has everything to do with it and you can’t regulate that fairly. In my opinion, the BoP should be left alone.”

There’s been more talk about DPi. Where does the team currently stand with its plans for 2017?

“Wayne Taylor Racing is extremely excited about 2017 and watch this space carefully. I can say that I will stay with GM. And that’s all I’m going to say about that right now.”

Do you have a particularly funny story involving Ricky and/or Jordan while they were growing up?

“I don’t even remember them as kids anymore because they’ve been driving for me for so long.

“One funny thing is, Jordan always seemed to be the one to manipulate Ricky into being the one to endure all the hardships when they were younger.

“When they were racing their cardboard boxes in the street, Ricky was the one doing the pushing and Jordan was driving. If they were sliding around the house on a bedsheet, Ricky was doing the pulling and Jordan was riding.

“I don’t know if it’s because Jordan was always the one who knew what he wanted, or if it was because Ricky was just overly kind would be willing to do anything for his brother.

“You know, I traveled home with them from Long Beach and I was sitting behind the two of them in the rental car, and to listen to the two of them talk about the race, each corner, braking, tires, how Ricky passed Fittipaldi, etc., it made me think about all the choices you have as a team owner, and I can’t possibly imagine having a better pair of drivers as teammates.

“Look at every other team in the series and I can honestly say we have the best pair of drivers in the sport. That makes me feel good.”