Taylor: All WTR Drivers ‘Deserve’ Full-Time JOTA WEC Seat

Photo: WTR

Ricky Taylor believes that any of the four full season Wayne Taylor Racing drivers in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship deserve a dual series program next year in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Hertz Team JOTA.

Taylor’s comments come in the wake of his first Hypercar outing with the JOTA squad in this weekend’s 6 Hours of Circuit of The Americas, ahead of a rumored full-time campaign in the world championship next year, where he could slot into one of the expected two vacant seats in the lineup.

Sebastien Bourdais confirmed to Sportscar365 that his contract has not been renewed for next year while it’s widely understood that Alex Lynn, who has yet to drive the Cadillac V-Series.R this year due to a neck-related injury, will depart for McLaren.

While declining to comment on his 2027 plans or prospects, Taylor, a two-time IMSA top-class champion, insists that Louis Deletraz, Filipe Albuquerque and his brother Jordan, in addition to himself, would all jump at such an opportunity.

Deletraz completed a two-race stint with the British team earlier this year, contesting the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps and 24 Hours of Le Mans in the No. 12 Cadillac, the same car Taylor is in this weekend, although the Swiss driver is believed to no longer be in the picture for a WEC seat next year.

“I think all of us would like to,” Taylor told Sportscar365. “Everybody [at WTR] wants it and I think everybody deserves it.

“Everybody’s doing a good job. Louis is doing a good job. Jordan is doing a great job. Filipe is doing a good job.

“I’m just the one here [this weekend]. I feel like the lucky boy.

“We would all like it. I think that’s something that Cadillac does really well, is merging all of the programs together.

“It’s hard to get three teams to work well together. I think that starts with the drivers. How well the teams work together is dependent on the drivers’ relationship with each other.

“Them putting us across programs creates that mesh.”

Taylor indicated the fact that Action Express Racing’s season-long WeatherTech Championship drivers, Earl Bamber and current points leader Jack Aitken, are part of both programs, has come as an advantage for the drivers and teams involved.

“It’s so powerful,” he said. “Jack and Earl doing it… Every weekend they jump in the car, FP1, Lap 1, they’re fresh and ready.

“I think just as a driver in sports cars, we don’t race that much. So the more you drive, the better. The more you know the car, the better.

“The cars are complex and you can keep up to date on all of the developments and all of the new switches and buttons.

“It’s actually bigger than I thought it would be.

“If we were talking DPi, but in [LMDh], there’s so much development and nuance to the cars that it’s really helpful and it goes pretty deep.”

Taylor praised Cadillac’s ‘One Team’ approach, in what’s likely to be an even more increased crossover with the three factory squads that operate the brand’s LMDh car due to there being no date clashes between the IMSA GTP and WEC rounds next year, outside of the Detroit race falling on the same weekend as the Le Mans Test Day.

“I was so excited when Louis got to do Spa and Le Mans,” said Taylor. “JOTA is a great team and they have different processes from us. He brought lots of cool stuff back. I’m sure he took cool stuff there.

“I think it’s the way it should be. I think that’s why Cadillac is doing a nice job with it.”

Taylor Aiming to “Keep It Clean” in First Non-Le Mans Hypercar Outing

When asked about his goals for this weekend, where he fills in for Lynn in the No. 12 Cadillac alongside Norman Nato and Will Stevens, Taylor stressed he’s here to maintain the car’s position on track in order to support his co-drivers as much as possible.

“For me, I just want to stay out of trouble,” he said. “I want to do my part, hand the car back in a good position, at least as good as I get it from them.

“I’ll probably be in during the middle of the race, so [my goal will be to] fill the time, position the car well, keep it clean and let Will and Norman finish, and try and learn as much as I can.

“As exciting as it is to want to go and lead every lap, it’s so easy to make little mistakes in WEC. If you flat-spot a tire or [have] any little mistake, it really punishes you here.

“All of those things, I just want to do a good job on the little details.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John