Lime Rock Red Flag Reminded Taylor of 2019 Rolex 24 Win

Photo: Jake Galstad/IMSA

Jordan Taylor said the time spent waiting under the red flag while in the lead of the Northeast Grand Prix reminded him of the 2019 Rolex 24 at Daytona, another weather-shortened race which he also was victorious in.

Taylor and Antonio Garcia scored their fourth GT Le Mans class victory of the season in Saturday’s Lime Rock Park round, which was called early due to lightning in the area.

The No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R led all 100 laps of the race prior to the caution-turned red flag with 1 hour and 10 minutes remaining in the 2 hour and 40-minute scheduled contest.

Two-and-a-half years ago, Taylor shared overall honors in a rain-shortened Rolex 24 with Renger van der Zande, Kamui Kobayashi and Fernando Alonso in Wayne Taylor Racing’s Cadillac DPi-V.R.

“It kind of reminded me of Daytona 2019 where we had the same situation,” he told Sportscar365.

“We were hoping to go green for the fans but at the same time you’re in the position to win, so you’re OK if it doesn’t go green.

“As a racing fan I’m disappointed it didn’t go green but being greedy I’m happy we were able to get the win and Corvette get 1-2.

“It was definitely odd having done an hour, getting out, and almost going red immediately.

“I was pretty sure it would restart again but when we looked at the radar and all of the lightning strikes two miles north of us, we knew there was no chance.

“I think it was the right call by the series.”

While dominating the race from the drop of the green flag, Taylor admitted it was “trickier” than what it looked like on TV.

“The car was difficult to drive all the way through,” he said. “It was a huge race on tire degradation and fuel mileage so we were trying to balance both of them.

“We were racing the 4 [car] and kinda knew what they were doing and key off them. Traffic was a huge part.

“When the pro drivers got in the GTD cars, it made it very difficult to get by, especially if they were on fresher tires.

“Thankfully things went our way — I think a lot in traffic — we were able to gain little bits here and there.

“We also had pretty good fuel mileage but I think the 4 car was right there all day as well.

“I think it’s going to be tight like that for the rest of the season.”

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