Taylor, Albuquerque Confirmed in All-New WTR Acura DPi Lineup

Photo: Barry Cantrell/IMSA

Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque have been confirmed as full-season drivers in Wayne Taylor Racing’s Acura ARX-05 DPi next year, in an all-new lineup for the IMSA championship-winning squad.

While previously reported, Taylor and Albuquerque were formerly announced on Monday alongside the team’s Michelin Endurance Cup driver Alexander Rossi and Taylor’s 2020 DPi championship-winning co-driver Helio Castroneves, who will join the trio for the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Rossi will contest the Endurance Cup rounds at Daytona, Sebring and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

It marks a departure from the team’s lineup of Renger van der Zande and Ryan Briscoe, who teamed with Scott Dixon and Kamui Kobyahashi for victory in January’s Rolex 24 at Daytona in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R.

As revealed by Sportscar365 last month, both van der Zande and Briscoe’s contracts were not renewed for the 2021 season.

Taylor, the son of team owner Wayne, returns to the Indianapolis-based operation for the first time since becoming a Honda Performance Development-contracted driver in 2018. He has claimed five victories at the wheel of a Team Penske-run Acura DPi.

Portuguese ace Albuquerque makes his full-season WeatherTech SportsCar Championship return after contesting a partial schedule with Action Express Racing this year.

Albuquerque worked with Action Express on a full-season basis in 2018, when he won the Rolex 24 with Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi, and in 2019.

When combined, the two drivers won the three major LMP2-based championships this year, with Albuquerque claiming the 2019-20 FIA World Endurance Championship and 2020 European Le Mans Series LMP2 titles with United Autosports.

“This is an exciting time for Wayne Taylor Racing,” said Wayne Taylor.

“I am extremely excited about securing the three drivers that have been driving the Acura ARX-05 the past few years as well as Filipe Albuquerque who has been driving a similar car in Europe with great success.

“With us as a team changing manufacturers, I wanted to have consistency in the drivers and with this group, that is one thing we can tick off the list.”

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