Taylor Dominates Qualifying, Leads Cadillac Front Row Sweep

Photo: Brian Cleary/BCPix.com

A dominant and record-breaking run in qualifying for Ricky Taylor has put Wayne Taylor Racing and Cadillac on pole for Saturday’s Bubba Burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach.

Taylor scored his second Long Beach pole in the last three years, and first of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season, having reeled off a 1:13.549 in his Konica Minolta-sponsored Cadillac DPi-V.R.

He edged out the No. 5 Action Express Racing Cadillac of Christian Fittipaldi by 0.204 seconds, following a series of late-session improvements for the Brazilian.

Taylor’s time marked another Prototype qualifying record, as the brothers seek their third straight Long Beach win in tomorrow’s 100-minute street fight.

Tristan Nunez put the No. 55 Mazda RT24-P third on the grid with a 1:14.393 lap, followed by the No. 85 JDC-Miller Motorsports Oreca 07 Gibson of Misha Goikhberg, who jumped to fourth in the closing moments.

It demoted the No. 31 Action Express Cadillac of Eric Curran to fifth, with Scott Sharp set to start sixth in the No. 2 Tequila Patron ESM Nissan Onroak DPi.

The top-five qualified all qualified within one-second. 

The Bubba Burger Sports Car Grand Prix is set for Saturday at 4 p.m. ET, with live coverage on FOX.

RESULTS: Qualifying

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