Taylor Hoping Updated Cadillac Brings “Clean Slate” for WTR

Photo: Jamey Price/WTR

Ricky Taylor is hopeful the updated Cadillac V-Series.R, introduced in this weekend’s IMSA-sanctioned test at Daytona International Speedway, will help wipe the slate clean after a challenging return season with the manufacturer.

Taylor and longtime co-driver Filipe Albuquerque finished sixth in this year’s GTP drivers’ championship, with three podium finishes, including runner-up finishes in Detroit and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, to their credit, after a difficult transition after four years with Acura.

The switch back to GM machinery brought new challenges to the Indianapolis-based squad, which expanded into a two-car operation only the previous year with the addition of the No. 40 entry for Jordan Taylor and Louis Deletraz.

With updates to the Dallara-chassied LMDh car debuting this weekend, primarily around the aero package and brakes, Taylor is upbeat on their potential for the 2026 season.

“Hopefully that’s somewhat of a clean slate,” he told Sportscar365. “All the constructors took a swing at the first homologation with the car, and it’s hard to create something that’s going to be good in WEC and IMSA across all those tracks.

“They’re homologating gearing; they’re homologating aero maps and all the stuff that were only on the car for a couple of the days [before the initial homologation].

“Getting a second swing at it… It’s experience-based. ‘These were our issues and this is what we need to fix.’

“It’s going to be way more refined, I feel like, and hopefully more in line with what we would expect.

“In that sense, hopefully it simplifies some things.”

Taylor admitted the team felt dejected at the end of the season, with sixth and eighth place finishes in last month’s season-ending Motul Petit Le Mans, in a race that saw the sister Cadillac squad of Action Express Racing win.

But with a year of data on the car now under its own tent, even with changes for next year, which includes the introduction of Michelin’s new Pilot Sport Endurance line of tires, Taylor is convinced they’ll be able to hit the ground running heading into next season.

“We’ve become quite pessimistic in our mentality, unfortunately,” said Ricky. “Within the team, it’s just like, ‘Keep working together, trust our process and trust our people; they’ve done this before and they’ve been successful.’

“It hasn’t come easy but I think the goal is going to be obviously to winning races again, getting it back to where we used to be.

“Having a year of data, even though it’s going to be somewhat different with the [car] updates and new tires, but having a year of experience and a bit of a notebook to come back to, helps a lot.

“Everywhere we went, it was like, ‘Well, these were their notes from last year.’ But we had no context. We had no personal experience with it.

“That will help a lot.”

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