Wayne Taylor “Tired of Finishing Second” in DPi Points

Wayne Taylor said he’s “tired” of repeatedly coming up short in the title battle in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship after his squad finished as runner-up for the third consecutive year.

Wayne Taylor Racing lost out to Meyer Shank Racing in a dramatic finale to Saturday’s Petit Le Mans that saw Tom Blomqvist capture the lead in the final hour to secure the championship.

It marked the third year in a row where Taylor and his team came up short in a championship decider in the DPi category.

In 2020, Renger van der Zande and Ryan Briscoe lost out to the Acura Team Penske pair of Helio Castroneves and Ricky Taylor during the postponed Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

A year later, during WTR’s first season with the Acura ARX-05, Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque were beaten to the title by Felipe Nasr and Pipo Derani at Petit Le Mans.

“Congratulations to Mike Shank,” Taylor told Sportscar365. “They did a good job. They won the drivers’ championship and everything.

“I can’t take anything away from my team. They did a great job. At least we are part of winning the manufacturer’s championship for HPD and Acura.

“We led for so long and it is what it is. It’s just racing. Things happen and it just didn’t go our way at the very end.

“I do know we won four races this year. It was still a good year, but I’m tired of finishing second at the end of the year.

“[Really] tired of it. But how much can you say, you know.”

Despite the defeat, the inaugural Petit Le Mans winner expressed a hope that the rivalry with MSR would carry over into the GTP era.

“Of course,” he noted. “I mean, we like working with Shank. They’re partners with us with HPD. They certainly did a great job. We just didn’t have it at the end.”

Taylor’s team seemingly had things under control with Albuquerque ahead of Blomqvist going into the final hour of the race.

It wasn’t until the two Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillacs of Earl Bamber and Renger van der Zande collided that proceedings took a turn and Blomqvist leaped ahead during the subsequent pitstops under yellow.

WTR’s title tilt then came to a definitive end when Albuquerque clipped the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo while chasing Blomqvist, inflicting suspension damage.

“I’m simply devastated with the ending,” said Albuquerque. “I really think we were doing a perfect race and unfortunately the last pitstop wasn’t great for our side.

“Obviously, when you start on pole and up front, you always have a little bit of an advantage.

“Traffic always benefits the guy leading and it got me big time there. We were quick and we caught back.

“Passing a GT car and I don’t think he saw me and the level of risk was high. We touched and my car was damaged and it was over for us.

“It was a bit inglorious to finish like that. So competitive and tight fun today, but it is what it is.

“It’s a shame for two years in a row to be so close. One thing is for sure, we are always there. Unfortunately, it’s not us winning.”

Jonathan Grace contributed to this report