BRASELTON, Georgia (Sept. 27, 2016) – It’s the final weekend of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season and, for the first time since its last successful title run in 2013, the No. 10 Konica Minolta Corvette DP team for Wayne Taylor Racing (WTR) hits town for Saturday’s 19th annual Petit Le Mans 10-hour endurance marathon with a realistic chance of another title.

Brothers Ricky and Jordan Taylor moved the No. 10 Corvette DP to within seven points of the championship lead within six points of second place with their series-high third dominating victory of the season two weekends ago at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. This weekend, they’ll be joined by veteran Italian Max “The Ax” Angelelli for a full-scale assault on the 2.54-mile, 12-turn Road Atlanta layout, where they scored a resounding victory in 2014.

A win Saturday by the Taylors and Angelelli combined with no better than a fourth-place finish by both the Nos. 31 and 5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP teams, which are separated by one points atop the standings, would clinch the driver championship for the Taylor brothers and the team championship for the No. 10 Konica Minolta Corvette DP. A second- or third-place finish by the Taylors and Angelelli would mean the Action Express Corvette DPs would need to finish further down the order for a WTR championship. A fourth-place finish or worse by the No. 10 Corvette DP would crown the Action Express Corvette DP that beats the other as champion.

Two years ago, in the 100th race for Wayne Taylor Racing, the Taylor brothers and Angelelli scored a milestone victory at Road Atlanta 16 years after team owner and three-time sports car racing champion Wayne Taylor won the inaugural Petit Le Mans in 1998. The Taylor brothers became the first Americans to win the annual endurance classic, combining with Angelelli to lead a race-high 248 of 400 race laps, including the final 65.

They put themselves in contention to win last year’s rain-soaked Petit Le Mans thanks to a timely pit stop with just more than two hours to go. But their bid to successful bid to defend their 2014 race win was snatched away when the race was shortened to seven hours and 52 minutes due to conditions deemed too wet to continue. They had to settle for a disappointing fourth-place finish.

While determined to rekindle the team’s Petit Le Mans magic from 2014, as well as to gain a measure of redemption for last year’s premature end to another potential race-winning effort, the Taylors and Angelelli would like nothing more than to send the iconic Daytona Prototype chassis off with one final victory before the series introduces the all-new DPi formula as its premiere class in 2017.

WTR has enjoyed considerable success with the Corvette DP since it was introduced at the outset of the 2012 season. Angelelli and the Taylor brothers have mixed and matched driving combinations over that time and have accounted for 12 of the 36 race wins by Corvette DPs in that time, as well as nine of 28 pole positions and 27 of 99 podium finishes, highlighted by the 2013 driver championship.

Thus, there is plenty of motivation in the WTR camp to finish the 2016 season on the highest note possible at Road Atlanta. But first, there is 10 hours of grueling racing and plenty of twists and turns before all is said and done.

Practice for Saturday’s Petit Le Mans begins Thursday morning with Prototype-class qualifying set for 4:45 p.m. EDT Friday with live video provided by IMSA.tv beginning at 3:30 p.m. The green flag flies at 11:10 a.m. Saturday for the 10-hour race with television coverage of the entire race available via the FOX Sports GO app beginning at 11 a.m. In addition, FS1 will televise the first hour of the race beginning at 11 a.m., and FS2 will televise the 2:30 to 6 p.m. segment. The checkered flag is scheduled to fly at 9:10 p.m. Live timing and scoring during all on-track sessions is available at IMSA.com and the IMSA smartphone app.

RICKY TAYLOR, driver, No. 10 Konica Minolta Corvette DP for Wayne Taylor Racing:

Coming off that great weekend at Circuit of the Americas with the pole and race win, do you feel extra momentum heading to Road Atlanta for this weekend’s Petit Le Mans?

“I think we are always strong at COTA and the momentum of coming off of a win will definitely help us moving on to Petit Le Mans. We had a great test there a few months ago and I feel we should be able to keep up this momentum and finish the season strong. I think we always suit this track because it’s one of those tracks where we need good, efficient downforce and need to be good in all types of corners – fast, slow, direction changes, over crests. This track has everything. I feel our team always gives us a good car at those types of places and, not to mention, the strategy and execution by the boys are always spot on.” 

How focused are you on championship scenarios and what do you need to do to come out on top?

“For us, we just have to focus on winning the race. Everything else is out of our control. The positive is that this race is very grueling and there will be more cars than the regular season, so the pressure will be in them to not make any mistakes. Just getting through this race is a challenge with traffic and the conditions but, when you throw in the tension of a championship, it should make it really interesting how much risk they take.”

This is the last race for the Corvette DP. Any special feelings about that as we head to Road Atlanta?

“I’m very sentimental about the DPs going away. These cars mean a lot to the whole Taylor family and we have had a great history with them. I’m looking forward to getting to drive it one last time and pushing hard to win the last race ever for the package.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, driver, No. 10 Konica Minolta Corvette DP for Wayne Taylor Racing:

Coming off that great weekend at Circuit of the Americas with the pole and race win, do you feel extra momentum heading to Road Atlanta for this weekend’s Petit Le Mans?

“I think we can definitely carry the momentum from COTA into this weekend and back it up with a win. We have always had a strong car at Road Atlanta. We won there in 2014 and had a strong race going last year until the red flag. We have been even stronger on the track and in the pits this year than last, so I think it bodes well for us. Our strategy is to win the race. I think this track fits perfectly with a few of our team’s strong suits. We always run well in the endurance races where strategy and pit stops come into play. The car has always been competitive there, as well, so I think we are going to have a good weekend.”

How focused are you on championship scenarios and what do you need to do to come out on top?

“I think the added length of a 10-hour race works in our favor. All we can focus on is our own race, though, and going out there and trying to win. Our only focus at COTA was to try and win the race. We were not worried about points. We are going in with that same mentality.”

This is the last race for the Corvette DP. Any special feelings about that as we head to Road Atlanta?

“I’m definitely going to miss the Daytona Prototype. It’s the car that I grew up watching as a kid at the racetrack, and then the car that really was a big part of my career. It’s a really fun car to drive. No matter where we are or what we’re doing, I always enjoy driving it. It has an old-school feel to it, where you have to push and fight the car to get the lap time out of it. It’s a very rewarding car and I hope we don’t miss that in the future.”

MAX ANGELELLI, driver, No. 10 Konica Minolta Corvette DP for Wayne Taylor Racing:

Coming off that great weekend at Circuit of the Americas with the pole and race win, do you feel extra momentum heading to Road Atlanta for this weekend’s Petit Le Mans?

“Yes, I do. Ricky and Jordan have shown a great maturity with their race weekend work that starts from day one and ends after the checkered flag. They should receive more credit for what they doing, and I’m going to do my best to help make a difference this weekend in a very important race to finish the season. I feel that when we won in 2014, we fully deserved it after the drivers and team did their jobs to perfection. Last year would have been another easy win if the race would not have been called when it was.”

How focused are you on championship scenarios and what do you need to do to come out on top?

“In 10 hours, a lot of things can happen to us as well as them. Who knows how it will end up, but this is the beauty of endurance races. Don’t forget that our engineers and the team play a bigger role than us as drivers with their race view and strategy. Pit stops and driver changes can decide the outcome of an entire championship. Remember 2013, when we won the championship thanks to our performance in pit lane?”

This is the last race for the Corvette DP. Any special feelings about that as we head to Road Atlanta?

“For me, personally, the DP has meant a lot as I’ve shared and won races with all kinds of different combinations of Taylors as co-drivers. I have a lot of good memories, and my role has changed in recent years, but still our Corvette was always there, waiting to be driven at its best, and it has been very good to us.” 


WAYNE TAYLOR, owner, No. 10 Konica Minolta Corvette DP for Wayne Taylor Racing:

Your overall thoughts as we head to Road Atlanta to close out the 2016 season with the 19th annual Petit Le Mans?

“I can tell you, we’re not going there thinking about the championship at all. The one and only thing we’re thinking about is winning the race, just like we did at COTA. That’s the one and only thing we are in control of. Road Atlanta has been very good to us over the years. I won the inaugural Petit Le Mans back in ’98, and Max and Ricky and Jordan and the team executed a perfect race to win two years ago in the 100th race for our team. At the moment, we are the winningest team in the series this season, which says a lot about the quality of drivers and team and partners we have in our corner – Konica Minolta and Chevrolet leading the way. It’s the last race for the DP and everyone is getting all nostalgic. To be honest, it’s been a great run and I’ve enjoyed some of my best years in racing as a result of it, but I’m also excited about the new DPi formula next year and beyond, and another new chance to go out and win races and championships for our team and our sponsors.”