The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 team secured a podium-finish at the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Finishing in second place, Sunday’s result for Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport (WTRAndretti) marks the second podium of the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season in the new GTP era – the first since the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

After qualifying on the front row, Ricky Taylor had the sister Acura kept the sister Acura in his sights during his stint behind the wheel of the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06, even in the intense depth of on track traffic.  Just before the one hour down mark, Taylor brought the blue and black machine to pit lane for full service and a driver change to fellow co-driver Filipe Albuquerque. As Albuquerque handled the remainder of the race, a caution as the clock neared the halfway point saw the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 come in for a pit stop under the yellow where WTRAndretti crew had an impressive stop to send Albuquerque out into the lead of the GTP field. Holding control of the race lead, it appeared that luck may have been on the No. 10 team’s side as a key strategy call brought to come to pit road for final stop of the race occurred just before a full course caution on track. As the sister Acura elected not to take a final pit stop, Albuquerque cycled the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 into second ready to fight to the finish. In the closing minutes of the race, a fellow GTP competitor made contact on track that led the clock to finish under caution, earning the WTRAndretti team their spot on the podium.

“A really good day,” said Ricky Taylor. “Finishing second puts us right back in the championship hunt. We got a little lucky here and little unlucky there, but at the end of the day with the season we’ve had, I feel like we’re right back on track fighting for the championship. We can head into Road America in a few weeks with some momentum. We’ve got a really fast No. 10 Konica Minota Acura ARX-06. The WTRAndretti guys are firing on all cylinders now and I feel like we’re confident and back in our happy place now to go attack for the last half of the season.”

“A crazy race!” said Filipe Albuquerque. “We started really well with Ricky putting pressure and pulling a big gap on everybody. Then I got in the car and was actually feeling good, just saving the tires and controlling the position. At one point with the strategy, the safety car went on when we just pitted. So, it’s like ‘perfect’ and by then we thought it’s going to be an easy win. But then it was so chaotic with so many yellows. It turned out that the Meyer Shank car got to the end. It’s so hard to pass around here and whoever was in front were going to pull away. We’re happy with P2 today. It’s a start, we’ve been having a rough season with amazing pace. Congrats to HPD for the pace and the car we had today. So, let’s continue with this momentum.”

With Sunday’s podium at CTMP, the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 team now sit third in the championship, 29 points out of the leaders. Next on the schedule for WTRAndretti team is Road America on August 5th, where the team will look to defend their impressive win from 2022.

ABOUT KONICA MINOLTA

Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. is reshaping and revolutionizing the workplace to achieve true connectivity through the Intelligent Connected Workplace. The company guides and supports its clients’ digital transformation through its expansive office technology portfolio, including IT Services (All Covered), intelligent information management, managed print services and industrial and commercial print solutions. Konica Minolta has been included on CRN’s MSP 500 list nine times and The World Technology Awards named the company a finalist in the IT Software category. Konica Minolta has been recognized as the #1 Brand for Customer Loyalty in the MFP Office Copier Market by Brand Keys for fifteen consecutive years, and is proud to be ranked on the Forbes 2021 America's Best-in-State employers list. The company received Keypoint Intelligence’s BLI 2021 A3 Line of The Year Award and BLI 2021-2023 Most Color Consistent A3 Brand Award for its bizhub i-Series. Konica Minolta, Inc. has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for nine consecutive years and has spent four years on the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World list. The company recognizes 150 years in global business in 2023. Konica Minolta partners with its clients to give shape to ideas and works to bring value to our society. For more information, please visit us online and follow Konica Minolta on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter.

The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 effort and Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport (WTRAndretti) is supported by an outstanding lineup of partners including Harrison Contracting Company, Acura Motorsports, Honda Performance Developmentand Hammer Nutrition .