Wayne Taylor Racing drivers Jordan and Ricky Taylor have been “dying” to return to the tight and twisty 2.36-mile circuit at Belle Isle ever since they narrowly pulled out a victory in last year’s race on the island park. The team has won at Belle Isle the past two years in a row, and with at Long Beach already under their belt, they stand a good shot at standing atop the podium in Detroit.
The Taylor family’s first win at Detroit came in 2012 when Jordan, then driving for Autohaus Racing, drove a Chevrolet Camaro GT.R to an overall victory with co-driver Paul Edwards. A year later, Jordan switched over to his dad’s team, Wayne Taylor Racing, and drove to a dominant victory at Belle Isle alongside Max Angelelli. The pair would go on to win the 2013 GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car driver championship later that year.
Last year, Jordan’s older brother Ricky took over co-driver responsibilities from Angelelli. Jordan drove a strong race at Belle Isle before handing driving duties over to Ricky. The pair led a combined 41 of 57 laps, but a late-race brush with the wall nearly cost them the victory. Racing alongside Joao Barbosa, Ricky was forced into the wall and forfeited first to Barbosa’s Action Express Corvette DP. However the shunt punctured Barbosa’s tire, causing him to spin out at the following corner and hand the lead back to Ricky, who just barely took the overall win.
The Wayne Taylor Racing camp says the Taylor brothers and the No. 10 Konica Minolta Corvette team are riding a “huge” wave of momentum going to Detroit. The team is fresh off of three consecutive top-two finishes and already has one win under their belt, giving them a strong chance of winning at Detroit.
Practice for Saturday’s Chevrolet Sports Car Classic will begin Friday morning, with qualifying scheduled for later that day at 5:55 p.m. Fans may view qualifying live through IMSA TV‘s stream beginning at 5:10 p.m., and can catch Saturday’s race on FOX Sports 2 at 12:05 p.m. Live timing and scoring will also be available at IMSA.com and through IMSA’s smartphone app.
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