Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor Will Drive the No. 10 Acura ARX-06 for the Full Season, with Louis Deletraz Added for the Endurance Races and Brendon Hartley for the Rolex 24
BRASELTON, Ga. – Wayne Taylor Racing announced the drivers that will race the team’s 2023 entry in the new Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on Monday during GTP testing at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor, fresh off finishing second for the team in this season’s Daytona Prototype international (DPi) class championship, will return as the full-season drivers of the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 – the LMDh platform car for the GTP class – in 2023.
Brendon Hartley, who joined Albuquerque and Taylor behind the wheel of the No. 10 Acura ARX-05 DPi for Saturday’s Motul Petit Le Mans, will return to the team for the Rolex 24 At Daytona in January that kicks off the GTP era in the WeatherTech Championship. Louis Deletraz, part of the Tower Motorsport team that won the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) portion of the Motul Petit Le Mans, has been named the team’s driver for all four IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup races.
Taylor, a two-time champion in the WeatherTech Championship’s top-level prototype class, likes the makeup of the team’s lineup.
“At this level of motorsport, there are more than a handful of drivers who can perform at the highest level,” he said, “but it seems that meshing compatible drivers together to extract the most out of the entire group seems to be the most important element in endurance racing.
“We were lucky to find Filipe, as he is an incredible teammate. Brendon is coming off a pole and win at Le Mans, and a stellar performance in our team at Petit Le Mans. As a driver and team member, he’s world class. The same can be said for Louis, who has already gelled with the team amazingly well. Aside from his obvious results and speed, he will be a valuable addition to the crew.”
Deletraz, the 25-year-old Swiss driver, also won in the Tower Motorsport LMP2 this year at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. He is the 2021 European Le Mans Series LMP2 champion and leads the class again this year.
“I’m really excited to share the car with such talented drivers,” Deletraz said. “Filipe and Ricky welcomed me to the WTR family straight away and already got me up to speed with everything that’s new ahead of 2023. We get along really well, and they want to win as much as I do.
“After successful years in LMP2 in IMSA and Europe, it was my target to be here and I’m very thankful for the opportunity. Joining a team with so much history and success makes the expectations high. I can’t wait to get started.”
Hartley brings a wealth of experience to the Rolex 24 effort. A former Formula 1 and Formula E driver, he is a three-time overall 24 Hours of Le Mans winner and has made 22 career IMSA starts with two prototype class wins.
“I think we have a strong lineup and a team that knows how to win Daytona,” the 32-year-old New Zealander said. “The Rolex is always competitive and it’s a race that I respect a lot. It’s not a race that has been kind to me over the years. It’s going to see all the GTP machinery line up on the grid for the first time and I fully expect that we will be fighting for a good result.”
Albuquerque is returning to WTR for his third season in 2023. He and Taylor finished second in the DPi championship each of the past two seasons,
“We’ve been fighting closely for the championship each year, and the partnership is working,” Albuquerque said. “It is good to have Brendon as my teammate (for the Rolex 24), and with Louis on board for the endurance races, we couldn’t be stronger.”