Jordan Taylor Says His Dad Has Remained Serene through Team’s Explosive Growth
By John Oreovicz and Mark Robinson
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – If you’ve ever watched team owner Wayne Taylor’s mannerisms on television near the end of an IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race with his team in contention, you might conclude he’s the nervous type.
But Taylor’s son Jordan, who returns to Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti in 2024 after a successful four-year stint with Corvette Racing, describes his father’s demeanor entering the new season as “surprisingly calm.” That’s despite the inevitable stress over the last year that came with WTR’s absorption into the Andretti Global empire and expansion from one to two cars as Acura’s sole factory team in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class.
“Going to two cars, I mean, it’s a massive operation now,” Jordan Taylor said as the team prepped for Friday’s opening day of the Roar Before the Rolex 24. “The level of personnel on the engineering side and crew side, management, logistics – it’s just out of control from where this team was when I left it in 2019. It’s a massive undertaking, and I think it’s something my dad should be super proud of. Every year, we’re attracting Formula 1 World Champions, Indy 500 winners; they all want to be part of this team. We’re all very excited to have two cars, two bullets in the gun.”
United Autosports Gearing Up for Full-Time IMSA Run in 2024
After racing sporadically in the WeatherTech Championship over the past five years, United Autosports is all in for 2024 with two Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) full-season entries. The U.K.-based team even opened a U.S. shop to propel the effort, with early results promising.
Paul di Resta set the best LMP2 lap in Friday’s opening test session in the team’s No. 22 ORECA LMP2 07 at 1 minute, 39.916 seconds (128.267 mph). The ex-Formula One driver is part of a stellar two-car driver lineup that also includes reigning LMP2 champion Ben Keating, Rolex 24 LMP2 winner Ben Hanley and IndyCar drivers Pato O’Ward (also a Rolex 24 LMP2 victor) and Felix Rosenqvist.
“This will be our third time racing in the Rolex 24 At Daytona,” said Richard Dean, team co-owner with Zak Brown. “We have some great memories here, but we are yet to stand on the top of the IMSA podium. The United Autosports team are working incredibly hard on both sides of the Atlantic in pursuit of that very goal, and we have two phenomenal driver lineups in the No. 2 and No. 22 ORECA 07s.”
Similar, But Different: Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Debuts
The Corvette program has evolved and expanded in 2024, with the factory-supported effort rebranded as Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports in the GT Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class and a two-car presence in GT Daytona (GTD) fielded by customer team AWA. The Pratt Miller entries carry over Corvette’s traditional yellow livery, car Nos. 3 and 4 and longtime Corvette drivers Antonio Garcia and Tommy Milner.
“The way you see everybody working and everything, it feels completely the same,” said Garcia, who has earned five IMSA championships and a pair of Rolex 24 class victories in Corvettes. “The good thing is we’re back to the original two-car team, which helps in terms of strategy. You can have a backup with the other car, which we haven’t had for the last two or three years. Now with the GTD customer teams, it’s cool to have four Corvettes on track, which is a first. Let’s hope we have a good result and also a good GTD result.”
Liefooghe’s Big Day at Daytona
Gregory Liefooghe had quite the day Friday at Daytona in the No. 43 Stephen Cameron Racing BMW M4 GT4 (G82), leading the Grand Sport (GS) class through two IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge test sessions and the GSX class of the VP SportsCar Challenge through a pair of practices.
Liefooghe paced GS with a lap of 1:53.932 (112.488 mph) and GSX at 1:54.850 (111.589 mph). Julian Montero topped the Michelin Pilot Challenge’s Touring Car (TCR) class with a lap of 1:57.943 (108.662 mph) in the No. 80 Victor Gonzalez Racing Team Hyundai Elantra N TCR. Steven Aghakhani led the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge Le Mans Prototype 3 (P3) class with a best lap of 1:44.825 (122.261 mph) in the No. 6 MLT Motorsports Ligier JS P320. VP Racing Challenge qualifying and the first of two 45-minute weekend sprint races take place Saturday.