Taylor brothers tame COTA
Taylor brothers tame COTA
Jordan and Ricky Taylor took their third victory of 2016, pushing the championship leading pair of Action Express Racing cars to the minor steps of the podium today here at Circuit of The Americas.
After starting from pole Ricky Taylor started the race and held off an early challenge from Mazda. The brothers eventually failed to lead only five of the 75 laps run during the two hour, 40 minute journey.
Dane Cameron and Eric Curran took second to steal the championship lead with one race to go over teammates Christian Fittipaldi and Joao Barbosa who finished third today.
The battle between the teammates “go ugly” with the No.5 spinning after contact with the No.31 – this earned Curran a drive-through penalty but they were able to fight back to push the Taylor brothers at the race end.
Dane Cameron got right on the tail of Jordan Taylor who himself was recovering from a spin. Taylor was able to open up a gap in the last couple of laps with the help of traffic.
“It was obviously a good day, our third win of the year,” Jordan Taylor said.
“We had a strong car so I knew we had a shot at it when Ricky won the pole. Then Ricky had a flawless run, pulled out a 10-second lead and I knew, basically with me finishing it, it was up to me to lose it.
“I think we pulled it out to 15 seconds and then something happened – either I made a mistake by spinning or we had a traction-control problem. I spun, and the next five laps we were fighting what turned out to be traction-control problems and I was probably freaking out on the radio a little bit.
“Thankfully, the guys got it sorted, we fixed it. By that time, we only had a two-second lead so the race was back on. It got a little close, but the only thing that made it close was traffic coming and going.
The victory today was the penultimate win by the Daytona Prototype cars which will be phased out of IMSA competition after Petit Le Mans.
“The Corvette DP has been great for years,” Jordan Taylor said.
“This was the third race in a row we finished 1-2-3 just shows the dominance of the car. The car’s been developed a lot and we’ve learned a lot. It’s been good to me, it’s been a fun car to drive.”
Cameron and Curran now hold a one point lead after previously trailing their teammates by the same margin entering this weekend.
The PC class victory went to Renger Van der Zande and former series class champion Alex Popow who extended their points lead with only Petit Le Mans to go.
Victory for @jordan10taylor and @RickyTaylor_10 from @danecameron19 and @ericcurran31 who take over the points lead. pic.twitter.com/2darMaeWfw
— Michelin Alley (@MichelinAlley) September 17, 2016
#WINNING pic.twitter.com/Uct027aZYM
— Wayne Taylor Racing (@WayneTaylorRcng) September 17, 2016
One very happy @jordan10taylor after fending off @danecameron19 for the win! #LoneStarLeMans pic.twitter.com/xaNO62PsuG
— IMSA (@IMSA) September 17, 2016
//results.imsa.com/Results/16_2016/19_Circuit%20of%20the%20Americas/01_IMSA%20WeatherTech%20SportsCar%20Championship/201609171135_Race/05_Results%20by%20Class.PDF
Michelin wraps up IMSA west coast swing with excitement
Volt Racing makes step up to WeatherTech Championship
BMW M Hybrid V8 GTP car through the eyes of the designer
Porsche 963 wins Long Beach on just one set of MICHELIN® tires
AGPLB showcase innovations from IMSA and Michelin with track to street connections
Michelin wraps up IMSA west coast swing with excitement
BMW M Hybrid V8 GTP car through the eyes of the designer
Porsche 963 wins Long Beach on just one set of MICHELIN® tires
AGPLB showcase innovations from IMSA and Michelin with track to street connections
Acura’s brand personality on full display in GTP class
