A “crazy race” for Albuquerque and WTRAndretti at Laguna Seca

The No. 06 Acura ARX-10 of Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport finished fourth in the fourth round of the seasonIMSA, contested on the Laguna Seca route in Monterey. In a race where strategy and tires played an important role, the American team had an up-and-down race, but still managed to score essential points for the championship. 

After qualifying in fifth position, Ricky Taylor completed the first stint of the two-hour, 40-minute sprint race before a series of cautions forced the blue and black Acura to return to the pits to change gears. tires, fuel and driver for Filipe Albuquerque. The Portuguese stayed behind the wheel of the prototype for the rest of the race. After falling to the back of the GTP peloton following the pit stops, the Lusitanian driver fought to climb into the top 5 and finally finished fourth.

« After two difficult races, it's good to come away with a result, Ricky Taylor said. Obviously we always want to fight for wins, but the competitors were strong this weekend. It's not the best performance we've had this year in terms of pace on the track, but we learned a lot. Next year we will come back to Laguna Seca and it will be a completely new circuit with the new surface. I am very proud of the WTRAndretti team. I think the strategy was really good. We need to watch the race again to learn some things, especially what the other teams did with the tires, but Filipe had a great race. We look forward to Watkins Glen. It has always been a good circuit for us. »

« What a crazy ride, with ups and downs, added Filipe Albuquerque. Quand je suis monté dans la voiture, nous étions P8, presque derniers. Nous avons bien récupéré et à un moment donné, nous étions P3. Nous étions vraiment confiants dans la voiture que nous avions, je rattrapais tout le monde, et je me suis dit ‘on y va’, alors la course était lancée. J’étais super motivé parce que quand vous avancez, c’est cool. Dans le dernier relais, derrière la Porsche et la BMW, la pression des pneus est montée en flèche et je n’étais qu’un passager, ce qui était un peu frustrant, et je ne pouvais rien y faire, glissant sur toute la surface et roulant lentement, donc nous devons mieux analyser. Nous avons beaucoup appris sur la voiture et les réglages. C’est quand même positif de finir P4. Ricky a pris un excellent départ et a fait du bon travail en qualifications. Nous allons continuer à aller de l’avant. »

WTRAndretti will now focus on the next round of the year, the 6 Hours of Glen, on June 25, 2023. Season starters Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque will be joined by Louis Deletraz as third man.

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