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GRAND-AM
IN THE COCKPIT: Ricky Taylor, Indianapolis
We have had a very difficult season this year and have been struggling to find a result...
Ricky Taylor and Max Angelelli turned their bad luck string around with a podium finish at Indy. (Photo: John Dagys)
We were all racing with heavy hearts this weekend in Indianapolis. We have had a very difficult season this year and have been struggling to find a result. Over the break between Watkins Glen and Indianapolis, we lost a very good friend and teammate, Mark Menego, who passed away suddenly while we were gearing up for our inaugural race at the Brickyard.
Mark, along with his brother Jim and his son Ian, have kindly volunteered for the team for many years now and have become part of the SunTrust Racing family. They are such a great family and are extremely positive each weekend and are a constant reminder of the passion and love we have for racing and how lucky we are to be in an environment where we get to do what we love most and have fun while doing it.
This year, it has been difficult to think about the fun side of racing for me as I have not had my ideal season, but Mark was always there to support me and always knew what to say to cheer me up and get me back on the horse, ready for the next event. We will miss you Mark!
After our successful test at Indy a few weeks ago, we came in with high hopes of success because the race weekend was compressed down to one day with only one hour of practice time. We took a completely different direction on race day that would give us a better chance at a race win instead of a car that was only fast on a single lap.
We definitely had some work to do during practice and made some good progress but simply ran out of time. It was a big risk to make changes before qualifying and the race without testing them, so we left the car as it was. This weekend it was Max’s turn to qualify and it would be a tough one as nobody really knew what everyone’s cars were like. Max did a great job as usual and ended up a very exciting qualifying session P2, only 0.015 of a second behind P1 Fogarty.
Originally, the forecast was for a dry race but, little did we know, this would be one of the most bizarre races we have had in a long time. The race started in wet conditions and it appeared that the rain would only last for a short time, and then we would have a dry race. Max had a conservative start but gradually worked his way back to the front, getting into the lead after Memo Rojas spun trying to get around the 60 car.
Under the next caution, we all pitted for dry tires but, under that same caution, the rain came again. The tricky part about the situation was that we would have to pit for rain tires only on the caution lap where the track was going green, so it would be critical to get the most out of the extremely difficult track conditions on slicks. Max made it cleanly onto pit road and we were set for our next green-flag run in the wet.
After another solid stint with Max on rains, it was time for our driver change and the change to slicks. I was very nervous getting in the car as it was a big weekend for us and I was not exactly sure what to expect in the way of track conditions. The guys had a great pit stop and I went through turn one and was surprised by the amount of grip on the damp track, But, immediately, I was caught out in turn two as the car refused to turn in and finally gripped up just before the grass. It took a very long time for the tires to get temperature in them, but luckily the race went under caution once again, which would give me a chance to put some heat in the tires.
The guys made a major strategy call at the end of that caution, pitting on the third lap for fuel only so we could make it to the end. Great call. We were in clean air and could try to make some time on the leaders. The ideal scenario was that the race would go green for the remainder of the race. Unfortunately, only two laps later, the track went yellow once again.
The next green-flag run was action-packed with a lot of beating and banging, but we managed to get through cleanly until the next caution where we would restart in the fourth spot behind Bourdais, Dalziel, and Montoya. I had followed the three of them through the previous run and knew the three of them were very strong in the straights, so it would be key to make an attempt on the restart.
Our car was strong under braking, which allowed us to make a move on Montoya to put us into P3 and, two laps later, I got by Dalziel for P2. Just one more car left to pass, but Bourdais was very quick and I did not feel that we could get by under green-flag conditions.
On the final restart with about 10 laps to go, we had nothing to lose. This was Indy! This race meant a lot to me and the team and we were not in the championship, so it was time for us to take a little bit of risk and go for a win. On the restart, Bourdais defended the inside, so I went to the outside to try and set up for the turn-one/turn-two combination. I braked late, but so did Bourdais and I made a slight miscalculation, hit a damp spot on the outside and went straight off into the grass, which allowed Pruett to go by.
I could see Pruett’s car was very damaged and did not turn well on the left-hand corners. I was setting up for a pass and was certain that we could end up with a second-place finish, but the yellow came out and the race finished under yellow.
After the stretch of races we have had, a podium was nice, but being so close to a win at the inaugural Rolex race and Indianapolis was a bit frustrating. Once again, we had a very quick Corvette and we will look to defend our win with another one this coming race at Watkins Glen.
Ricky Taylor, 22-year-old son of three-time sports car champion and team owner Wayne Taylor, embarks on his third full season co-driving with veteran Max Angelelli in the No. 10 SunTrust Corvette Dallara of Wayne Taylor Racing. Follow him on Twitter: @RickyTaylor10 or at http://www.suntrustracing.com
Mark, along with his brother Jim and his son Ian, have kindly volunteered for the team for many years now and have become part of the SunTrust Racing family. They are such a great family and are extremely positive each weekend and are a constant reminder of the passion and love we have for racing and how lucky we are to be in an environment where we get to do what we love most and have fun while doing it.
This year, it has been difficult to think about the fun side of racing for me as I have not had my ideal season, but Mark was always there to support me and always knew what to say to cheer me up and get me back on the horse, ready for the next event. We will miss you Mark!
After our successful test at Indy a few weeks ago, we came in with high hopes of success because the race weekend was compressed down to one day with only one hour of practice time. We took a completely different direction on race day that would give us a better chance at a race win instead of a car that was only fast on a single lap.
We definitely had some work to do during practice and made some good progress but simply ran out of time. It was a big risk to make changes before qualifying and the race without testing them, so we left the car as it was. This weekend it was Max’s turn to qualify and it would be a tough one as nobody really knew what everyone’s cars were like. Max did a great job as usual and ended up a very exciting qualifying session P2, only 0.015 of a second behind P1 Fogarty.
Originally, the forecast was for a dry race but, little did we know, this would be one of the most bizarre races we have had in a long time. The race started in wet conditions and it appeared that the rain would only last for a short time, and then we would have a dry race. Max had a conservative start but gradually worked his way back to the front, getting into the lead after Memo Rojas spun trying to get around the 60 car.
Under the next caution, we all pitted for dry tires but, under that same caution, the rain came again. The tricky part about the situation was that we would have to pit for rain tires only on the caution lap where the track was going green, so it would be critical to get the most out of the extremely difficult track conditions on slicks. Max made it cleanly onto pit road and we were set for our next green-flag run in the wet.
After another solid stint with Max on rains, it was time for our driver change and the change to slicks. I was very nervous getting in the car as it was a big weekend for us and I was not exactly sure what to expect in the way of track conditions. The guys had a great pit stop and I went through turn one and was surprised by the amount of grip on the damp track, But, immediately, I was caught out in turn two as the car refused to turn in and finally gripped up just before the grass. It took a very long time for the tires to get temperature in them, but luckily the race went under caution once again, which would give me a chance to put some heat in the tires.
The guys made a major strategy call at the end of that caution, pitting on the third lap for fuel only so we could make it to the end. Great call. We were in clean air and could try to make some time on the leaders. The ideal scenario was that the race would go green for the remainder of the race. Unfortunately, only two laps later, the track went yellow once again.
The next green-flag run was action-packed with a lot of beating and banging, but we managed to get through cleanly until the next caution where we would restart in the fourth spot behind Bourdais, Dalziel, and Montoya. I had followed the three of them through the previous run and knew the three of them were very strong in the straights, so it would be key to make an attempt on the restart.
Our car was strong under braking, which allowed us to make a move on Montoya to put us into P3 and, two laps later, I got by Dalziel for P2. Just one more car left to pass, but Bourdais was very quick and I did not feel that we could get by under green-flag conditions.
On the final restart with about 10 laps to go, we had nothing to lose. This was Indy! This race meant a lot to me and the team and we were not in the championship, so it was time for us to take a little bit of risk and go for a win. On the restart, Bourdais defended the inside, so I went to the outside to try and set up for the turn-one/turn-two combination. I braked late, but so did Bourdais and I made a slight miscalculation, hit a damp spot on the outside and went straight off into the grass, which allowed Pruett to go by.
I could see Pruett’s car was very damaged and did not turn well on the left-hand corners. I was setting up for a pass and was certain that we could end up with a second-place finish, but the yellow came out and the race finished under yellow.
After the stretch of races we have had, a podium was nice, but being so close to a win at the inaugural Rolex race and Indianapolis was a bit frustrating. Once again, we had a very quick Corvette and we will look to defend our win with another one this coming race at Watkins Glen.
Ricky Taylor, 22-year-old son of three-time sports car champion and team owner Wayne Taylor, embarks on his third full season co-driving with veteran Max Angelelli in the No. 10 SunTrust Corvette Dallara of Wayne Taylor Racing. Follow him on Twitter: @RickyTaylor10 or at http://www.suntrustracing.com
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