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GRAND-AM
IN THE COCKPIT: Ricky Taylor, Offseason No. 2
After an especially short Rolex 24 at Daytona has come our second offseason, almost a complete two-month break between our races...
Ricky Taylor and father Wayne. (Photo: LAT)
After an especially short Rolex 24 at Daytona has come our second offseason, almost a complete two-month break between our races. But a break it is not. This is the time of the year when you build a solid foundation from which to work on for the final 12 races of the season.
For the SunTrust team, building that solid foundation means: building up spares, rebuilding the car after the 24-hour, pit stop practice, gym days, engineering development, and much more. For me, that means mental and physical training, many laps on the upcoming tracks on iRacing.com and, unfortunately, attending school.
When the season picks up, we get very caught up in all of the engineering projects, races, testing, reports, travel, etc., which does not leave time for practicing and improving the previously mentioned topics. In this blog I’ll try tell you a little about what goes on during this tortuously long break.
In recent years in GRAND-AM, our pit stops have become incredibly competitive. We are going up against some of the best teams in motorsports and I am proud to say that our pit stops have consistently been some of the fastest out there. During the season, the team doesn’t have much time to practice pit stops but, during the breaks, they work very hard trying to shave tenths and hundredths of a second off of their times just as engineers and drivers work to shave tenths and hundredths off of lap times.
A great addition to this year’s SunTrust program is a team gym membership. All of the guys on the team have been going to the gym almost every day. As a team, they make one trip per week to participate in a “team day,” where everyone will go to the gym together and participate in a certain activity, whether it is basketball or boxing or whatever gets the competitive juices flowing.
Because the team is working so hard each and every day, I am under pressure to keep up my end of the bargain and work just as hard as they are. As I’ve talked about in other blogs, I really enjoy competing in the sport of triathlon. Triathlon is all about strategy, self-improvement, competition and, most importantly, speed. Speaking of speed, a fantastic bike shop in Lake Mary, Fla., called OutSpoken Bike Shop (www.outspokenbikes.com) has really been helping me out this year and they recently set me up on a beautiful Cannondale Slice triathlon bike built 100-percent for speed with a different geometry, carbon fiber aero-shaped tubes, and a riding position specifically for going very fast for very long periods of time. I have been able to do a few rides and absolutely love it.
Be sure to follow me on Twitter and Facebook as we plan to do some promotions with them for some possible prizes.
Other than the biking, I have also been doing the other two sports in triathlon, which are swimming and running. Like last year, I plan to do a few races throughout the year and we will be raising money for Camp Boggy Creek, so I will do my best to keep you posted.
Other than the triathlon and regular training, I took part in a very new and different experience for me -- hot yoga. Many other drivers have recommended it and, finally, a cycling buddy talked me into doing it. I had no idea what to expect, but wow, what a great workout. The heat was very similar to being in the racecar, which I have not been able to simulate in any other form of training. Another great thing about it is that you must be mentally engaged the entire time, which hopefully will improve mental stamina.
It has been a very long second off season, but we are getting close to our second round at Barber Motorsports Park, which will definitely be one of the toughest races of the year. Everyone always says it is a tough track for passing, but each and every year we are surprised by the number of passes and opportunities. With the combination between the aggressive tire wear, difficult GT traffic, and the new bodywork, it is going to be a very interesting race.
~Ricky
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
For the SunTrust team, building that solid foundation means: building up spares, rebuilding the car after the 24-hour, pit stop practice, gym days, engineering development, and much more. For me, that means mental and physical training, many laps on the upcoming tracks on iRacing.com and, unfortunately, attending school.
When the season picks up, we get very caught up in all of the engineering projects, races, testing, reports, travel, etc., which does not leave time for practicing and improving the previously mentioned topics. In this blog I’ll try tell you a little about what goes on during this tortuously long break.
In recent years in GRAND-AM, our pit stops have become incredibly competitive. We are going up against some of the best teams in motorsports and I am proud to say that our pit stops have consistently been some of the fastest out there. During the season, the team doesn’t have much time to practice pit stops but, during the breaks, they work very hard trying to shave tenths and hundredths of a second off of their times just as engineers and drivers work to shave tenths and hundredths off of lap times.
A great addition to this year’s SunTrust program is a team gym membership. All of the guys on the team have been going to the gym almost every day. As a team, they make one trip per week to participate in a “team day,” where everyone will go to the gym together and participate in a certain activity, whether it is basketball or boxing or whatever gets the competitive juices flowing.
Because the team is working so hard each and every day, I am under pressure to keep up my end of the bargain and work just as hard as they are. As I’ve talked about in other blogs, I really enjoy competing in the sport of triathlon. Triathlon is all about strategy, self-improvement, competition and, most importantly, speed. Speaking of speed, a fantastic bike shop in Lake Mary, Fla., called OutSpoken Bike Shop (www.outspokenbikes.com) has really been helping me out this year and they recently set me up on a beautiful Cannondale Slice triathlon bike built 100-percent for speed with a different geometry, carbon fiber aero-shaped tubes, and a riding position specifically for going very fast for very long periods of time. I have been able to do a few rides and absolutely love it.
Be sure to follow me on Twitter and Facebook as we plan to do some promotions with them for some possible prizes.
Other than the biking, I have also been doing the other two sports in triathlon, which are swimming and running. Like last year, I plan to do a few races throughout the year and we will be raising money for Camp Boggy Creek, so I will do my best to keep you posted.
Other than the triathlon and regular training, I took part in a very new and different experience for me -- hot yoga. Many other drivers have recommended it and, finally, a cycling buddy talked me into doing it. I had no idea what to expect, but wow, what a great workout. The heat was very similar to being in the racecar, which I have not been able to simulate in any other form of training. Another great thing about it is that you must be mentally engaged the entire time, which hopefully will improve mental stamina.
It has been a very long second off season, but we are getting close to our second round at Barber Motorsports Park, which will definitely be one of the toughest races of the year. Everyone always says it is a tough track for passing, but each and every year we are surprised by the number of passes and opportunities. With the combination between the aggressive tire wear, difficult GT traffic, and the new bodywork, it is going to be a very interesting race.
~Ricky
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
Road Atlanta
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