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GRAND-AM
IN THE COCKPIT: Ricky Taylor, Watkins Glen 6H & Indy Test
If there was ever a place to get over a slump, Watkins Glen was definitely the place to do it...
Ricky Taylor and SunTrust Racing faced misfortune yet again, this time at Watkins Glen. (Photo: John Dagys)
After a tough week following Road America, it was time to go back to my favorite track on the schedule. If there was ever a place to get over a slump, Watkins Glen was definitely the place to do it.
We had a perfect record there last year with two wins in two races and we were looking to carry our momentum and knowledge of the high-speed track over to this year. Also in this latest blog, I will talk about our test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this past weekend.
We got on track at Watkins Glen and were instantly within our normal setup window, which was promising. The car just needed some fine-tuning for race pace and we would be in good shape. Qualifying came around and we were looking forward to a solid effort from Max.
But after qualifying started, it became apparent that the new tires had drastically changed the car balance and the car was only capable of the fourth position on the grid.
The race got underway and Max got shuffled back to sixth after getting stuck behind the 9 of Barbosa. He managed to make his way back up to the lead pack although with a little “argy bargy” along the way but, with how difficult it is to overtake, it was what needed to be done.
Although it is a six-hour race, we treat it as a sprint race and really look after track position because we never know how long it will take to get positions back. During the second stint, contact with the 5 of Donohue dislodged the rear valance, which needed to be repaired. The team did a fantastic job of repairing the damage and getting us out on track on the lead lap.
Now the leaders were only seconds behind Max and he needed to push his hardest to pull out a gap and not go a lap down. He did a great job and made it look easy, actually pulling a gap to the leaders.
After another yellow and a full green stint, it was time for me to get in the car in the sixth position. Max had made up the ground from the back as a result of the valance change and worked his way up to sixth and only 20 seconds behind the leaders.
My first impression was that we had a fantastic racecar and a potential race-winning car if we could gain some track position. We instantly caught the 5 car but got held behind for a number of laps until a mistake in the final corner gave us an opening to slip by. A few laps later, we were able to get by the 9 car in traffic, putting us up to fourth.
The race was going great and we were reeling in the leaders until we had a rear wishbone failure in the fastest corner on the track. Going through the uphill esses, the right-rear lower wishbone broke, putting the car into a big slide at high speed. Definitely one of the scarier moments I have ever had in a racecar.
I limped the car into the pits and the team went back to work on the rear of the car. Unfortunately, we lost too much time in the pits and the risk of another failure outweighed the benefits of the points we would gain if others were to drop out.
After the disappointing result at Watkins Glen, it was time to get back to work. This time, it was the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway for an official series test on the tire designated for the Brickyard Grand Prix.
We had done tire tests at the speedway before, but it would be very special to go there with the entire Rolex Series field with a true performance-driven purpose with which to attack the Speedway’s Formula 1 road circuit.
The test started out and we were far away from our optimal car but, throughout the two-day test, we worked hard and all of the guys made a lot of changes to our car and, by the end of the test, in the final session, we finished quickest overall for the two days. Although testing does not normally mean a lot, this meant a lot after our tough races in recent weeks and the fact that, the next time we go to Indy, it will be for race day and the practice time will be extremely limited.
Therefore, if we can unload like we ended at the test, we should be in good shape. I think the race should be one of the best of the season. Everyone is extremely close. GT traffic plays a big role on the infield. It is very easy to make mistakes on the extremely slippery infield surface.
And, most of all, I feel that everyone wants to win the inaugural race at Indy and people will be taking more risk to put themselves in victory lane.
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
We had a perfect record there last year with two wins in two races and we were looking to carry our momentum and knowledge of the high-speed track over to this year. Also in this latest blog, I will talk about our test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this past weekend.
We got on track at Watkins Glen and were instantly within our normal setup window, which was promising. The car just needed some fine-tuning for race pace and we would be in good shape. Qualifying came around and we were looking forward to a solid effort from Max.
But after qualifying started, it became apparent that the new tires had drastically changed the car balance and the car was only capable of the fourth position on the grid.
The race got underway and Max got shuffled back to sixth after getting stuck behind the 9 of Barbosa. He managed to make his way back up to the lead pack although with a little “argy bargy” along the way but, with how difficult it is to overtake, it was what needed to be done.
Although it is a six-hour race, we treat it as a sprint race and really look after track position because we never know how long it will take to get positions back. During the second stint, contact with the 5 of Donohue dislodged the rear valance, which needed to be repaired. The team did a fantastic job of repairing the damage and getting us out on track on the lead lap.
Now the leaders were only seconds behind Max and he needed to push his hardest to pull out a gap and not go a lap down. He did a great job and made it look easy, actually pulling a gap to the leaders.
After another yellow and a full green stint, it was time for me to get in the car in the sixth position. Max had made up the ground from the back as a result of the valance change and worked his way up to sixth and only 20 seconds behind the leaders.
My first impression was that we had a fantastic racecar and a potential race-winning car if we could gain some track position. We instantly caught the 5 car but got held behind for a number of laps until a mistake in the final corner gave us an opening to slip by. A few laps later, we were able to get by the 9 car in traffic, putting us up to fourth.
The race was going great and we were reeling in the leaders until we had a rear wishbone failure in the fastest corner on the track. Going through the uphill esses, the right-rear lower wishbone broke, putting the car into a big slide at high speed. Definitely one of the scarier moments I have ever had in a racecar.
I limped the car into the pits and the team went back to work on the rear of the car. Unfortunately, we lost too much time in the pits and the risk of another failure outweighed the benefits of the points we would gain if others were to drop out.
After the disappointing result at Watkins Glen, it was time to get back to work. This time, it was the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway for an official series test on the tire designated for the Brickyard Grand Prix.
We had done tire tests at the speedway before, but it would be very special to go there with the entire Rolex Series field with a true performance-driven purpose with which to attack the Speedway’s Formula 1 road circuit.
The test started out and we were far away from our optimal car but, throughout the two-day test, we worked hard and all of the guys made a lot of changes to our car and, by the end of the test, in the final session, we finished quickest overall for the two days. Although testing does not normally mean a lot, this meant a lot after our tough races in recent weeks and the fact that, the next time we go to Indy, it will be for race day and the practice time will be extremely limited.
Therefore, if we can unload like we ended at the test, we should be in good shape. I think the race should be one of the best of the season. Everyone is extremely close. GT traffic plays a big role on the infield. It is very easy to make mistakes on the extremely slippery infield surface.
And, most of all, I feel that everyone wants to win the inaugural race at Indy and people will be taking more risk to put themselves in victory lane.
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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