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Le Mans / ALMS
LE MANS: Ricky Taylor Targeting LM24 Debut
GRAND-AM rising star aiming to be on grid for this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans...
GRAND-AM standout Ricky Taylor is aiming to be om the grid at the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year. (Photo: LAT)
After watching his father and brother race in the famed French endurance classic, Ricky Taylor is hoping to follow in his family’s footsteps and compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, as early as this year.
The 23-year-old second-generation driver, considered to be one of the rising stars in GRAND-AM, is looking to branch out in his career and has targeted a debut in the twice-around-the-clock enduro as his first major objective.
“It's always been that mindset but I think last year, seeing my brother race, put it into perspective,” Taylor told SPEED.com. “You kind of just want to put it in gear and make it happen. It all looks real and you can see it right in front of your eyes. It was a little too much of a tease. It's always been my No. 1 goal and I definitely now want it more than ever.”
Taylor has made quite a name for himself in the Rolex Sports Car Series, having earned seven victories, a string of pole positions and two runner-up finishes in the DP championship, all driving for his father’s Wayne Taylor Racing operation since 2010.
This year, Ricky became an official GM driver and moved to Spirit of Daytona Racing where he has teamed with Richard Westbrook for a championship-seeking campaign in the Florida-based squad’s Corvette DP.
While Taylor remains 100 percent committed to his Rolex Series campaign, he, with the help of his father, a former class winner at Le Mans and three-time sports car champion, have been exploring additional opportunities in Europe. According to Ricky, landing any kind of seat for Le Mans this year would be important in order to come come back even stronger in 2014.
“Everyone we've talked to, their first question is if I've been to Le Mans before,” Ricky said. “I know it's definitely a pretty daunting place from what Jordan and my dad say. Jordan was there for his first time last year. So I think it would be a big thing to get some experience there and some laps, if anything.”
With younger brother Jordan set to return with Corvette Racing’s factory GTE-Pro effort, Ricky says he’s been exploring options in the GT ranks as well as LMP2, which sees an impressive 22-car entry for this year’s race, and still a number of them with empty seats.
However, having been recently classified as a Gold-rated driver by the FIA/ACO, it limits Ricky’s chances of landing a seat in GTE-Am, which enforces only one professional driver (Platinum or Gold) per car.
“LMP2 is a good possibility because there can be two Golds or Platinums,” he said. “We've been talking to quite a few people. Just to get over to Le Mans, no matter who it's with, would be good moving forward for next year. Everybody wants someone that has Le Mans experience, so just getting over there this year will be important.”
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
The 23-year-old second-generation driver, considered to be one of the rising stars in GRAND-AM, is looking to branch out in his career and has targeted a debut in the twice-around-the-clock enduro as his first major objective.
“It's always been that mindset but I think last year, seeing my brother race, put it into perspective,” Taylor told SPEED.com. “You kind of just want to put it in gear and make it happen. It all looks real and you can see it right in front of your eyes. It was a little too much of a tease. It's always been my No. 1 goal and I definitely now want it more than ever.”
Taylor has made quite a name for himself in the Rolex Sports Car Series, having earned seven victories, a string of pole positions and two runner-up finishes in the DP championship, all driving for his father’s Wayne Taylor Racing operation since 2010.
This year, Ricky became an official GM driver and moved to Spirit of Daytona Racing where he has teamed with Richard Westbrook for a championship-seeking campaign in the Florida-based squad’s Corvette DP.
While Taylor remains 100 percent committed to his Rolex Series campaign, he, with the help of his father, a former class winner at Le Mans and three-time sports car champion, have been exploring additional opportunities in Europe. According to Ricky, landing any kind of seat for Le Mans this year would be important in order to come come back even stronger in 2014.
“Everyone we've talked to, their first question is if I've been to Le Mans before,” Ricky said. “I know it's definitely a pretty daunting place from what Jordan and my dad say. Jordan was there for his first time last year. So I think it would be a big thing to get some experience there and some laps, if anything.”
With younger brother Jordan set to return with Corvette Racing’s factory GTE-Pro effort, Ricky says he’s been exploring options in the GT ranks as well as LMP2, which sees an impressive 22-car entry for this year’s race, and still a number of them with empty seats.
However, having been recently classified as a Gold-rated driver by the FIA/ACO, it limits Ricky’s chances of landing a seat in GTE-Am, which enforces only one professional driver (Platinum or Gold) per car.
“LMP2 is a good possibility because there can be two Golds or Platinums,” he said. “We've been talking to quite a few people. Just to get over to Le Mans, no matter who it's with, would be good moving forward for next year. Everybody wants someone that has Le Mans experience, so just getting over there this year will be important.”
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
FIA WEC Six Hours of Spa
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