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Ricky Taylor, left, talks to his father Wayne Taylor after practice. (LAT photo) » More Photos
It was pouring rain in the early stages of the June 21 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series EMCO Gears Classic at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Strapped into the No. 47 Doran Racing Ford Dallara was 18-year-old Ricky Taylor, who was making only his third career start in America’s most competitive road racing series.
Never having driven a Daytona Prototype in such treacherous conditions, young Taylor tapped into his experience from years ago in the Snap-On Stars of Karting to help get him through his driving stint surrounded by 40 other fierce competitors on the 2.258-mile, 13-turn road circuit.
“My Stars of Karting experience taught me how to race in the rain,” said Taylor, who co-drove the No. 47 prototype with Burt Frisselle at Mid-Ohio and the duo combined for a seventh-place finish in the 2-hour, 45-minute race. “The only other times I ever raced in the rain before Mid-Ohio was in my karting and Skip Barber days, so that was the only thing I had to refer back to as to what I needed to do, where I needed to be on the track, and what lines I needed to take. It really got me through my stint without any problems.”
Stars of Karting » More Photos
Taylor just last January made his first career Rolex Series start co-driving the No. 10 SunTrust Pontiac Riley of Wayne Taylor Racing team alongside his three-time sports car championship-winning father, Wayne Taylor, as well as full-time team co-drivers Max Angelelli and Michael Valiante at the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona.
The younger Taylor is one of the most recent Stars of Karting alumni to rise into the major auto racing ranks. His head-turning performance at Daytona, during
Taylor is slated to get behind the wheel of the No. 47 Doran Racing Ford Dallara at the next two Rolex Series events at Daytona (July 3) and Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala. (July 20). In addition, he’s driving full-time in the 12-race IMSA Lights Prototype class of the American Le Mans Series, where he drove the No. 11 Brach’s Racing Team Elan DP02 to his first series victory in only his fourth series start May 17 at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah.
Younger brother Jordan Taylor, who turned 17 in May and, like Ricky, was a Stars of Karting regular in 2005 and 2006, has also been making noise in the Rolex Series, American Le Mans Series, and the F2000 Championship Series this year. Jordan also made his Rolex Series debut at this year’s Rolex 24 At Daytona, becoming one of the youngest in history to pilot a racing machine in America’s most prestigious endurance race when he strapped himself into the No. 17 Terra Firma Motorsports Porsche GT-class entry that scored a top-15 finish.
As they make their steady rise through the racing ranks, both Taylor brothers remain strong advocates for the racing education they received in the Stars of Karting series.
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