Filipe Albuquerque ended Wayne Taylor Racing’s two-year victory drought in a chaotic Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix at Street America.
Albuquerque, who shares the #10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Sequence.R with co-driver Ricky Taylor, held off a livid closing push to the end in a wild race that featured 9 cautions and ended below yellow across the 4.048-mile, 14-mile pure terrain highway course. It marks the primary GTP class win for the duo and Wayne Taylor Racing since Detroit in 2024.
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“It is unbelievable,” Ricky Taylor mentioned. “It has been a very long time coming. I do not know what to say. I am simply so pleased with the staff. Filipe and I’ve been doubting ourselves. … No person blamed one another and knew it was coming and believed within the staff as an entire. It has been actually exhausting, and I am simply so joyful for the blokes. It is fairly cool.”
On a restart with 10m35s remaining, Kévin Estre and championship chief Jack Aitken collided whereas preventing for second. Each retired, and the ensuing warning introduced the race to an early conclusion.
On account of the incident, JDC-Miller MotorSports ace Laurin Heinrich (together with co-drivers Kaylen Frederick and Tijmen van der Helm) ended up second, with Louis Deletraz (and co-driver Jordan Taylor) in third to present Wayne Taylor Racing a double podium.
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On the heels of a victory within the final spherical at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, Tom Dillmann, Jeremy Clarke, and endurance add-on Bijoy Garg (Inter Europol Competitors) made it back-to-back wins in LMP2. The GTD Professional class noticed Pfaff Motorsports seize an emotional win within the #9 Lamborghini Temerario GT3 of Andrea Caldarelli and Sandy Mitchell. And the GTD class was taken by the Winward Racing mixture of Philip Ellis and Russell Ward, together with endurance add-on Indy Dontje.
The general GTP championship hole has tightened significantly, as Aitken leaves Street America with a 128-point lead over Heinrich.
Run to the End…#9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Temerario GT3: Andrea Caldarelli, Sandy Mitchell, Jack Hawksworth
#9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Temerario GT3: Andrea Caldarelli, Sandy Mitchell, Jack Hawksworth
The midway mark started below a cycle of pit stops through the warning interval after Paul Miller Racing’s crash in Flip 12.
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A brief-fill for Tijmen van der Helm within the #5 Porsche 963 for JDC-Miller MotorSports elevated him to the general race lead, forward of the #40 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V-Sequence.R of Jordan Taylor in second.
Dries Vanthoor, within the #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 for BMW M Staff WRT, was third. The Porsche Penske Motorsport duo, who have been main getting into the midway mark pit stops, got here again out with the #6 of Laurens Vanthoor forward of the #7 of Julien Andlauer.
Jordan Taylor took the lead moments after the restart with 2h41m to go, with a detailed name by Dries Vanthoor, who was on the unsuitable finish of a three-wide restart and went off in Flip 1 however managed to maintain it off the wall and rejoin the combat.
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A drive-through penalty for the No. 5 Porsche promoted Ricky Taylor to second, giving WTR a Cadillac 1-2.
The highest two remained unchanged over the subsequent half-hour, with only one.9s separating them. In LMP2, it was the #43 Inter Europol Competitors ORECA LMP2 07 of Tom Dillmann out entrance, with Parker Thompson (Bryan Herta Autosport with PR1/Matheisen) in second at a distant 11s behind.
Nikita Johnson (RLL Staff McLaren) narrowly led Harry King (AO Racing) in GTD Professional, with Dudu Barrichello firmly in management in GTD.
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Johnson pitted from the lead with 2h8m to go, handing the GTD Professional result in King.
Simply shy of two hours to go, the #31 Whelen Cadillac pitted and did a driver change, with Jack Aitken taking on for Earl Bamber. The next lap, the #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport got here in for gasoline and a driver change, with Felipe Nasr taking on from Julien Andlauer.
Moments later, it was a full course warning as Nasr ended up beached within the Flip 5 gravel entice after contact with Aitken. Whereas the incident was below investigation, Nasr was in a position to get round and return for a brand new rear clip and continued on.
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Following a run of pit stops whereas the investigation was pending, Dries Vanthoor assumed the race lead after not pitting, adopted by Aitken. The brand new operating order was Dries Vanthoor, Aitken, Filipe Albuquerque (#10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac), Louis Deletraz (#40 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac), adopted by Renger van der Zande (#93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing) to spherical out the highest 5.
In LMP2, Tristan Vautier (Tower Motorsports) assumed the category lead.
The race restarted with 1h37m to go, with Dries Vanthoor weaving away with the lead, with Aitken.
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The inexperienced flag was short-lived, nevertheless, because the #3 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Alexander Sims (Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports) was punted by the Ford Mustang of Frederic Vervisch and ended up stranded within the Flip 3 gravel entice, which introduced out one other warning.
In the meantime, the investigation for the contact between Aitken and Nasr was deemed incidental contact with no penalty given. Nasr and Deletraz have been every handed a stop-and-hold penalty of 60 seconds for driving too rapidly close to security employees repairing the Flip 8 run-off.
The restart got here with 1h26m remaining as Aitken and Albuquerque have been battling for the lead as Dries Vanthoor pitted. Aitken misplaced the highest spot and was left in a tricky battle with Estre, who ended up off track and fell right down to fourth with a number of strikes attempting to get round Aitken.
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Albuquerque set off to a 1s lead over Aitken, with Estre taking again third after Deletraz pitted to serve his penalty, together with Nasr, who was penalized once more for leaping the restart and handed a drive-through.
It ended up being sport over for Dries Vanthoor, who was being serviced extensively by the staff throughout his cease earlier than ultimately pushing the #24 BMW behind the wall.
With 1h15m to go, Albuquerque continued to guide Aitken, with Estre in third. Vautier led in LMP2, with Andrea Caldarelli (Pfaff Motorsports) forward in GTD Professional, and Tom Gamble (Coronary heart of Racing) main in GTD.
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5 minutes later, Estre used GTD site visitors to cross Aitken and start closing on Albuquerque. Vautier pitted close to that point, handing the LMP2 class result in Paul Di Resta (United Autosports USA).
Caldarelli pitted with 58 minutes to go, handing the GTD Professional result in Jack Hawksworth within the #14 Lexus RC F GT3 of Vasser Sullivan Racing. Hawksworth pitted a few minutes later, which gave the result in AO Racing’s Nick Tandy, who got here in for his cease the next lap.
Laurin Heinrich, driving the the #5 Porsche 963 of JDC-Miller MotorSports, was issued a mechanical black flag whereas operating fourth general after the right-side door got here open. Happily, it was throughout the closing pit window.
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The cycle of pit stops in GTD Professional noticed Caldarelli return to the category lead, forward of Tandy. In the meantime, Aitken dove to pit lane with simply over 49m to go, with Heinrich pitting the subsequent lap, together with Estre, who took on a recent set of left-side tires. Heinrich took on a brand new entrance nostril throughout his service.
Estre placed on a fierce protection on Aitken as Albuquerque pitted from the lead. Nevertheless, the warning got here out with 45m to go after Tom Sargeant suffered a tough crash after his Wright Motorsports #120 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) crashed closely into the Flip 7 tire barrier.
The incident allowed Albuquerque to carry the lead, adopted by Tom Blomqvist (#60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing), Estre, Aitken, and Renger van der Zande (#93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing).
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Blomqvist pitted below warning, together with Deletraz.
Within the closing levels…
Albuquerque led the sphere to the restart with 27m to go, with Estre and Aitken following intently behind. Aitken and Estre handed one another over the primary handful of corners earlier than Estre reclaimed the second place.
With 20 minutes to go, Albuquerque held a 1.4s lead over Estre, who continued to be hounded by Aitken. Dillmann led in LMP2, with Caldarelli narrowly forward of Tandy in GTD Professional, and Winward Racing’s Philip Ellis out entrance in GTD.
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Blomqvist crashed in Flip 13 simply three minutes later to carry out a full course warning.
The cleanup allowed a restart with simply over 10m to go, however the #22 LMP2 machine spun firstly whereas Estre and Aitken got here collectively into Flip 1, which despatched the latter exhausting into the boundaries and the previous stopped off track in Flip 3.
By way of the contact, Romain De Angelis (Aston Martin THOR Staff) vaulted as much as second, with Heinrich as much as third.
Nevertheless, a penalty for earlier contact was handed to De Angelis, which relegated him to fifth, and elevated Deletraz to 3rd.
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Learn Additionally:
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IMSA Street America: Julien Andlauer leads Porsche 1-2 at midway
Robert Wickens embraces last-minute call-up for IMSA Endurance debut at Street America
Lilou Wadoux claims historic first IMSA GTD pole at Street America
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