Ricky Taylor was delighted to finally be able to secure victory in the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, as he took the chequered flag at the front of the field alongside brother Jordan as well as Max Angelelli and Jeff Gordon in the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Konica Minolta Cadillac.
Taylor was happy to finally take victory in the legendary event after a number of near misses in recent years, and sharing the car that is owned and run by his father with his team-mates was extremely joyful for him.
“It’s so special, there are so many different storylines,” said Taylor. “You’ve got Cadillac’s unfinished business from the LMP program which Max and my dad were both a part of the first go-round, and then wrapping that up by starting the new Cadillac program off with a win here at Daytona.
“And then to finish the way we did – I mean, it was an emotional day, regardless if we won the race, to have our last race with Max – but to win was really cool. And, obviously, we’ve got Jeff, as well. I mean, to add to his amazing career is a surreal experience. I’m just happy to be able to contribute to that.”
Taylor felt the robust move he pulled on Filipe Albuquerque with little over five minutes remaining to take the lead was fair, despite the #5 Mustang Sampling Racing Cadillac being spun around due to contact, a view that was ultimately shared by the officials.
“The way I saw it, we came through GT traffic and I was closer than I had been,” said Taylor. “He’d been struggling in turn one. Their car didn’t look very good there, and we were really strong on the brakes.
“I had thought about doing this for years and years, and this has always been something – people always open up after that little kink in turn one – they open their hands a little bit, and it’s just so easy to release the brake there and pop in there.
“If you get enough alongside, you can make it work, and I think he saw me coming, he saw me committing, and he closed the door. If he knew I was committing, why would you close the door and make us crash?”
