Wayne Taylor Racing took the wraps off the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R on Monday, which will compete in the 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The car will make its public debut later this week during a two-day test at Daytona International Speedway in Florida.
“I am most excited to be back with Cadillac after campaigning the company’s Le Mans Prototypes from 2000 to 2002, and I feel like there’s some unfinished business there,” said team owner Wayne Taylor. “This new Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R is a truly spectacular Cadillac racecar built by Dallara, and I’m really impressed with what I’ve seen so far on the track.”
The car has already been tested during private sessions at Putnam Park near Indianapolis, NCM Motorsports Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and at the Watkins Glen International and Charlotte Motor Speedway road courses in New York and North Carolina respectively. It will take to the high banks of Daytona again in early January for the annual Roar Before the 24 Test Days, and will be raced for the first time at the 2017 Rolex 24 at Daytona with brothers Ricky and Jordan Taylor behind the wheel, along with co-drivers Max Angelelli and Jeff Gordon.
“It was great to get back behind the wheel of a car that had that kind of downforce and braking,” said four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon, who raced at the 2007 Rolex 24 at Daytona. “It’s probably been since I drove the Formula One car at Indianapolis in 2003 that I felt anything like that. The Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R is a beautiful car.
“We made quite a few laps to just get prepared for the upcoming Daytona test, so I’m really looking forward to that test. It’s been a while since I’ve been on that road course and obviously the cars and the technology and the speed have advanced since then. I can’t wait to get out there on track and feel it out and get up to speed.”
“The car has been a completely different experience from anything I have experienced in my career,” said Ricky Taylor. “Even in comparison to driving the Morgan LMP2 at Le Mans a few years ago, this car is light years ahead. The car generates downforce in a completely different way and gives the driver a lot of confidence in high-speed corners.”
“It’s been incredibly cool to be a part of developing the new Cadillac it from the ground up,” added Ricky’s brother, Jordan. “When we first went to Putnam Park for the initial shakedown test, I got to be the first driver to sit in it and take it out for its first laps. It’s been a slow, methodical process working with Cadillac, Wayne Taylor Racing, Dallara, ECR and everybody who’s had a part in the development.
“We picked up speed every time we tested while we worked really hard to see how the car would react to different situations. It’s definitely a much different car than what I’m used to. The DP that we’re used to is big, it’s heavy, and it moves around a lot. The Cadillac DPi-V.R is much more aero-based, like an LMP2 car. In terms of driving style, it feels a lot different so we spent a lot of time just trying to get comfortable.”
“From what I’ve seen and experienced so far, I have high expectations from our Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R,” said Angelelli. “First of all, because we’re on a streak of finishing second or third at Daytona, but mostly because we have such a good group of people surrounding us that deserves nothing less than a win to get us started on the right foot.
“Personally, I just hope to be at the level that the car is at.”
The 2017 Rolex 24 at Daytona takes place from Jan. 28-29.
