Racing/12 hours of Sebring
March 23, 2017 10:12 am

WTR and Cadillac Wrap Up ‘Flawless’ 36 Hours with 12 Hours of Sebring Win

Brendan Baker,administrator

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For the better part of 30 years, Brendan Baker has been involved in the automotive aftermarket and racing industry in some capacity, including the last 11 years at Engine Builder magazine. Brendan’s aftermarket career started in high school working for his father's auto parts store in Akron, Ohio. He has worked many areas of the industry from counterman to technician and earned his certification as a racing mechanic in 1989. He has worked for several racing schools and teams at various levels, including being an owner/driver of a semi-professional racing team. In his free time he enjoys riding his motorcycle and racing go-karts.

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WTR and Cadillac Wrap Up 'Flawless' 36 Hours with 12 Hours of Sebring Win

Wayne Taylor Racing’s No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R took home the win over Cadillac’s of Mustang Sampling and Whelen Engineering at the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring in Sebring, Florida; March 18, 2017 (Photos: Richard Prince/Cadillac).

“To say that a brand-new car out of the box has run 36-hours of racing absolutely flawless, I don’t think that has ever happened,” said Ricky Taylor, driver of the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R.

The top two finishers in last weekend’s 65th Annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring were the same as the Daytona 24 hours a month earlier, but for Ricky Taylor this time there was no controversy over the win, with a margin of 13.614-seconds over the No. 5 Action Express Cadillac DPi. The car Ricky Taylor shared with his brother Jordan and newcomer Alex Lynn (at Daytona they had Jeff Gordon and Max Angelelli as co-drivers) was fast and reliable all day and was never seriously challenged.

Jordan Taylor said: “It is more proof that this platform is great. We’ve run 36 hours of racing without a single problem. It is great to have Konica Minolta in victory lane again and to celebrate that with Ricky and Alex is really special.”

Alex Lynn commented: “Jordan and Ricky are amazing teammates they drove an awesome race today. The team was flawless. It is 36 hours of zero problems for Cadillac on the race track. The team has won the two biggest races in America and a podium sweep for Cadillac. Great result for all concerned.”

In fact, a Cadillac DPi led the race for 11 of the 12 hours. Each of the three Cadillacs led the race with the final stages renewing the battle between the No. 10 and the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R from Daytona.

At the start the of the once around the clock classic the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R took the lead just an hour into the race, followed closely by the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R and the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R in third. Three-hours-and-thirty-minutes into the race, the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac DPi-V.R had contact with the No. 22 ESM Prototype.

The No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R driven by Joao Barbosa, Christian Fittipaldi and Filipe Albuquerque swapped the lead with the No. 10 throughout the race and finished second.

Eric Curran was at the wheel when he exited Turn 17 and tucked under the 22 to pass on the inside when the 22 driver turned in to go onto pit lane. Curran hit the 22 and was stalled in the middle of the track. He had to be towed to the paddock where the team quickly fired the Cadillac DPi-V.R 6.2L engine and he rejoined the race, three laps down. The team then received a stop-and-go-penalty for working on the car in pit lane when the pits were closed.

The No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R piloted by Dane Cameron, Eric Curran and Mike Conway completed the all Cadillac podium in third.

For the next 11 hours the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R was swapping the lead with the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R as the teams cycled through pit stops. At the 8:20 mark, the Mustang Sampling Cadillac and the Konica Minolta Cadillac pitted at the same time under yellow. The Konica Minolta team passed for the lead as they needed less fuel. As the race went green 10-minutes later the No. 31 Whelen Engineering car passed for third, making it a Cadillac 1-2-3 at the finish of 12-hours of racing.

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