Longtime General Motors partner Wayne Taylor Racing teamed up with Acura for the 2021 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and kicked off its campaign with a win on Sunday at the 24 Hours of Daytona.
Competing in the premier DPi class, Wayne Taylor Racing's no. 10 Acura ARX-05 took home the overall win thanks to the efforts of drivers Filipe Albuquerque, Helio Castroneves, Alexander Rossi and Ricky Taylor.
They just managed to edge out the no. 48 Ally Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R driven by Jimmie Johnson, Kamui Kobayashi, Simon Pagenaud and Mike Rockenfeller to a second-place finish, roughly 4.7 seconds behind the winners.
Third place went to the no. 55 Mazda Motorsports RT24-P driven by Jonathan Bomarito, Oliver Jarvis and Harry Tincknell, some 6.5 seconds behind the winners.
No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05 DPi at the 2021 24 Hours of Daytona
This year's win for Wayne Taylor Racing was the team's third-consecutive overall victory at Daytona, but it almost didn't happen. It was a nail-biting finish as the top contenders were all running within 30 seconds of each other as the race entered its final hour. And, with just minutes to go, the no. 1 Cadillac Dpi-V.R of Chip Ganassi Racing was catching up fast to the no. 10 Acura, with Kevin Magnussen and Renger van der Zande doing the driving. However, their attack was ended prematurely due to a puncture.
The result was the first overall win for Acura and came 30 years after the automaker's first class win in the event.
In the LMP2 class, victory went to the no. 18 Oreca 07 of Era Motorsport, driven by Paul-Loup Chatin, Ryan Dalziel, Dwight Merriman and Kyle Tilley, who finished sixth overall.
In the GTLM class, victory went to the no. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R of Corvette Racing, driven by Nicky Catsburg, Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor, who finished 11th overall. This is the final year for the GTLM class, as the series organizer, IMSA, plans to replace the class next year with the GTD Pro Class which will use cars similar to a GT3-spec car. Many manufacturers already have GT3 racers and it's likely a GT3-spec Corvette can be developed prior to the next season.
No. 3 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTLM at the 2021 24 Hours of Daytona
In the GTD class at this past weekend's Daytona race, victory went to the no. 57 Mercedes-Benz AMG GT3 of HTP Winward Racing. Doing the driving were Indy Dontje, Philip Ellis, Maro Engel and Russell Ward, who finished 22nd overall.
And finally, in the LMP3 class, victory went to the no. 74 Ligier JS P320 of Riley Motorsports. Doing the driving were Scott Andrews, Oliver Askew, Spencer Pigot and Gar Robinson, who finished 18th overall.
The next round of the 2021 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is the 12 Hours of Sebring on March 20 at Florida's Sebring International Raceway.
