Brownsburg, Ind. (September 7, 2021) – The 2021 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship points leaders, Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque enter the seventh round of the season at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca with a slim 41-point lead over a pack of contenders who are coming increasingly closer to their No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 rear view mirrors.
With Ricky Taylor and Acura taking home top honors last year, the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 team and teammate Filipe Albuquerque are looking to add a third podium finish to their season best at this beloved permanent 2.238-mile, 11-turn road course. With its last victory at Laguna Seca in 2013, the team’s history is strong with four pole positions, six podium finishes, and 314 laps lead.
“Laguna Seca has always been a great track for the Acura,” said Taylor, whose notable statistics include five poles, four podium finishes and one victory at the track. “We’re definitely defending off the No. 31 and the Mazda in the championship right now. We must have a good weekend, so we can capitalize on that before we get to Long Beach and Road Atlanta try to build a little bit of a gap before the end of the season. I know the guys are going to execute well. We got a little unlucky at Road America from what could have been a good points day, so we have to make up for that coming here to Laguna. Filipe and I can’t wait to get back on track together and to continue the momentum after the Le Mans break. We’re excited to be reunited in our No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05.”
This will be Filipe Albuquerque’s third attempt at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca where the Portuguese driver will work to better his top finish of fifth.
“Laguna Seca is a very special place in the world,” mentioned Filipe Albuquerque. “I just can’t wait to get back to driving the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05. We were so strong at Road America, and Laguna is another track that suits us. The championship is so close that it will be very important for us to win this race. We need to keep the lead and get a bit more room to breathe in the championship. We are optimistic about it, but we know our competitors are very strong as well. We will see how it goes, but we will also have fun driving the car there.”
“We need to focus on winning this race as we now we take one race at time.” said Team Owner Wayne Taylor. The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 team has three more events of the season to capitalize on the 2021 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
On-track action begins on Friday, September 10th at 7:30 p.m. ET. Qualifying for Sunday’s main event is on Saturday at 4:55 p.m. ET. Green flag for the two-hour and 40-minute race will waive on Sunday at 4:10 p.m. ET. Flag to flag coverage will air on NBC Sports and TrackPass on NBC Sports from 4:00 p.m. ET to 7:00 p.m. ET.
About Konica Minolta
Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. is reshaping and revolutionizing the Workplace of the Future. The company guides and supports its customers’ digital transformation through its expansive office technology portfolio, including IT Services (All Covered), content services, managed print services and industrial and commercial print solutions. Konica Minolta has been included on CRN’s MSP 500 list nine times and The World Technology Awards recently named the company a finalist in the IT Software category. Konica Minolta has been recognized as the #1 Brand for Customer Loyalty in the MFP Office Copier Market by Brand Keys for fourteen consecutive years, and received Keypoint Intelligence’s BLI 2021 A3 Line of The Year Award and BLI 2021-2023 Most Color Consistent A3 Brand Award for its bizhub i-Series. Konica Minolta, Inc. has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for nine consecutive years and has spent four years on the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World list. Konica Minolta partners with its clients to give shape to ideas and works to bring value to our society. For more information, please visit us online and follow Konica Minolta on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter. Wayne Taylor Racing’s existing lineup of partners that also features Harrison Contracting, Acura Motorsports , Hammer Nutrition and CIT.