Filipe Albuquerque has said that his Rolex 24 win with Wayne Taylor Racing was ‘the hardest race of his life’ after fighting to hold off Renger van der Zande in the closing stages.
Albuquerque was driving the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05 and leading in the final hour of the race, but had the #01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac DPi-VR of Van der Zande bearing down on him, looking to make a pass for the lead.
The battle eventually reached a dramatic conclusion when Van der Zande suffered a rear puncture that cost him a shot at victory.
After taking his second overall victory at Daytona, Albuquerque told NBSCN how hard he had to fight to keep Van der Zande behind.
“I could see his eyes in my mirrors! He was so hungry for this, especially with the whole story of him leaving Wayne Taylor to join another team.
“He was faster, definitely, but one thing to catch, it’s another thing to pass.”
“He was really pushing hard, I was lucky he had a puncture, he was strong through the Bus Stop.
“I think it was a hell of a show, probably the hardest race of my life. It was beautiful.”
Albuquerque, Ricky Taylor, Alexander Rossi and Helio Castroneves brought Wayne Taylor Racing the sixth overall victory in the race, and the third in a row after two wins with Cadillac in 2019 and 2020, with Van der Zande notably in the line-up for both victories.
Team owner Wayne Taylor did not mince words in explaining the significance of the win:
“Six wins at this place, it’s f***** awesome,” Taylor said.
I had about that much vodka just near the end, I couldn’t stand it any longer, my stomach was that animated.”
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