Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti team owner Wayne Taylor has admitted that his team knew, going into last weekend’s Daytona 24 Hours, that they didn’t have the pace to fight for the win, saying they thought pre-race ‘we could maybe get a podium’.
“This was an extremely difficult event to come to,” the South African said after the race.
“I don’t know if I told anyone how worried I was because in a new two-car team and new mechanics, new engineers, and new drivers and then everything that happened.
“They changed our car for the race weekend. We knew we didn’t have a car that could run with the Cadillacs or the BMWs or the Porsches.
“We said that if we execute properly and the drivers do a good job and don’t make any mistakes, we could maybe get a podium. And then we had really bad lunch with the No. 10 car and unfortunately, they had to pull out. It’s just getting the No. 40 car on the podium is a big deal. So, we are really happy.”
This echoes what #40 WTRAndretti Acura ARX-06 driver Colton Herta told MotorsportWeek.com prior to the race.
“It seems like the Cadillac, and the Porsche, are very quick,” he said.
“We’re not bad, but we’re definitely not on the level that they’re on. We’ll need to find a little bit, although there’s no time to find a little bit. We’ll need to be smart about how we use our pace.
“Everyone likes to say ‘oh we’re not good, we need help’, but the Porsche and Cadillac do seem to be good. And we’re not far off, we can’t complain. We can still race with it.”
Taylor, and Herta’s, prediction came true, with the Porsches and Cadillacs fighting at the front of the field for the overall lead for much of the race.
However, the #40 WTRAndretti Acura did manage to take a podium, in the hands of drivers Jordan Taylor, Louis Deletraz, Herta, and Jenson Button. The car finished 15 seconds down on the winning #7 Porsche 963, in the hands of Deletraz.
“I think we should be very happy of the result as a team”, said the Swiss driver.
“These last ten days have not been easy. Acura, HRC and the whole WTRAndretti team have been working amazingly. We made the most of the situation. The No. 31 and the No. 7 were obviously faster than us.
“We never gave up. We lost a few laps, and we always came back and gave them a fight to the last minute. It is great. I am very grateful to everyone’s hard work, and it is great to start a championship with strong points.”
Herta, for his part, was pleased with the podium as well.
“It is a great start for the year. It is an incredible opportunity for me to be able to come to this race and drive an amazing race car.
“I am very grateful and very happy to have had the opportunity to be able to do this. WTRAndretti and the No. 40 DEX Imaging Acura ARX-06 team did an amazing job preparing the car and the race strategy. We definitely punched above our weight limit and came up with a podium. I am happy with this weekend.”
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