MAX ANGELELLI & JORDAN TAYLOR
On the Rebound Like Never Before at Saturdays Porsche 250 in Alabama
In the spirit of this weekends NCAA mens basketball Final Four just two hours east on I-20 in Atlanta, Max Angelelli, his co-driver Jordan Taylor, and the No. 10 Velocity Worldwide Corvette DP team of Wayne Taylor Racing will be looking to rebound like never before during Saturdays GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series Porsche 250 at Barber Motorsports Park.
They were joined by reigning IZOD IndyCar Series champion Ryan Hunter-Reaywho, incidentally, will be at Barber competing in Sundays Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabamawhen they opened the season with a solid runner-up finish in the Rolex 24 At Daytona. It was the No. 10 teams best finish in the prestigious endurance marathon since Angelelli and his 21-year-old co-drivers father Wayne Taylor won en route to the 2005 Rolex Series championship. But that all came undone during last months second round at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, courtesy of an untimely caution flag that plucked Angelelli from a commanding race lead, and a 60-second penalty late in the race for contact deemed avoidable by race officials that relegated the team to a hugely disappointing 10th-place finish.
The beautiful but narrow, twisty 2.3-mile, 17-turn Barber Motorsports Park layout this weekend offers the perfect opportunity for Angelelli and Taylor to rebound from their current position of fourth in the championship. But, expect contact aplenty from green to checkered flag around the tracks incredibly tight confines, and rest assured most of it will be light years from avoidable. With a 2005 victory there by the No. 10 team and three other podium finishes in its last nine visits, hopes are high the seasons race number three is the charm and lands Angelelli and Jordan Taylor on the top step of the podium by mid-afternoon Saturday.
Practice for Saturdays two-hour Porsche 250 begins Thursday afternoon with qualifying set for noon EDT Friday. Race time Saturday is 1:45 p.m. with SPEEDs next-day-delayed television broadcast set for 5:30 p.m. Sunday. Live radio coverage by the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 90 begins with pre-race festivities at 1:30 p.m. Saturday. Live timing and scoring during all on-track sessions can be found at www.grand-am.com, and on mobile devices at m.grand-am.com and the GRAND-AM smartphone app.
Max Angelelli, co-driver of the No. 10 Velocity Worldwide Corvette Dallara DP for Wayne Taylor Racing:
Its been another five-week wait until your next race. Safe to say youre ready to hit the track this weekend in Alabama?
Its been a long time since Austin. This waiting is very difficult, especially when the result of your last race is not the one you wanted. That makes the waiting even longer. We took a hit at Austin in the points, which has become a little bit like a lottery. Its very difficult this early in the season to speculate. Obviously, you want to be at the top. So if you anywhere other than the first few places, you feel bad. Thats why I never really look at numbers. I do my best, the team gets 110 percent from me, and I leave the numbers to Wayne (Taylor, team owner), Simon (Hodgson, general manager) and the rest of the guys.
How do you expect the race to unfold on Saturday at Barber?
Barber is vastly different from Daytona and Austin. At Barber, its difficult to overtake, so the team plays an even bigger role than the drivers. Pit stops, race strategy, its key. So that means track position. We are the best team on pit lane right now. Every team member is the best. Our history at Barber has been good, but it hasnt been the best. Its been a long time since we won there in 2005 but, except for last year, weve always had a very competitive car. The key is track position. Well have a competitive car again, and well try to maintain it with good pit stops and good strategy. I always went there with great expectations because of our great record of performance. This time, Im going to go to simply do the best I can do. Jordan is a great qualifier. Everybody saw what he could do in GT and what he did at Daytona and Austin. We never put drivers in the No. 10 car who are not competitive.
If it wasnt for the late-race penalty at Austin, it appeared you had the car to beat. What are your thoughts on that?
I always drive the best that I can. The series has a new race director in place this year, and he has a completely different approach, a completely different view from his predecessor, so we have to get used to that. A lot of people were penalized at Austin, and also at Daytona, and I believe that is going to happen again. My focus is to not get called in again, but Im very convinced it will happen to other people because things are different. Unfortunately, Im a little uncertain about how to approach races because, after working with the same guy for so long, I was used to his style. Now we have a new style and its difficult to get used to. This is where I am confused about what is allowed and what is not allowed. Our series is very well known for very close racing, cars touching, contact. The last 20 minutes of a race, because its so difficult to overtake, people are defending their positions, people are attacking, thats normal. The fans are coming to watch that kind of racing. It must be a show. Everybody has to understand that this is a show.
Jordan Taylor, co-driver of the No. 10 Velocity Worldwide Corvette Dallara DP for Wayne Taylor Racing:
How do you feel about racing at Barber this weekend, and what might we expect to see?
I always look forward to Barber. Its a fun track to drive and Ive had success there. My first time there in the (GT-class Racers Edge) Mazda, I qualified second and finished second. It was my first GRAND-AM podium. That was a good memory. The year before, in the Beyer Racing DP, we had a strong run up until about an hour to go before we cut a tire. Ive always enjoyed Barber, even though I didnt always have a great finish. Since its so difficult to pass, people are constantly trying to create opportunities, so it makes things a little exciting for the drivers. More so than a lot of other tracks, youre going to get some contact at Barber and, after Austin, everybody realized you really cant touch anybody or else youre going to get a big penalty. So the name of the game is to race clean. Even in the pits, if you hit a crew guy or hit somebody by accident, youre going to get penalized. What we saw last year with a lot of rubbing and racing, I dont think theyre going to allow this year, but Im sure with 30 minutes to go, if there are five cars nose-to-tail, youll see some contact near the end of the race and hopefully the result will be decided on the racetrack. In the beginning and middle of the race, while everyone tries to settle in, theres not going to be much excitement, Im sure.
This will be your third race with the team. Do you feel like youve settled in well?
After two races, Id say I feel comfortable with the Velocity Worldwide Corvette team. This weekend, Barber will be my first track where we put maximum downforce in car. I havent driven with that setup on the car, yet, so itll be a learning experience. The track, itself, is really technical with no really long straights like Austin and Daytona, where the cars can get a little more spread out and which made handling the GT traffic a lot easier. Here it will be tight from beginning to end. When I was driving GTs, I was able to hold off a DP car for four or five corners at Barber. This time, Ill be in the DP car and itll be a whole other story. Youll see a lot of racing between the classes because the speed differentials wont be as great, so a GT car can have a huge influence on the outcome of the DP race.
What did you think of the recent announcement about the new combined series name and class structure for 2014?
I think itll be good to have all the big names and big teams all coming together. Everyone will thrive off of that, and well see the best racing weve seen in years. I think next year will be a learning year, but things look very promising for the future of sports car racing. Five classes a little bit too much, in my opinion, especially when you get to a big race like Daytona where we might see 80 or 90 cars. Itll be very busy for us drivers, and the fans might get a little lost trying to follow all that, but it will be exciting, for sure.
Wayne Taylor, team owner of the No. 10 Velocity Worldwide Corvette Dallara DP for Wayne Taylor Racing:
Its been an up-and-down first couple of races. What are your thoughts as the team heads to Barber Motorsports Park?
We had a great Daytona and a disappointing result in Austin. The good thing is, we have a good car and it looks like its good everywhere. Last year, at certain tracks, the tires werent working for us everywhere. Im going to Barber optimistic because I feel like well have a consistently fast car for the two-hour race. We definitely need to get some points back. You need to finish in the top-five on a consistent basis if you want to win the championship. Getting a 10th at Austin was not very good as far as the championship is concerned. But we still have a lot of races left and Im really looking forward to going to Barber this weekend.
Barber is a place where track position is so important, and in addition to Jordans proven ability to qualify well, your team has consistently beaten all the others off of pit road so far this season. That must add to your optimism this weekend, no?
The guys have been doing a lot of work on pit stops since the end of last season. Simon (Hodgson, general manager), has been all over everybody, telling them, Weve got to win every pit stop. Everybody on the team is so passionate about being perfect on every stop, and theyve been performing incredibly well, both at Daytona and at Austin. Barber certainly is all about track position so, obviously, it will be important to keep excelling on pit stops. Jordan certainly proved he is going to be a good qualifier. He was a little more than half a 10th (of a second) off the pole at Austin in his first qualifying attempt for us. That was a clutch performance, and he also put his Camaro on the GT pole at Barber last year. So, qualifying up front and executing on pit stops will hopefully go a long way for us this weekend.
