Yahoo Autos Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing retains core driver line-up for 2025
Wayne Taylor Racing will retain its core lineup as it switches to Cadillac for the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in the GTP category, while a Cadillac regular and some familiar faces join in for the endurance races. Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque (main image) will drive the No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R for the full season, while Jordan Taylor and Louis Delétraz continue in the No. 40.
WTR and Cadillac Racing also announced their endurance additions for each car. Brendon Hartley moves to Daytona-only, while McLaren F1 test and development driver Will Stevens takes the wheel of the No. 10 for the three long-distance Michelin Endurance Cup races — the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and Motul Petit Le Mans. Alex Lynn, who has spent the last two seasons racing the V-Series.R in the FIA World Endurance Championship after a season with Cadillac in IMSA, is the third driver in the No. 40 for the races longer than six hours, while Kamui Kobayashi returns to IMSA competition for Daytona.
“I’m excited for the No. 10 lineup in 2025,” said team principal Wayne Taylor. “Three of the four drivers have been with us at least four years and working together. Adding in Will Stevens for the endurance races will be a big advantage as well. All four drivers understand the setups and are used to working closely together — a necessity for winning in Daytona and for being on top in this incredibly close championship.
“The No. 40 car is an exciting driver line-up as well. Louis and Jordan (below) are back together again, and Alex Lynn will be helping with the endurance races. Alex has worked with us before, helping us win the Twelve Hours of Sebring back in 2017. Kamui Kobayashi’s abilities speak for themselves, having run with us before and won the Rolex 24 twice, once with Jordan. Everyone in this group works to get the job done, no egos — it is what wins races, especially the Rolex 24.”
Richard Prince/Cadillac Racing
Wayne Taylor’s history with GM Motorsports dates to 1990 when the South African native turned his first laps in the U.S. as a General Motors factory driver in a Chevrolet-powered GTP race car. Since Taylor founded the team in 2007, Wayne Taylor Racing has been a frontrunner in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The 2021 Michelin Endurance Cup champions have won three IMSA driver championships, nine manufacturer titles and have four Rolex 24 victories.
It’s a homecoming for Ricky Taylor, who has been an Acura racer since 2018, first with Team Penske, where he won the 2020 DPi championship with Helio Castroneves, and then back with WTR after the team took over the Acura DPi program, switching from Cadillac.
“It is exciting to be rejoining Cadillac Racing,” said Ricky Taylor. “I am looking forward to learning about what has made them so competitive over the past two GTP seasons as well as working with a new group to work together to win races and championships. I think we will be curious to learn what has made them strong over the first two years, but also to bring our own experience to the program. I think the team has something special in how the two cars and four full-time drivers work together to push each other on and off the track in a healthy way that supports both cars succeeding.”
Ricky Taylor and Albuquerque have been partners for four years now, since Taylor’s return to the WTR fold. Together they have garnered numerous victories, but a championship has eluded them.
“Since I started racing in America in the overall class, it was with the Chevy DP in 2016, then I did another four years with Cadillac DPi, and now to be back is amazing,” said Albuquerque. “I am really looking forward to returning ‘back home.’ My first overall Daytona win was with Cadillac, so for sure I want to be back to those winning feelings.
“I remember very well fighting hard WTR in a Cadillac, they were a big stone in my shoe — this is a very Portuguese expression to not say something else — but I remember as well that I won some of them too. Now being all together, me, Ricky, WTR and Cadillac, I think we have the dream together.”
Jordan Taylor spent a dozen years as a GM driver before this past season, first with WTR and Cadillac, winning a DPi championship, then a stint with Corvette Racing that resulted in back-to-back GTLM titles.
“It feels like I am coming back home to see lots of familiar faces,” he said. “The Cadillacs have obviously been extremely strong in GTP the last two years, so I can’t wait to see what the car is like from the inside. WTR always does an amazing job at putting together strong lineups. Not just strong on track, but guys that are able to work well together off the track with the teammates, team members, and sponsors. I think putting together all the drivers that we have is bringing an amazing amount of experience that can push us all in the right direction.”
“GM is what brought my mom and dad to America back in the early ’90s, giving my dad his first drive in the States. It was also where my career began and where Ricky has had so much success in the past as well. We have kept in touch with all those people that we’ve dealt with in the past, and there’s no doubt that it will be a seamless transition coming back together. “
For Delétraz, this will be his first experience with Cadillac, and it’s one he’s relishing.
“Cadillac and GM have achieved so much in motorsport, I can’t wait to start working together. I look forward to understanding how they work and make such fast cars,” he said. “Since I joined IMSA, Cadillac Racing has always been extremely competitive and hard to beat. I’m happy to have them on our side and not against us now. I think together we can win many races and championships in the future.”
The 2025 season kicks off with the Roar Before the 24 (Jan. 17-19) and the Rolex 24 at Daytona (Jan. 23-26). The Cadillac WTR team and drivers will have their first IMSA-sanctioned test during the homologation test on Nov. 15-17.
