Ricky Taylor has slotted into the third seat of the #12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota #12 car alongside Norman Nato and Will Stevens for a one-off entry into WEC this weekend at COTA. It’s his first non-Le Mans entry in the WEC series since 2016, when he competed with Larbre Compétition that season in the Corvette C7.R.
Taylor replaces Louis Deletraz, who in turn raced in place of the injured Alex Lynn at Spa and Le Mans. The American has had success in Austin previously, taking a podium at the WEC event and an IMSA win at the track in 2016, and again winning the following year in IMSA in 2017.
Catching up with Taylor after turning laps in practice, he explained that returning to the WEC for ‘regular-season’ racing has been an exceptionally smooth experience for Taylor, who already had established relationships with the Jota team heading into the event.
“I first drove with Jota back in 2018 at Le Mans, and just like Wayne Taylor Racing, people stay with the team for so long,” he said. “So there were a lot of familiar faces, even from [Jota], after doing the rookie test last year and Le Mans for two years alongside them. They’re a super welcoming team.
“Even if it’s a big [programme] now, they still have that small team feel, which is really nice. Everybody’s super supportive, and for me, really, there’s no excuse because they give me everything I need, which is super nice.”
Taylor’s extensive experience with the Cadillac V-Series.R in IMSA racing also makes this one-off entry much easier, as he doesn’t have to adjust to new machinery, enabling him to focus on the differences in the IMSA and WEC rule books.
“For me, coming in, I’m doing one race, and they’re in the middle of a championship, and just like a third driver coming in and driving for us [at WTR in IMSA], you can obviously bring value,” he said.
“It’s so hard to go into a new championship and not make small mistakes. I know how harsh this series can be; I just don’t want to be the one to speed in a yellow zone or do something like that.
“[Jota] are so experienced with this [championship]. That’s the thing, I have full faith in them, and so I’m just trying to soak in what works and what doesn’t, and their knowledge, and do as I’m told!
“If I were to do more races, obviously I’d have more opinions and feedback, but I’m really of the opinion that I’m the new guy. I need to do my job.”
Taylor has yet to compete in a full season of Hypercar. When asked if he was in the frame to compete in both IMSA and WEC next year with both WTR and JOTA, he replied simply: “That would be great, but we’ll see!”
Image courtesy of DPPI
