Jordan Taylor present at the Circuti de La Sarthe for his ninth Le Mans start this week. But this time there’s one key difference, he’s driving a Ferrari.
After eight previous attempts (and a victory in 2015), all in the seat of a Chevrolet Corvette, Taylor returns to the French endurance classic as the Pro-rated driver in the #155 Spirit Of Race Ferrari.
“Coming back with a different team and group of people is definitely a much different experience,” Taylor told DSC. “I’ve been here, I think eight times with Corvette Racing. So it feels odd.
“It’s been a fun experience, learning and understanding the different driving styles. I did a one-day test at Paul Ricard and was able to learn the car and the team and I was up to speed relatively quickly with some help from the guys.
“It’s interesting to be on the other side and to see what the [Ferrari 296] is like, how the teams operate, and what they focus on during the weekend. It’s an interesting learning experience to learn from another top-level manufacturer team.”
To help him get up to speed, Taylor revealed he’s had to brush up on his Italian to get his head around some of the key differences between the Corvette’s he’s used to and the Ferrari 296 GT3.
“I’ve learnt Italian for the first time for a little bit – I had to google translate the manual!”
And not only that, the logistics of being here at Le Mans, but not under the Corvette banner, gives the week a different feel.
“I’ve been in the same garage every single year I’ve been here.,” he explained. “Even when I parked, I always stayed in the same building, in the same room. I’ve never brought a rental car to the track here, I’ve never left the track, today was my first time driving to scrutineering.
“All those little details that you would never think are different – where I eat, or I sleep, or I go to the bathroom – all those things were set in stone every year that I came here. It was routine.
“It’s almost like learning a whole new event. But it’s good! I think it’s funny being surrounded by a sea of red now!”
The late changes to the Spirit Of Race line-up in the wake of Duncan Cameron’s withdrawal from the event in late April, saw Johnny and Conrad Laursen handed the chance to make an appearence for the 92nd running. But it made the timeline to find a Pro driver extremely short.
On Taylor’s end, it started with a call from Marco Sorensen.
“Marco said: ‘Hey, would you be available to do Le Mans? Would you want to do Le Mans?’” Taylor recounted. “I got permission originally, and I put my name in.
“Kevin [Magnussen] was the number one choice, and I’m not sure what happened, but as soon as he couldn’t do it, I heard from Johnny [Laursen] and his partner, Alan, and the deal was done pretty quickly.
“The only issue was being able to get to Paul Ricard for a one-day test, the week of Laguna, for IMSA. I flew [to Paul Ricard] on Monday, we tested Tuesday, flew back to Laguna Seca on Wednesday.
“It was hectic, but it was definitely worth getting there.”
Much like Johnny and his son Conrad, who are tackling Le Mans together for the first time, Jordan has family ties in racing. Not only has Jordan raced for his father Wayne alongside his brother Ricky, they all shared a car together in 2014.
“Ricky and I – and our dad – get on pretty well. We only drove together one time, at Daytona back in 2014 where we finished second,” Taylor recalls.
“I think it’s cool to see it from a different perspective. They [the Laursens] obviously get on super well. They respect each other. And obviously, racing at Le Mans as a father/son duo is a huge thing.
“I’m excited for them, and I’m just trying to help as much as I can.”
There’s a further connection between the Taylor name and Ferrari at Le Mans – Jordan was quick to point out that his father has his own piece of Le Mans history with the prancing horse.
“My dad won [in class] here in 98 in a Ferrari,” commented Jordan. On that occasion, Wayne took the LMP1 class win in a Ferrari 333SP, finishing eighth overall.
“So it’ll be cool to do kind of a father-son Ferrari thing!”
