On the heels of his 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Prototype title as co-driver of the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R, Jordan Taylor is taking the next step in his racing career and moving into the team ownership ranks.
Jordan Taylor Racing (JTR) soon will be making its WeatherTech Championship debut in the Prototype class. In addition to his ownership role with JTR, Jordan Taylor will continue to drive the No. 10 machine for his father’s Wayne Taylor Racing team.
“It’s definitely going to be weird racing against a car that I own, but probably no weirder than racing against my brother,” Jordan Taylor said. “I mean, it’s April Fools’ Day, so it seems like the time was right to start my own race team, especially when I had one fully funded driver and another driver who is eager to leave his mark on the sport.”
The team’s full-season driver lineup will include a pair of highly touted rookies, Rodney Sandstorm and Estér Bunné, with the team’s endurance lineup still to be confirmed. Taylor has an upcoming trip planned to the North Pole to scout a potential third driver, but likely won’t have an answer until late December at the earliest.
Funding for the program comes from Bunné, a European phenom who has rewritten the record books in developmental categories. As a result, the livery on the No. 10.5 JTR Cadillac DPi-V.R will feature Bunné’s favorite color and brings with it an instant nickname. In the grand tradition of the “Red Dragon” and the “Banana Boat,” this entry will be known as the “Pink Cadillac.”
The roof of the car will feature a radical new aerodynamic feature to accommodate Bunné, who has abnormally large ears. JTR already has received approval from IMSA on the modifications.
“The IMSA Technical Committee carefully reviewed all modifications and were in lockstep with the JTR team throughout the process to homologate this car,” said IMSA President Scott Atherton. “Drivers like Estér Bunné don’t come around very often – just once a year – and the value he will bring to the WeatherTech Championship is immeasurable.
“I don’t know as much about Sandstorm, but I’m told he’s a dynamic personality. He’s a big fan of our sport who has formed strong relationships with many racing stars – Jeff Gordon, Boris Said, Scott Pruett and ‘Baby Face’ Lawson Aschenbach, to name just a few. We’re thrilled to welcome Jordan Taylor to the ownership ranks and can’t wait to see the ‘Pink Cadillac’ competing in the WeatherTech Championship very soon.”
The car already has been on course for private testing at Sebring International Raceway. A spy photo of the car in action was captured by a local photographer who goes by the name of “Lanky Turtle.”
The Sebring test was Sandstorm’s first time in the Cadillac DPi, but far from his first experience in motorsports. In addition to being a world-class mullet farmer and burgeoning fitness model, Sandstorm is a multi-time Driveway Karting champion.
Sandstorm had just one word to describe his first experience in the Prototype. “Siiiiiiick,” was the only word he could muster, but it’s still more than Bunné had to say.
“Yeah, Estér doesn’t say much,” Jordan Taylor admitted. “That might be a problem when we do our debriefs, but I doubt he’ll need many setup changes. I mean, the guy delivers baskets and hides eggs all over the world in one night. He’s pretty fast already.”
Next up for the WeatherTech Championship is the BUBBA burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach on Saturday, April 14. The race will be televised live on FOX at 4 p.m. ET, and tickets are available now at GPLB.com.
The No. 10.5 Cadillac will not compete at this race or any other, as this is clearly an April Fools’ Day joke. However, Jordan Taylor and the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R team will be there looking for their fourth consecutive victory on the streets of Long Beach.