Acura Snatches Wayne Taylor Racing Away from Cadillac for IMSA 2021

Wayne Taylor Racing shifting to Acura is significant as successful championship-winning relationship with General Motors.

There’s been a major shift in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s Daytona Prototype International class ahead of the 2021 season. And General Motors and Cadillac’s loss appears to be Acura and Honda’s gain.

Team Penske delivered double titles for Acura in the top IMSA DPi class over the past two seasons. Penske has however opted not to continue in IMSA. Meyer Shank Racing and Wayne Taylor Racing  will now each run an Acura ARX-05 from 2021. Honda IndyCar team MSR has run Acura’s NSX program in the GT Daytona class for the past four years. Its promotion to the premier IMSA level was expected and well deserved.

Wayne Taylor Racing Shifting to Acura Is Significant

Wayne Taylor Racings’ shift to Acura is however significant. It ends of a long and successful championship-winning relationship with General Motors. That included WTR winning the inaugural DPi title in 2017 with the Cadillac DPi-V.R.

WTR won three of the last four Rolex Daytona 24 Hours, the Sebring 12 Hour and the Petit Le Mans. The team also won two IMSA Driver’s Championships, the 2017 Daytona Prototype Championship and contributed to eight IMSA Manufacturer titles.

“We have enjoyed a great run with Cadillac, but so has Acura,” team boss Wayne Taylor pointed out. “All of us at Wayne Taylor Racing look forward to partnering Acura and HPD and adding to their achievements.”

A long-time General Motors ally, Taylor’s association with Acura however dates back to 1992. He won on debut at Laguna Seca, as Acura secured the Manufacturer’s Championship that year. “Our new partnership with Acura brings us the stability to remain championship contenders for years to come.”

Michele Lupini

Once a handy engine and chassis tuner, and a combative racer and rally driver, Michele took up the pen to express his passion for cars, racing and motoring over 30 years ago. He published South Africa’s go-to enthusiast motor magazines Cars in Action and Bakkie — some say against all odds — for a quarter century. In that time, Michele had a hand in nurturing many of South Africa's motoring media leaders. Today Michele keeps himself busy with his a range of international motoring media duties alongside his own theauto.page. And a little racing on the side.