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“He treats it like it’s his primary job,” Ricky Taylor said of Rossi. “He takes everything in and remembers it and comes back the next time as if he was driving the car yesterday. Every time he gets in the car, he contributes. We never say, ‘OK, we need to give Alex some time’ just to get comfortable or just to drive around. He’s always doing work and always there to do the job.”
Doing the job is the fundamental element of Wayne Taylor’s approach to the third and fourth drivers. Different disciplines and different series are assets – not detriments – to endurance sports car racing. The best racers can (and do) drive anything well.
“I like what Wayne has done,” Dixon said. “He mixes it up. Obviously, it has worked extremely well at Daytona for the past few years, that’s for sure. … There are some that are going to step in and the style of the car will be more natural than others, but anybody at that level should be able to be plug-and-play.”
Considering how close the Rolex 24 has become in recent years – margins of victory have been under 14 seconds in three of the past five runnings – adaptability is critical for the part-time driver’s role.
“Every lap is a qualifying lap,” Wayne Taylor said. “You need drivers who understand that and have the stamina to do it. You need both sides – the team and the drivers. Drivers play a huge role, especially on these long-distance races. Your driver lineup is important, but more important is to find drivers who listen to you when you tell them how you want them to run the race. They are overlooked these days.”
Little is overlooked with this group. They’re polished, experienced and prepared to win again. Quietly, of course.
“If it worked in the past, then we should keep doing the same,” Albuquerque said. “It takes organization and coolness to win this race. You go through a lot of emotions during the 24 hours. You need to have the trust of everyone on the team.”
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