Throwback Thursday: Taylor Bookends History of Petit Le Mans

Wayne Taylor made history when he drove to victory in the inaugural 1998 Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, sharing the Doyle-Risi Ferrari 333SP with Eric van de Poele and Emmanuel Collard.

Last year, Taylor was the winning car owner in the 17th edition of what has become an endurance classic, watching his sons Ricky and Jordan share 

the winning No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Konica Minolta Corvette DP.“It’s like a storybook – kind of unbelievable,” Taylor said. “When I won the inaugural Petit Le Mans, they were seven and nine.  Now, 16 years later, they win, driving for my team, with Max [Angelelli]. And the way they did it – they dominated. The team was awesome.”Taylor’s 1998 victory was against a field made up of Professional SportsCar Racing and cars compliant with the rules for the ACO-sanctioned 24 Hours of Le Mans. A Joest Racing Porsche LMP1-98 driven by Michele Alboreto, Stefan Johansson and Joerg Mueller was second, followed by the Champion Motors Porsche 911 GT1 of Bob Wollek, Ralf Kelleners and Thierry Boutsen. Scott Pruett was among the driver lineup of the GT1-winning Panoz Esperante GTR-1.Promoted by Road Atlanta owner Don Panoz, the American version of the French classic resulted in the launching of the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón the following March at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida.A 21-time winner in major American sports car competition, Taylor counts the inaugural Petit Le Mans as one of his greatest victories. “No doubt, that was one of my highlights,” said Taylor, who also recorded a pair of victories in the Rolex 24 At Daytona in addition to the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. “It’s one of the hardest races to win. It’s become a big name in global motorsports. I’ve always felt it was a very big wins.”While Taylor is a native South African, his sons became to first Americans to win the race overall.“It’s amazing that they’re the first Americans to do it,” he said. “And, they’re so young!”Giuseppe Risi, owner of the No. 62 Ferrari 458 Italia in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship GT Le Mans class, partnered with Taylor in ownership of the Petit Le Mans-winning Ferrari prototype. “Giuseppe was one of the first people to call and congratulate me for winning last year’s race,” Taylor said. “He was very happy for me and the boys, and said what an amazing job they did.”One of Taylor’s memories from his 1998 victory was watching his boys running around the paddock, kicking soccer balls, “Not really focused on racing.”Last October, the proud father watched the boys running circles around the competition. “If somebody told me back then that my boys would win Petit Le Mans in 16 years for my team, I would have laughed at them,” Taylor said. “Look at them now!”