Milestones in mind for Jordan Taylor as he looks from Sebring to Le Mans with his family’s team

Jordan Taylor is, of course, looking forward to a shot at winning the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in consecutive years, but not much further up the road, he'll be completing a milestone for the team that's been almost 20 years in the making -- helping take his family's team to the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

It was just a little less than two weeks ago that the Le Mans entry list for 2025 was revealed, and Wayne Taylor Racing (officially listed as Cadillac WTR) was part of the 21-strong entry list in the Hypercar class.

"I think ever since my dad started a racing program (back in 2004), the goal was always to go to Le Mans," Jordan says. "Being a team that was in Grand-Am and then on the IMSA side, it's difficult to get entries, especially when the class structure didn't really accept cars from the prototype class back in the day. Once the GTP and Hypercar era started, that goal was a little bit more realistic.

"The first couple of years, it wasn't an option," he notes, in reference to the team's previous partner Acura, which had no immediate plans to take on the FIA World Endurance Championship or Le Mans. "So being back with Cadillac and GM was a was a big part of that. Getting into Le Mans, it's definitely a lifelong goal for my dad and his team, and everyone's super excited and super motivated.

"It's going to be a lot of work. Every team that's been that's going there this year has experience and Wayne Taylor Racing is probably the freshest of anyone. But we've got a lot of smart people on our team and a lot of motivation."

It'll be the Taylor brothers, Jordan and Ricky -- and fifth-year WTR driver Filipe Albuquerque -- driving the brilliant blue No. 101 Cadillac V-Series.R at Le Mans, 23 years after Wayne Taylor himself made his last start as a Le Mans driver, behind the wheel of a factory Cadillac Northstar LMP02.

Team boss Wayne Taylor was on the driving strength for Cadillac's previous Le Mans forays with its Northstar LMPs in the early 2000s. Getty Images

Sure, the younger of Wayne Taylor's sons has raced at Le Mans nine times as well as serving as the driver coach of the immensely popular NASCAR Garage 56 project in 2023. But this year it will feel special for Jordan -- not only to race for his father's team, but to race alongside his brother at Le Mans for the first time.

With this new endeavor comes new challenges as well, for a staff of people that has limited experience at Le Mans. "I think there's just so many unknowns for a team going there," says Taylor. "Our technical director, Brian Pillar, went there with Ricky a couple years ago to support Ricky and spent the whole race with the team to kind of get a head start and understanding. A lot of the crew guys and engineers have had some level of experience, but there's just so many new things.

"It’s a completely new rulebook. You're dealing with a whole different group of people, a small language barrier. I think just understanding all the different rules -- we don't have slow zones in America, all those little things.

"I think the good thing is we do have some time to prepare. Obviously, you'd always want some more, but I think everyone knows how big the challenge is and how big the undertaking is. They're already doing their due diligence contacting people that have done the event before to kind of get some more insight.

"I've even been reaching out to some of the Garage 56 group to kind of get some help from them either from a logistics point of view or who they used, little things like that. I think everyone's kind of all hands on deck."

But before Le Mans, before nailing down Trans-Atlantic logistics, "Le Pesage," scrutineering, testing, learning -- there is a goal within reach tomorrow as Taylor seeks to win Sebring in his chrome silver No. 40 Cadillac.

Taking part in an Ultraman triathlon in Florida last month was in itself a remarkable achievement for Taylor after eight months of preparation, but for him, it's also a good pre-Sebring warm-up. "Come race day at Sebring, my heart rate will be higher than any triathlon I do," he says, "just because the level of intensity and the passion to win is higher.

"I'd say Sebring is up there on every driver's list to win. That's where the intensity comes from. And the physical side is obviously always there with the bumps, the traffic, the nighttime with the lights -- it makes it extremely stressful. It just has all the elements to make for a great sports car race."

Taylor and co-driver Louis Deletraz won this race last year in their Acura ARX-06, then joined by Colton Herta as part of an alliance between Wayne Taylor Racing and Andretti Global. This year, the black and red Acura is now a Cadillac, the Andretti name is no longer on the entry and Herta's been replaced by super-sub Brendon Hartley, a late replacement for WTR's planned third man Alex Lynn.

Given Taylor's prior history with General Motors before his recent fling with Honda/Acura, the V-Series.R has fit him like a glove.

"It’s been a good transition. I've spent my entire career in GM vehicles, so kind of as soon as I jumped back into the Cadillac, you kind of feel that just natural feel of a GM car," he says. "I don't know how to explain it, but you kind of know you're in either a Corvette or a Cadillac. And for me, it felt more like home."

James Gilbert/Getty Images

WTR spent the February IMSA test at Sebring trying to optimize its setups with the new car, and they hope to take advantage of the V-Series.R's strength in tire degradation at a race that will be punishing on rubber -- something that Taylor and company learned while behind the wheel of the Acura and racing against the Action Express and Chip Ganassi Cadillacs.

"I think Sebring will be a whole different animal now," he reckons. "I've been kind of rewatching last year's race to kind of get an idea, and it seemed like tire deg was a big part of it and the Cadillacs did seem strong over the long runs. So, I think it's interesting.

"Obviously, we're still learning. I think the setups that the teams decide on have a huge influence on so many factors. “We did a lot of big swings at our Sebring test to kind of get an idea of what works in the day versus night and long run versus short runs. So, hopefully we can make the right decisions that will benefit us.”

Despite the change in manufacturer, Jordan is as optimistic as ever that he can repeat alongside his new supporting cast.

"I don't think it changes much. We've had a long history at this race," he says. "I think our first 12 Hours was 2014 as a team. So we have a lot of history in the event that we can rely on.

"A lot to learn, but I think with this class being around for three years now, the Cadillac group can kind of bring us up to speed extremely quickly and help learning the setup side, the systems side, how to strategize all those things.

“I think we have a big head start. If we got a Cadillac last year, it would have been way more difficult, but I think we’re going into it well prepared.”