Photo: Jake Galstad / IMSA
Jordan Taylor admitted that he was shocked by the news that he and co-driver Nicky Catsburg would have to drive the last seven hours of the Rolex 24 in Daytona as a pair after COVID-19 diagnosis by co-driver Antonio Garcia in the middle of running.
Taylor, Garcia and Catsburg teamed up for the first victory of the endurance race for the Chevrolet Corvette C8.R, but Taylor and Catsburg were forced to drive more than anticipated in the race for the checkered flag.
“It was not good news to be honest!” said Taylor. “I had finished my [second] triple constraint … I should have finished. I should go for a massage and relax and watch Nicky and Antonio run.
“I was so looking forward to relaxing and then they said, ‘Hey, Antonio can’t get back in the car.’ To be honest, I was in shock. I was like, there’s no way.
“Antonio is our guy; he is our finisher. That’s what we want to have in the car for the end. I was very disappointed with Antonio, because I know how much it means to him, how much he wanted to win and finish the race.
“Fortunately, we train well. We have great support from doctors here to keep us healthy and fit. Physicality was not so bad, it was more, I would say, mental tension was difficult. “
Taylor said the team sought instructions from IMSA on how to proceed and expressed confidence in the team’s own preventive measures, but acknowledged that he would not join his family to celebrate a historic day for the Taylor clan just in case.
“Corvette Racing and Pratt & Miller take safety and health very seriously, so the protocols we have are extremely serious,” he said. “Drivers can’t really interact, even in 24 hours.
“I didn’t get to see Nicky during the entire race, I just passed the car over to the next one and we will see each other after the race. For me, Antonio I saw before the race and that was the last time.
“Even so, we are always distancing ourselves socially, we are always taking the right protocols, surface to surface we use gloves and balaclavas and helmets so that nothing in the car can be at risk for us.
“We don’t worry too much. We take the lead at IMSA and NASCAR to trust ourselves.
“They gave us this platform to run and be here, so the last thing we want to do is break their protocols and do something unsafe and harmful to health.
“We did what they said and yes, it is definitely sad and disappointing that Antonio wasn’t there in the end, but he was a big part of our victory today.
“He leads these 3 cars, he has been here for years, he started the race very well for us. So for us, it was sad that he couldn’t share with us on the podium, but we will definitely see him in a few weeks, when he is better and clean and we can all go and celebrate.
“I’m fine to sit at my house alone for as long as it takes and [look after] my Rolex for a while. I’m going to take the test, I’m going to make sure I’m safe.
“I just live with my dog and I don’t think dogs can get COVID now, so we’ll be fine.”
