Konica Minolta DPi-V.R Qualifying Report America’s Tire 250 at Laguna Seca

Date: Sept. 8, 2018 Event: America’s Tire 250 (Round 9 of 10) Series: Prototype division of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Location: WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California (2.238-mile, 11-turn road course) Result: 1st by Jordan Taylor (1:52.430 at 129.616 mph)

The No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R will start Sunday’s America’s Tire 250 from the pole after IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship qualifying Saturday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California.

Jordan Taylor, who with co-driver is looking for the team’s first win here since 2013, clocked a fast lap of 1 minute, 116.181 mph around the 2.238-mile, 11-turn road course in his first qualifying effort of the season. It was best among the 35 car- and-driver combinations that will take the green flag for Sunday’s two-hour, 40-minute race. It was Taylor’s 11th career pole and the team’s second consecutive Laguna Seca pole and third in the last four seasons. Taylor qualified on the pole here in 2015 en route to a runner-up finish in the race.

“It was a good lap,” said Taylor, who co-drove to victory here with Max “The Ax” Angelelli in the penultimate race of the 2013 season en route to that year’s championship. “We’ve had a good Cadillac all weekend and Renger was fast in practice all week. I had a good qualifying setup that worked over one lap, but in practice we were working on a car that would handle for the whole race. It’s nice to start from the pole. We will work from the front and see if we can control it. Laguna is always a low-grip track. You are always sliding around. We focused on the handling toward the end of the stint. Renger is going to finish the race and developed a setup that best suits him, so hopefully we have the car setup right so he can battle for the win.”

The top-five qualifiers for Sunday’s America’s Tire 250 are:

1. Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R (No. 10 Cadillac DPi-V.R) Jordan Taylor and Renger van der Zande (1:16.181 at 105.758 mph)

2. (No. 6 Acura DPi) and (1:52.780 at 129.214 mph)

3. Acura Team Penske (No. 7 Acura DPi) Helio Castroneves and (1:16.662 at 105.094 mph)

4. Tequila Patron ESM (No. 22 DPi) and (1:16.766 at 104.952 mph)

5. Core Autosport (No. 54 Oreca LMP2) and Jonathan Bennett (1:16.774 at 104.941 mph)

The green flag flies at 5:05 p.m. EDT Sunday with FS1’s live broadcast beginning at 5 p.m.

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Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. is reshaping and revolutionizing the Workplace of the Future™ (www.reshapework.com) with its expansive smart office product portfolio from IT Services (All Covered), ECM, Managed Print Services and industrial and commercial print solutions. Konica Minolta has been recognized as the #1 Brand for Customer Loyalty in the MFP Office Copier Market by Brand Keys for 11 consecutive years, and is proud to be ranked on the Forbes 2017 America's Best Employers list. The World Technology Awards recently named the company a finalist in the IT Software category. Konica Minolta, Inc. has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for six consecutive years. It partners with its clients to give shape to ideas and work to bring value to our society. For more information, please visit: www.CountOnKonicaMinolta.com and follow Konica Minolta on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.

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