Wayne Taylor interested in full WEC campaign in 2026

Wayne Taylor Racing has revealed a desire to mount a full-season assault on the World Endurance Championship in 2026.

Having already received an entry to take part in next month’s Le Mans 24 Hours with a factory-backed Cadillac V-Series.R, team owner Wayne Taylor wants to ramp up his squad’s involvement in the Hypercar class next year.

WTR, which was affiliated with Acura between 2021-24, currently fields a pair of factory Cadillac LMDh prototypes in IMSA SportsCar Championship’s GTP class.

But the plan proposed by Taylor, which is still only in the initial stages, would see WTR split those two entries across IMSA and WEC next year.

Cadillac already has a two-car presence in the WEC this year via its new factory partner Jota Sport. Rules prevent manufacturers from entering more than two factory cars in Hypercar and any customer entry is entered under the FIA World Cup for Hypercar teams.

“As far as the future is concerned, I would love to have an entry on both sides of the pond, but I think JOTA are very well equipped over there. They've got a lot of experience,” he said.

“But I've had this thought over the last couple of days that maybe next year we'll present Cadillac and GM and all our partners, ‘What about if we do one car in WEC next year and one car in America?’

“I know that might not make my drivers happy, but at the end of the day we drive on our passion, which is racing and to win.”

WTR’s return to the General Motors fold has proved to be tough, with a fifth-place finish in the Daytona opener being the best result for the team so far in the GTP class.

However, Taylor said an expanded presence in the WEC next year would be sensible for the operation, as it would boost its chances for the series’ blue riband event at Circuit de la Sarthe.

“It's really just something that I'm flirting around in my head,” he said. “I think this probably is coming as a shock to the two drivers there that probably haven't even heard this from me. And certainly, I haven't discussed it with our partners.

“It just seems to make sense to me. The WEC is a European culture, which is different to an American culture of going racing. And I think some of those little things that you would learn as a team in WEC will naturally help you when you get to Le Mans.

“Having said that, we are good friends with JOTA. I think Ricky [Taylor] has joined them twice. We have a close relationship there, though when you get to a race everybody's for themselves. But in that sense, we are four factory Cadillac programs. And hopefully, that's the way it'll all work out.”