Filipe Albuquerque is a multi-time championship winning driver and races the Acura ARX-06 GTP car in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti (with teammate Ricky Taylor). We caught up with Albuquerque at the media luncheon just prior to the race at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. In this podcast interview, he gives us a fascinating insight into simulator prep work and specifically for this event. He goes into some detail between the Honda Driver in the Loop (DIL) sim versus iRacing.

This is also a good interview for kids to listen to as he talks about how valuable his education was and how it has impacted his racing career. Enjoy!

NOTE: Albuquerque and Taylor would go on to win the Detroit Grand Prix this season and score a podium (third) at Mid-Ohio in August. Going into the final race of the season, the Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on October 9-12, 2024, he currently sits sixth in the championship standings.

By Larry Mason

Copyright © 2024 Larry Mason

Felipe Albuquerque shares a warm smile with fans in the autograph line before the start of the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race at Long Beach.

Albuquerque shares the #10 Acura with his teammate Ricky Taylor during the season. These cars are built for speed and endurance while making it easy to change drivers during pit stops.

Albuquerque waits patiently in pit lane with his seat insert while Taylor is out on track. Here you can see the Honda engineers monitoring just about everything on the car.

These GTP cars are so low to the ground that from the driver’s perspective, he can only see a concrete jungle. For the fans trackside, at this point, they can only see the top of the car!

With the Porsche and BMW GTP cars hot on Albuquerque’s gearbox, he does all he can to make his car fast and wide through the always challenging Turn 10 at Long Beach.

The iconic Long Beach skyline is the backdrop for Albuquerque to hustle his way through the super-tight Turn 11 hairpin.

Interview and photos Copyright © by Larry Mason (unless otherwise noted)