One of the hallmarks of Corvette Racing has been its consistency, both on the track and off. Comprised of a supremely-dedicated team with some of racing’s most highly-likable personalities at the forefront, the lack of drama within Corvette Racing’s pits makes the recent rumor of Jordan Taylor replacing Danish Jan Magnussen at Corvette Racing for the 2020 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. Corvette Racing will be celebrating its 20th anniversary, as well as debuting the new C8.R for competition. The world got a few short glimpses of the car in action at Sebring last year.

The thought of such a change came as a surprise to many, as the entire team of Corvette drivers is admired by their fans as much as they are feared by competitors. Not to say that crew changes never happen at Corvette Racing. Several veteran Corvette pilots have gone on to other venues or chose to begin taking a slower line through life. While this is to be expected, the recent rumblings were anything but anticipated.

Jordan had driven for Corvette Racing between 2012-2017 with great success. Here, Jordan Taylor stands with fellow drivers Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia to celebrate their third-place finish on June 18, 2017, in the GTE Pro class of the 24 Hours of Le Mans at Circuit de La Sarthe in Le Mans, France. (Photo by Richard Prince for Chevy Racing).

Many were surmising why the driver line-up took the path that it did and wondered who might have instigated the change. There are many factors that could have played a role in the decision ultimately, and most aren’t even within the Corvette Racing realm. One of the main elements creating a shuffle in the GTLM ranks is Ford pulling their program out of the series, which will free up several excellent drivers for teams to pick up for their programs.

Jordan had previously been a staple for his father’s Wayne Taylor Racing team since 2013. He had also previously driven for Corvette Racing. He waved the Corvette banner at Le Mans from 2012-2017 and drove to a class win in 2015 with Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner. Other accomplishments for Jordan include a 2013 Grand-Am Rolex Series Daytona Prototype championship, 2017 IMSA Prototype championship, two-time Rolex 24 At Daytona winner, two-time Petit Le Mans winner, and 2017 12 Hours of Sebring winner. If you would like to see some of Jordan’s handiwork first-hand, feel free to check out this video of a practice run at Le Mans.

If the rumor proves to be true, it’s apparent that when the Corvette C8.R has its debut amid the competition, even with a change in the driver lineup, the new race car will be in familiar, and quite capable hands.