Reigning TCR Italy champion fought back from a tough qualifying session to charge from 15th to fourth place in the opening race of the 2025 season at Portimao, after a mistake in Q1 on Saturday morning cost him a chance of going through into the top 12 group.

Taylor managed to avoid the first lap trouble at Turn 4 which jumbled up the midpack, and he was able to work his way quickly into the lead group.

"For me, I’m super-happy with this," said Taylor. "I didn’t expect to end up as high as I did. I also missed the starting lights starting so far back, so I just watched when everyone else went.

"I lost a few spots at the start, but then I was getting about two or three overtakes each corner - then my engineer told me I was P6, just keep pushing!

"I noticed I had a lot of good pace, and I thought this was great. I’m really happy with the result today, as it’s the start of the championship, and now we’ve already got a good haul of points."