IMSA at Road America: Cadillac and BMW challenge

IMSA

Aug 2

Written By Car Racing Reporter

Cadillac V-Series.Rs primed to make statement on the 4-mile road course.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Watkins Glen. #01 Cadillac V-Series.R and #31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R.

With three races remaining in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season, Cadillac Racing is determined to return to the top step of the podium at Road America and remain at the forefront of title talk.

The No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R and No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R will compete against eight other Grand Touring Prototype entries Aug. 6 in the IMSA SportsCar Weekend.

Both Cadillac hybrid racecars enter the 2-hour, 40-minute race on the 4-mile, 14-turn road course with important data gleaned from the July 28-29 IMSA-sanctioned test on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Additionally, No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R drivers Pipo Derani and Alexander Sims participated in a single-day test on the fresh Road America surface before venturing to central Indiana. Source: Cadillac Racing.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at ROLEX 24 at Daytona. #01 Cadillac V-Series.R ended 3rd and #31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R fourth.

“Road America is cool to drive and now with the new tarmac a new challenge not only the new hybrid cars but trying to understand how much grip there is on the new surface,” Derani said. “We had a positive test day, which obviously will help when we hit the track for the race weekend.”

Cadillac Racing posted eight podium finishes at Road America in the DPi era, including victory in 2021 (Pipo Derani, Felipe Nasr). Cadillac leads the GTP Manufacturer Championship standings, while Derani and Sims pace the Driver/Team Championship standings.

The first-year pairing is keen on increasing their points advantage. They won at Sebring International Raceway and have two other podium finishes.

“I think so far this season has been too much up and down despite us leading the points,” said Derani, the 2021 DPi champion. “I think there were moments when we could have had a much better result and a much bigger points lead. There are moments when you think ‘I should have done this different and it would have made the whole weekend better.’

“Being such a new program, I think everyone is in the same boat. Going into the last three races of the season we know exactly where we need to focus to try to snatch the first GTP championship.” Source: Cadillac Racing.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Sebring. #01 Cadillac V-Series.R

Sebastien Bourdais: “I think Road America is one of the coolest tracks in the U.S. Just a beautiful, natural, long, good old racetrack. It self-polices itself. It’s challenging but rewarding when you get it right. We weren’t able to test there, so that will set us on the back foot. It was good to test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to learn more about the car and get ready for the last few races of the season. Every time you go back to a track that’s been freshly repaved, the grip is just amazing, and I think it’s going to be exciting to give it a go.”

Renger van der Zande: “We didn’t test at Road America so it’s going to be a bit of finding the limits of our car there. We did a full day in the simulator to create a few directions of setup to try and we had the Indianapolis test to try some topics that have been on our minds for a long time. Road America’s new tarmac will be new for a lot of people, including myself. I’m sure it will be very quick, very smooth and I’m looking forward to giving it a go there and get back in Victory Circle.” Source: Cadillac Racing

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Sebring. #31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R won the 12 Hours of Sebring 2023.

Pipo Derani: “It always a pleasure to go back to Road America. It’s one of the nicest tracks, I think, worldwide. Cool to drive and now with the new tarmac a new challenge not only the new hybrid cars but trying to understand how much grip there is on the new surface. We had a positive test day, which obviously will help when we hit the track for the race weekend. Road America has provided amazing racing over the last few years. It’s a track that allows easy overtaking. It creates great racing for the fans as us as drivers. I would have liked to come out of Mosport with a 100-plus points lead, which could have happened. Unfortunately, we got caught out with a yellow at the end and left Mosport almost tied in points. You just try to minimize that, and fingers crossed with three races to go that we’ll make the fewest mistakes and come out with the championship. Looking forward to having a better result than Mosport and pushing the Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series. R to its maximum potential so we can push this championship fight forward.”

Alexander Sims: “It was helpful to test there with the track rubbered in since our pre-Le Mans test when we were there in the snow and get a proper read. Extremely low grip offline, so that is going to be difficult for racing with the GTD cars. The car was working well, and we were able to gather valuable information on car setup. There will be some challenges to get through the traffic cleanly throughout the whole race to not lose any time and have any off-track excursions. I’m looking forward to the race and continuing the fight for the championship.” Source: Cadillac Racing

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Watkins Glen. #31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R.

BMW M Team RLL aiming for third consecutive GTP podium.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Watkins Glen. #25 BMW M Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8.

After a break of four weeks, BMW M Team RLL is now ready to resume the 2023 season in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship (IMSA series). The seventh round of the year will be held at Road America near Elkhart Lake (USA) this upcoming weekend. After celebrating victory at Watkins Glen (USA) and third place at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CAN), BMW M Team RLL is aiming for the third consecutive podium for the BMW M Hybrid V8 in the new GTP class. In total, the team has claimed one victory and three further podium finishes in the season so far with the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8.

In the four weeks following the round six race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, both of the BMW M Hybrid V8 racing cars have been very busy testing for this weekend’s event at Road America. All four season-long drivers, Connor De Phillippi (USA), Nick Yelloly (GBR), Augusto Farfus (BRA), and Philipp Eng (AUT), participated in a two-day test at Road America where both cars accumulated more than 1,491 total miles on the recently resurfaced track. Just last week the team spent two-days at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (USA) with drivers De Phillippi, Colton Herta (USA), and Jesse Krohn (FIN). The second day of the test ended with the #25 and #24 BMWs at the top of the timing sheets. Source: BMW Group.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at ROLEX 24 2023. #25 BMW M Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8.

Connor De Phillippi: “Road America is one of the greatest circuits the US has to offer. With a fresh layer of pavement, it has added an even greater fun factor in our BMW M Hybrid V8. Our two-day tests, several weeks ago, went very well and it was great for all of us to gain experience at such a dynamic track that requires the car to do everything well. We feel well prepared, and I know we expect to fight for the top spot-on Sunday.”

Nick Yelloly: “I’m really looking forward to going to race at Road America. We had a positive test there a couple of weeks ago. It has been nice to be able to learn a track before actually raing there for the first time which is a rarity for my first season in IMSA so I’m feeling pretty well prepared. My team-mate Connor had a good test in Indy in the last couple of days while I had been at the Nürburgring for the GT World Challenge. It’s another iconic track in the United States to try to conquer and I’m ready for it.” Source: BMW Group.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Daytona. #24 BMW M Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8.

Philipp Eng: “We´ve had a very productive Road America test. It is a fantastic track, just how I like it – no runoff and old school. Can´t wait to be back there for race week and fight for a victory!”

Augusto Farfus: “We have high expectations for our performance for Road America – especially since we have tested there recently. The track is a North American mixture of Spa and the Nordschleife, so I am very much looking forward to it.” Source: BMW Group.

The live USA Network telecast and Peacock streaming of the race starts at 11 a.m. ET Sunday, Aug. 6. Outside the U.S., streaming will be available at IMSA.com/TVLive. IMSA Radio at IMSA.com, RadioLeMans.com plus SiriusXM live (XM 207, Web/App 992) broadcast of the race also starts at 11 a.m.