IMSA 2023: ROLEX 24 Cadillac Racing P3, P4 and P5

IMSA

Jan 31

Cadillac Racing began the Grand Touring Prototype era with third-, fourth- and fifth-place finishes in the 61st Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Chip Ganassi Racing's #01 Cadillac V-LMDh earned a podium finish with a final position of P3. Both Cadillac Racing Cadillacs V-LMDh completed the full 24-hour endurance race on the lead lap, with the #02 registering a P4 finish just behind the sister car.
Sebastien Bourdais, Scott Dixon and Renger van der Zande combined to lead 198 laps in the #01, while Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and Richard Westbrook led the field for 29 laps in the #02.

Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims and Jack Aitken led 87 laps until a pre-dawn incident involving a GTD necessitated a 25-minute trip to the garage. The #31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-LMDh finish fifth. The incident was the lone substantial setback for the new Cadillac prototypes.

📷 © Luc Warnotte. #01 **Cadillac Racing** **Cadillac V-LMDh** at ROLEX 24 2023.

#01 Chip Ganassi Racing drivers quotes

Sebastien Bourdais: "Obviously, we didn't run the perfect race but as close as you can get to it considering it was the first outing in a race for the Cadillac V-LMDh. Honestly, I didn't think a win would take the perfect race and then some. I'm really surprised that everybody ended up having a pretty clean race. It's tough to be on the wrong side of things, but we scored some strong points and all the hard work from the group at Chip Ganassi Racing, Cadillac, Bosch and Dallara have been rewarded by a triple finish."

Scott Dixon: "Pretty decent race. For all of us, it was just trying to get to the end. Great work by the team and all the partners involved, honestly. That's a feat in itself. I think coming down toward the end we knew it was going to be a tough fight, especially with the speed of the other cars. But I had fun, it was a fun race and just came a little bit short."

Renger van der Zande: "Finishing third is not what we came for, but it's the first time with the car and we got points with the podium to start the season. At the end of the day, we didn't have the pace to win, but we will collect and see where we can improve as a team. The podium is attributed to Cadillac, Dallara and Chip Ganassi Racing to build a car to last 24 hours. That's an amazing thing."

📷 © Luc Warnotte. #02 **Cadillac Racing** **Cadillac V-LMDh** at ROLEX 24 2023.

#02 Chip Ganassi Racing drivers quotes

Earl Bamber: "I think it was overall a very good job. It was really impressive for Chip Ganassi Racing and Cadillac that we can come out and run 24 hours with both cars on the lead lap, both cars fighting for podium. I think we missed a bit of pace, but the podium points are great for the sister car. Now, it's on to race Sebring."

Alex Lynn: "I think we're disappointed to not get the win. That's what you turn up to Daytona to do. The car ran flawlessly. Big congratulations to Cadillac and we'll be back."

Richard Westbrook: "What a journey for us to get to this point. To run flawlessly for 24 hours in the debut of the Cadillac V-LMDh is something we can all be proud of. Obviously, there is initial disappointment because we just missed out on the podium and had the potential to win. But listen, we just have so much to be proud of to get the car home without any issues. It's is just a testament to the team, Cadillac, and everyone involved. We are only going one way and that is forward.”

#31 Whelen Engineering drivers quote.

Pipo Derani: “It’s just one of those things and one of those races where you have to be there at the end and unfortunately, we got crashed by a GT. It wasn’t major, it was just a touch from the GT. But after two hours after that touch, our rear suspension gave up. So, really unfortunate there. The team did an amazing job to repair the car and put us back in contention. The car was really quick, so kind of bittersweet because we had a strong enough car to be on the podium, but that’s racing. Looks like we are going to be a strong team and I am looking forward to Sebring. The Cadillac V-LMDh has worked flawless over a 24-hour race, which is incredible.”

Alexander Sims: “It’s always disappointing when you get to the end of a long race like that, put in so much effort and don’t get the result you feel you deserve. But that’s the way racing is; it’s sport. There’s one winner and a lot of losers and that’s what makes it so special when you do win. It’s the fierst race we’ve had with this car, a lot of learning has been done and I think already we see where we can make decent improvements on the car side, on my side and that’s just part of building that overall picture to continue through the championship and get the results as we go along.”

Jack Aitken: “To finish fifth after everything that we went through in this race is quite an achievement and I think it goes to show how much attrition was out there as well. It is a shame because we led laps and were running with the leaders at the time. But that’s just bad luck in multi-class racing. We have a lot to be really proud of and it’s just the start of the season, so lots of really promising things happening. It was a great experience and very different from the other 24-hour races that I’ve done. I want to come back and hopefully get on the top step."