Sebastien Bourdais earns third pole of season in No. 01 V-Performance Academy DPi-V.R
LEXINGTON, Ohio (May 14, 2022) – Cadillac claimed its third pole start in five IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship races as Sebastien Bourdais recorded a best lap of 1 minute, 10.439 seconds in the No. 01 V-Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R on the 2.258-mile, 13-turn Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
The No. 01 V-Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R will lead the field to the green flag for the 2-hour, 40-minute Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio on Sunday, May 15. The will air live on USA Network and stream on Peacock starting at 2 p.m. ET. IMSA Radio will broadcast the race at IMSA.com along with XM 207.
“We had to push really hard really early on the green flag because it was drizzling and I wasn’t sure the lap was going to be good enough, but I nailed a good one,” said Bourdais, who presented Cadillac Racing its first pole in five races at Mid-Ohio since 2018. “The boys did a really good job of giving us some fast cars we got that Cadillac up there. We’re definitely hoping for a clean start and keeping the Cadillac up front throughout the race.”
Earlier this season, Bourdais reset the track records in qualifying on the pole at Sebring International Raceway and the streets of Long Beach, California. He and co-driver Renger van der Zande went on to win at Long Beach. Last May, the No. 01 V-Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R set the race record lap time of 1:12.188 (112.605 mph).
The sister No. 02 Cadillac Accessories Cadillac DPi-V.R will start on the outside of Row 2 as Alex Lynn posted a best lap of 1:10.995. Tristan Nunez registered a best lap of 1:11.053 in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R and will start fifth. Tristan Vautier drove the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R to a best lap of 1:11.083 and will start sixth.
The No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R, co-driven by reigning DPi champion Pipo Derani, has finished second the past two years at Mid-Ohio – by a combined margin of less than one second – in the 2-hour, 40-minute races. Derani and Nunez enter the race off a third-place finish May 1 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
Cadillac DPi entries have won two of the four IMSA races this season, including podium sweeps at Sebring and Long Beach, and collected eight podium finishes overall.
Cadillac Racing from the cockpit
No. 01 V-Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R
Renger van der Zande, Sebastien Bourdais
Bourdais drove in the qualifying session (start first, 1:10.439): “We had to push really hard really early on the green flag because it was drizzling and I wasn’t sure the lap was going to be good enough, but I nailed a good one. The boys did a really good job of giving us some fast cars we got that Cadillac up there. We’re definitely hoping for a clean start and keeping the Cadillac up front throughout the race.”
No. 02 Cadillac Accessories Cadillac DPi-V.R
Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn
Lynn drove in the qualifying session (start fourth, 1:10.995): “I think overall it was a positive day for us getting P4. Congrats to the sister car for pole position. I think we made big improvements on our side of the garage. We are in a nice position for tomorrow and both myself and Earl are looking forward to a fun race.”
No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R
Pipo Derani, Tristan Nunez
Nunez drove in the qualifying session (start fifth, 1:11.053): “I’m not happy with the result; you always want to be further up the grid for the race, especially at a track like this where track position is so key. But the car is quick and I think we had the car for a top three, but unfortunately with the traffic in trying to get a lap I think I might have lost my quick lap with tire life. For me, personally, I’m just feeling more and more comfortable with this car. It’s confidence-inspiring for me to go into this race. I’m feeling really good about tomorrow. We made it happen last race by ending up on the podium from the back and I have no doubt that we can do even better than that tomorrow.”
No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R
Tristan Vautier, Richard Westbrook
Vautier drove in the qualifying session (start sixth, 1:11.083): “It’s tight. What’s hard is the balance of the car is not out of the window and we’re very close. It’s just frustrating to be P6. I cannot look back and say here’s where I lost it. I feel like I got the most out of it, so that makes it tough. Execution is going to play a lot in the race. We’ll focus on that and try to find a bit more speed.”
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