Bamber drives No. 02 Cadillac Accessories Cadillac DPi-V.R to second in quals for 10-hour race
BRASELTON, Ga. (Sept. 30, 2022) – Earl Bamber recorded a lap of 1 minute, 8.788 seconds in the No. 02 Cadillac Accessories DPi-V.R on the 2.54-mile, 12-turn Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta course in the 15-minute qualifying session to earn a front-row start in the 25th Motul Petit Le Mans.
Bamber, co-driving with Alex Lynn and Ryan Hunter-Reay in the 10-hour race, was 0.233 of a second off securing the fifth Motul Pole Award of the season for Cadillac Racing.
The No. 02 Cadillac Accessories Cadillac DPi-V.R topped the time sheet in two of the three practice sessions a day earlier. The sister No. 01 V-Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R paced the field in the afternoon session.
Bamber and Lynn teamed with Neel Jani to win the Twelve Hours of Sebring in March.
The No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R, with Tristan Vautier behind the wheel, qualified fourth. Sebastien Bourdais, who claimed four pole positions in the 10 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship races, qualified fifth in the No. 01 V-Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R.
Kamui Kobayashi qualified sixth in the No. 48 Ally Cadillac DPi-V.R, while reigning DPi champion Pipo Derani will start seventh in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R.
The field, competing in the final race of the DPi era, is separated by a half-second.
Peacock will have flag-to-flag streaming coverage of the race starting at noon ET Saturday, Oct. 1. NBC will telecast the race from noon-3 p.m. ET, while USA will pick up coverage from 7-10:30 p.m.
Cadillac Racing lineup, starting position and quotes
No. 02 Cadillac Accessories Cadillac DPi-V.R (Chip Ganassi Racing)
Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn, Ryan Hunter-Reay
Bamber drove in the qualifying session (start second, 1:08.788): “We had a really good car all weekend and something to challenge for the pole but there was a yellow and some traffic on a key lap. I think we have a really good race car, Alex and Ryan are really strong and we definitely have the potential to win this one. Now we just need to execute tomorrow.”
No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R (JDC-Miller MotorSports)
Tristan Vautier, Richard Westbrook, Loic Duval
Westbrook drove in the qualifying session (start fourth, 1:08.853): “I’m just upset because we had a front-row car today and I got tangled up with a car coming out of the pits and debating whether he was going to let me by or slip in behind me and that kind of disturbed me a little bit on those two laps where the tires were at their best. I have a would have, could have, should have feeling. I feel like I got the most out of the car. It is a little upsetting because it was the last qualy of the year and last of the DPi era. We’ve been struggling the last few races so I would have loved to put it on the front row. I’m proud of what the team has done coming in here with no testing and giving us such a good car. There are 10 hours to go tomorrow.”
No. 01 V-Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R (Chip Ganassi Racing)
Renger van der Zande, Sebastien Bourdais, Scott Dixon
Bourdais drove in the qualifying session (start fifth, 1:08.905): “I’m obviously disappointed because we’ve had a lot of speed this year and some great cars, which allowed us to put the car on pole four times. It’s not the way I wanted to finish qualifying in the DPi era, but we’ll see if we can make the car a little better for tomorrow and go at it for 10 hours.”
No. 48 Ally Cadillac DPi-V.R (Action Express Racing)
Jimmie Johnson, Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Rockenfeller
Kobayashi drove in the qualifying session (start sixth, 1:08.984): “We tried our best but the race is not only the qualy. I’m looking forward to tomorrow. I’m happy for the work everyone has done. We have to put together a smooth race to come out on top in the last race of the DPi era. I definitely enjoyed this car and will miss driving it in the future.”
No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R (Action Express Racing)
Pipo Derani, Olivier Pla, Mike Conway
Derani drove in the qualifying session (start seventh, 1:09.075): “The field is very tight, so it could have been either way. Not ideal to qualifying seventh, but in general the car looks like it’s better than when it started the weekend. It’s going to be a fantastic race. Very interesting for the fans having all those cars really close on pace. It’s a 10-hour race, so qualifying is not the most important thing with the field so close, which means everyone is really competitive.”
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