Sebastien Bourdais earns second-row start in qualifying for Rolex 24 At Daytona
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 22, 2023) — After two years of planning, design and development, Cadillac Racing is eagerly anticipating beginning the new era of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class with its three Cadillac V-LMDh race cars at the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
Qualifying for the 61st edition of the traditional season opener was conducted on a breezy, warm afternoon on the 3.56-mile, 12-turn Daytona International Speedway road course.
Sebastien Bourdais, driving the No. 01 Cadillac V-LMDh, paced the Cadillac contingent with a best lap of 1 minute, 34.262 seconds and will start on the outside of Row 2. Teammate Alex Lynn qualified fifth at 1:34.389 in the No. 02 Cadillac V-LMDh and Pipo Derani posted a best lap of 1:34.608 to qualified sixth in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-LMDh.
All three Cadillac entries were hampered by a red flag that interrupted the 20-minute qualifying session. Lynn registered only three laps, Bourdais turned four laps and Derani got in six. Tom Blomqvist earned the pole with a lap of 1:34.031 in his Acura AXR-06.
The three Cadillac V-LMDh entries combined to turn 366 laps in six free practice sessions without incident or protracted time on pit lane as they gathered data about mechanical and aerodynamic setups, tire wear and the hybrid system’s performance contributions among other items.
Cadillac Racing teams and drivers will have three free practice sessions Thursday, Jan. 26, and two the next day for final preparations and pit stop/driver change practice before they take the green flag for the race at 1:40 p.m. EST Saturday, Jan. 28.
The electrified Cadillac prototype features an all-new Cadillac 5.5-liter DOHC V8 engine developed by GM’s Performance and Racing propulsion team based in Pontiac, Michigan, with a seven-speed sequential gearbox. IMSA has specified the power output at 670 horsepower, including the hybrid system; weight at 1,030kg without fuel and driver; and a maximum of 8,800 RPM.
Cadillac, the only LMDh manufacturer with a naturally aspirated engine in the GTP class, will seek to build on its legacy of success in the 61st Rolex 24 At Daytona with its fifth overall victory 2017. The list:
2020 (Renger van der Zande, Ryan Briscoe, Scott Dixon, Kamui Kobayashi)
2019 (Renger van der Zande, Fernando Alonso; Jordan Taylor, Kamui Kobayashi)
2018 (Christian Fittipaldi, Filipe Albuquerque, Joao Barbosa)
2017 (Jeff Gordon, Jordan Taylor, Ricky Taylor, Max Angelelli)Also since 2017, a Cadillac prototype has recorded 27 victories in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition – the most by any manufacturer — and three Manufacturer Championships.
A Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing will be among the Safety Cars for the race that will show the green flag at 1:40 p.m. EST Saturday, Jan. 28.
No. 01 Cadillac V-LMDh (qualified fourth, 1:34.262)
Sebastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande, Scott Dixon
Bourdais drove in qualifying: “I think that the track from the 15 minutes (extra free practice preceding qualifying) to the end of qualifying where we did our lap the grip on the track was up significantly and we’ve never run that fast and the car felt amazing. Really happy for the Cadillac team and I think it’s a strong start. Obviously, not the goal but as close as we can get without getting it. I think it bodes well for the race so now it’s just about executing and making no mistakes and hoping that the gods of electronics are with us for 24 hours.”
No. 02 Cadillac V-LMDh (qualified fifth, 1:34.389)
Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn, Richard Westbrook
Lynn drove in qualifying: “Pretty happy, to be honest. We made a lot of improvements on the car the last couple of days and I think where we ended up with the balance was great. We’ll see what next week brings.”
No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-LMDh (qualified sixth, 1:34.608)
Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims, Jack Aitken
Derani drove in qualifying: “It wasn’t the luckiest qualifying session for me. I had two tentative laps before the red flag, which doesn’t help because of tire wear. I tried it again one last time but by that time the car wasn’t perfect, and obviously without a reference it’s hard to know what to do. In general, I think the car is working well and the most important thig is we have a good car for the race. That’s our goal.”
About Cadillac
A leading luxury auto brand since 1902, Cadillac is growing globally, driven by an expanding product portfolio that features distinctive design and technology. More information on Cadillac appears at www.cadillac.com.
