DETROIT (June 1, 2024) – Cadillac scored its fifth podium in as many IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship races with third place in the Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic.
With the home crowd cheering on the gold No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R and red No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R throughout the 100-minute race, crucial points were scored by both teams in the season-long Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) championship.
Sebastien Bourdais, who qualified third in the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R, pitted for fuel with 72 minutes left and gave way to Renger van der Zande, who stayed out of trouble in the chaotic closing minutes on the 1.654-mile, nine-turn temporary street circuit to cross the finish line third.
“Congratulations to the Cadillac Racing team and the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R on their podium finish in the Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic. It’s great to win on the streets of Detroit – our hometown and where Cadillac was founded more than 120 years ago,” said John Roth, global vice president of Cadillac.
“The podium today demonstrates the deep expertise and capabilities of the team, as well as the power of V-Series, which includes the V-Series.R racecar, and Cadillac’s portfolio of performance vehicles. Every member of the team can be very proud of their efforts, with the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R performing so well from both a technology and durability standpoint.”
Pipo Derani and Jack Aitken combined to gain four positions from qualifying to place sixth in the No. 31 Whelen. Cadillac V-Series.R. Derani, the reigning GTP champion who has recorded three pole starts, had his two quickest laps in qualifying nullified because of bringing out a red flag.
Bourdais and van der Zande moved to second in the championship standings, while Derani and Aitken are fourth (eight points out of third). Cadillac Racing GTP entries have registered one victory, four runners-up and the third-place finish.
The No. 10 Acura ARX-06 won its first race of the season.
All four Cadillac Racing drivers who competed in the Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic are included in the three-car roster for the 92nd 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 15-16.
Bourdais and van der Zande will co-drive with six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon, while Derani and Aitken will be joined by 2022 F2 champion Felipe Drugovich.
The full-season FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) Cadillac V-Series.R entry will have Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and reigning IndyCar champion Alex Palou sharing the seat.
Cadillac Racing photos for editorial use from Detroit
The next IMSA race is the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen on June 23 at Watkins Glen International. USA will telecast the race from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. ET, while Peacock will provide flag-to-flag streaming coverage in the U.S. and IMSA.TV will stream outside the U.S. imsaradio.com will have the race broadcast.
What they’re saying
No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R
Sebastien Bourdais: “I had a pretty short stint. With a short format, you pit so early in the window to try and prevent yourself from getting caught out with yellows. We had a really, really late call and to get the cockpit ready for pitstop was almost impossible. Then, the earlier you pit the quicker you need the pitstop to be. So, it didn’t turn out the way we wanted but we salvaged a starting position at the end, which is not a bad day at all.”
Renger van der Zande: “I think we should be very happy with P3. For the championship, it’s good points. I think we’re second in the championship now and closed the gap to the first ones. I would have liked a bit more speed in the car. We just lacked top speed to really attack him. It was four or five car lengths in the back straight. We were strong on the brakes, strong on the corners, but didn’t have the top speed to attack. So, third was maximum possible and I think it’s so exciting here and so exciting to be racing in front of General Motors. There was new street track learning; how to get fast here. It was good fun. I’m really enjoyed that.”
No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R
Pipo Derani: “It’s a day that was damage limitation for us. When we knew how qualifying went, we said we had to do something different to try to fight for the win. We did it but it wasn’t enough because we were then depending on a yellow to come out on top. We finished P6 and during the race I thought we were going to be last because of how the strategy worked and the yellow didn’t come our way. With a little chaotic race here and there, we finished P6, so we’ll take it. Obviously, not a fantastic weekend for us, but when you talk about a long championship when you take P6 when you most likely would have finished 10th, it’s a good day.”
Jack Aitken: “With the nature of these sprint races, if you want to be competitive and everyone today was being super aggressive. I think, generally, to come in P6 after qualifying P10 we’ll take that because it’s some decent points in the bank and we’ll move forward to the next race where hopefully we’ll have a better week.”
