Reigning GTP champion sets the pace on first day of the Roar Before the 24
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 19, 2024) – A productive opening day of the Roar Before the 24 for Cadillac Racing was punctuated by the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R recording the best lap time of the two sessions on the 3.56-mile, 12-turn Daytona International Speedway.
Reigning IMSA Weathertech SportsCar Championship Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) champion Pipo Derani set the pace at 1 minute, 35.217 seconds with 12:30 left in the 90-minute session.
Teammates Jack Aitken and Tom Blomqvist also saw significant seat time in the hybrid racecar.
“It’s getting back into the rhythm,” Derani said “You’ve got to be on your toes. It was a good day, but still you’ve got to keep digging. It’s great to be back. I think the three of us are running fairly similar and want the same thing from the car. We still have our program to go through, and we are ticking those boxes, and hopefully we’ll be as ready as we can for the race week.”
The prelude to the Jan. 27-28 season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona includes three sessions Saturday and a warmup Sunday before the 15-minute GTP qualifying that will set the field for the twice-around-the-clock test.
Ten hybrid GTP racecars are entered in the 62nd edition of the endurance classic.
The No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R driven by Sebastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande, Scott Dixon and Alex Palou was sixth quick in the second session at 1:36.160 as Palou – the reigning INDYCAR champion – took the lion’s share of the laps. He rejoins the stellar lineup after co-driving for the Chip Ganassi Racing-run team in 2022 at the Rolex 24. The roster features drivers who have combined for 12 INDYCAR championships.
“First time with the GTP and it was a really good day. It was a ton of fun,” Palou said. “I had to learn all of the controls and learn how the car drives with the differences between GTP, DPi and also INDYCAR. We ran a lot of laps and found a few things that can help with the race. We did a long run in the afternoon and also worked on running in traffic. It’s going to be a great weekend.”
Cadillac has won the overall Rolex 24 title four times since the inception of the DPi era. Van der Zande is a two-time winner (2019, 2020) with Cadillac Racing, while third-year teammate Bourdais is also a double winner (2014, 2017). Blomqvist, endurance driver for the championship-winning No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R, has won the Rolex 24 the past two years.
Qualifying Jan. 21 will be streamed on Peacock and IMSA.com beginning at 1:55 p.m. ET.
Cadillac Racing Roar Before The Rolex 24 roster
No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R: Sebastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande, Scott Dixon, Alex Palou
Van der Zande and Bourdais are in their third season as teammates for the full IMSA Grand Touring Prototype season. They won the IMSA GTP race at Laguna Seca in May 2023 and teamed with six-time INDYCAR champion Dixon to place third in the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona and runner-up in the season-concluding Petit Le Mans. The trio also finished fourth overall in the centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. … Bourdais, van der Zande and Dixon are Cadillac Racing teammates for the Rolex 24 for the third consecutive year. … In 2022, van der Zande and Bourdais co-drove the No. 01 Cadillac DPi-V.R to three victories — at Long Beach, at Belle Isle and at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park — starting from the pole in the former two. … Laguna Seca 2023 was the 19th IMSA victory for van der Zande and 11th for Bourdais. … Bourdais is a four-time INDYCAR champion. … van der Zande is in his 11th season of IMSA competition. … Palou is the reigning and two-time INDYCAR champion. He teamed with the stellar trio in 2022 for the Rolex 24 At Daytona. In total, the lineup represents 12 IndyCar championships.
No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R: Pipo Derani, Jack Aitken, Tom Blomqvist
Derani is reigning and two-time IMSA Driver champion. He teamed with Aitken and Alexander Sims to win the 2023 Michelin IMSA Endurance Championship. … The trio co-drove to victory March 18 in the Twelve Hours of Sebring. The No. 31 Cadillac started from the pole. Also earned pole at Road America. … They also placed 10th in the Hypercar class in the centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans. … Derani is in his sixth season with Action Express and Cadillac Racing. … Derani, who has four overall wins at Sebring, has 12 IMSA wins and eight poles. … Aitken, a Williams F1 reserve driver in 2020-22, moves to full-season driver in 2024. … Blomqvist, the 2022 IMSA DPi Driver champion, won the 2023 and 2022 overall Rolex 24 titles and drove to 2023 pole start. … He will compete in endurance races for the team in addition to a full-time INDYCAR schedule. … Action Express Racing has earned IMSA Team and Driver Championships in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2021 and 2023 as well as securing the 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2023 Endurance Championships titles.
