DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (January 29, 2023) – The No. 79 WeatherTech Racing/Proton Competition Mercedes-AMG GT3 team and co-drivers Cooper MacNeil, Jules Gounon, Daniel Juncadella and Maro Engel secured the first IMSA GTD Pro class victory for a Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing team in the 61st Rolex 24 At Daytona this weekend at Daytona International Speedway (DIS).

Engel started the WeatherTech/Proton No. 79 from the GTD Pro pole Saturday afternoon and 24 hours later was back behind the wheel of the white, red and blue Mercedes-AMG GT3 to take the checkered flag just under four seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. The WeatherTech co-drivers combined to lead a class-high 229 race laps over the 24 hours.

The victory was the second in the last three years for Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing and Engel in the Rolex 24, but the first in America’s premier twice-around-the-clock race for WeatherTech Racing/Proton, Gounon, Juncadella and – most significantly – MacNeil.

This weekend’s race was MacNeil’s 13th and final attempt at winning the Rolex 24 in what was his last race in IMSA competition. After multiple wins at Petit Le Mans and in the 12 Hours of Sebring, MacNeil steps away having finally completed the victory cycle in IMSA’s three major endurance races.

Engel earned his first Rolex 24 win in 2021 in the GTD class with Winward Racing that, for the majority of this weekend’s race, appeared in a strong position to score another victory. Team drivers Russell Ward, Philip Ellis, Indy Dontje and Daniel Morad led a total of 177 race laps and Ellis was at the wheel and locked in a close battle with the other GTD and GTD Pro leaders for the race’s final restart with less than 30 minutes to go.

As the field charged into turn one and the first few corners of the 3.56-mile road course’s fast infield section, Ellis came together with a GTD Pro competitor, and the contact ended what was looking like a storybook finish for the No. 57 team.

The team’s originally entered fourth driver, Lucas Auer, was injured in an incident in Thursday’s opening Rolex 24 practice session. Auer had successful surgery on back injuries sustained in the incident at nearby Halifax Health Medical Center on Friday at the same time the Winward team took delivery of a replacement Mercedes-AMG GT3 chassis, which was trailered overnight to Daytona from the team race shop in Texas.

Morad, who races with Winward in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge competition, was named to the No. 57’s driver lineup to take over for Auer just the day before the Rolex 24. The car and driver change required the No. 57 to be moved to the back of the starting grid, but opening drivers Ward, Dontje and Morad all steadily moved the No. 57 to the front of the field.

That paved the way for Ellis to take the lead for the first time in the race’s ninth hour. From that point on, Winward battled in the lead pack straight to the end of the race only to be knocked from contention in the latest stages of the race.

The No. 32 Team Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 team, and co-drivers Mike Skeen, Mikael Grenier, Kenton Koch and Maximilian Götz, led a GTD class-high 227 race laps, but a potentially race-winning performance came to a crushing end halfway into the 18th hour of the race at sunrise on Sunday.

A front wheel bearing defect sent Grenier from the race lead to the paddock, and the No. 32 team went more than 10 laps down for repairs. The team rejoined the race and soldiered to an eventual 15th place finish.

The No. 75 SunEnergy1 Mercedes-AMG GT3 inherited the GTD pole after Winward was forced to the back of the starting grid. Team co-drivers Kenny Habul, Luca Stolz, Fabian Schiller and Axcil Jefferies were competitive from the start of the race only to be sidelined at 9 p.m. Saturday with radiator damage. The No. 75 was officially retired early Sunday morning.

Next up for Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing teams in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is the 12 Hours of Sebring at Sebring International Raceway, March 16 – 19.

Stefan Wendl, Head of Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing: “What a fantastic race! For our brand, to win the GTD Pro class here for our second Rolex 24 victory is an amazing success. On the other hand, we also have a teary eye because of our other customer teams. Winward Racing put in a fantastic performance to fight their way from the back of the field to the front, only to be taken out of the race by an unfortunate incident in the final hour. Many thanks to all of our customer teams and congratulations to Acura for the overall win. And, of course, I wish Lucas a speedy recovery.”

Cooper MacNeil, Driver – No. 79 WeatherTech Racing/Proton Competition Mercedes-AMG GT3: “Tears of joy. This has been a long time coming, a lot of hard work, and it’s just amazing to complete the cycle with winning here. It’s lucky number 13 for me and we got the win. I honestly couldn’t be happier. What a day, what a 24-hour race. We were in contention the whole time and we knew we had a fast car. Mercedes-AMG gave us three of the best drivers that they have, if not the best in the world. The best thing is they build a fast and reliable car, because if you don’t have those two you can’t win a race. A hell of a way to end my IMSA career.”

Maro Engel, Driver – No. 79 WeatherTech Racing/Proton Competition Mercedes-AMG GT3: “Just amazing! Big, big thank you to the whole WeatherTech Racing team and the Proton Competition crew, Mercedes-AMG for giving us an amazing car and my teammates. What an amazing job they did. They did an incredible job. Racing with these guys, they’re the best in the business and we just had an awesome race. I said to them yesterday, I woke up and said ‘I’ve got a feeling we’re going to do this. It’s going to come our way.’ And it did, but boy was it hard. The pace of our car was good, but some cars turned it up at the end and got real fast, and also had good fuel economy. So, it was tough out there and I’m just so happy we could deliver it for everybody. Now it’s time to celebrate!”

Daniel Juncadella, Driver – No. 79 WeatherTech Racing/Proton Competition Mercedes-AMG GT3: “This is amazing. I think it hasn’t sunk in yet. I’m just in shock. The last three or four hours looked very difficult against the Corvette, they played a very smart strategy. In the pits they were better than us, they were better on fuel, but Maro – the guy woke up yesterday morning and said ‘guys, I want to finish, I’m feeling it.’ And oh yeah, he was feeling it. He did an amazing job. As well as my teammate, Jules, he is such a great driver to have next to me for the full season. Cooper, last year, he was on the back foot and getting to know the car and I think he lost a lap last year. This year he held P4, so that says a lot about his performance. I think he only lost 15 seconds during his stint. It was really unbelievable from a guy who is not racing like us, week in and week out. Congratulations to him and thanks to the whole MacNeil family for putting this together because it’s such an amazing program to be part of.”

Kenton Koch, Driver – No. 32 Team Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3: “It feels good to be a part of something like this. I knew it from the get-go. All the people were in the right place at the right time. The right decisions were made to make this year a good one. As you can see, it was pretty solid. We had a good showing, we led a lot of laps, we were really fast, and we had a good driver line-up, so the team was awesome. It was just some fluke thing that knocked us out, and that’s just how racing is sometimes.”

Maximilian Götz, Driver – No. 32 Team Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3: “We had an exciting 24 hours with ups and downs. We showed that we’re fast and all the drivers did a great job. In the end, a lot of things came together. We still had an exciting weekend and will do even better next time. Congratulations to WeatherTech Racing on winning the GTD Pro class.”

Russell Ward, Driver – No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: “Hats off to all the crew. It was either win it or this. Those were the two options. We left everything on the table, and it was probably the most incredible race we’ve ever done. We started from the back and made it all the way up to the front and we led for a long time. We came here to give it our all. It was a blast. Philip and Indy and Daniel and I, we drove the wheels off of the car. The crew was fantastic, I just have to give huge credit to everybody. It’s a sad way to end it, but we’ll be back.”

Philip Ellis, Driver – No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: “Of course, I am disappointed that we couldn’t secure the result for the team and for Lucas that they would have deserved. It was a very difficult with many thrilling duels. Sadly, racing luck left us at the end. Nevertheless, I am more than proud of the entire team and my fellow drivers, everybody has done their utmost. Now, we are looking forward to the next IMSA round at Sebring.”

Pole and pace but a third straight runner up result

JUPITER, Fla. (29 January 2023) – Sean Creech Motorsport (SCM) rode a roller coaster of circumstances in the 61st Rolex 24 At Daytona, coming from second position to two laps ahead of the entire LMP3 field mid-race, but an electrical issue cost the team the chance to take home the coveted Rolex for the race victory.

In the end, the team showed perseverance and dedication, recovering from a 28-minute trip to the garage to repair a electrical issue in the rear of the car to bring its No. 33 SCM Exelixis/Focal One/Jerich International Ligier JS P320 home in second position. While a visit to the Daytona podium is always welcomed, it was a bit bittersweet as the result marked the third-straight second place finish in the endurance classic for the Florida-based team.

Drivers Lance Willsey, João Barbosa, Nico Pino and Nolan Siegel put impressive numbers through the Rolex 24: the team led the most laps (282 of 737 laps) and set the quickest LMP3 time of the race, when Siegel posted a lap of 1:43.265 in his charge back into the race after the electrical issue.

Pino had placed the No. 33 Ligier on pole last Sunday during the Roar Before the Rolex 24 prologue, with a fast lap of 1:43.197. The team’s level of tenacity saw its first test last Thursday, when an engine malfunction near the end of the second practice session necessitated a complete engine change. But the team rose to the occasion, making a lightning-fast engine change that saw them almost make it out in time for night practice. Since they had not, the team had only the 60-minute Friday morning practice session to make sure all systems were go for the Rolex 24.

Polesitter Pino took the green flag on Saturday and immediately knew he had a car that could win the race. He held off a persistent charge from the No. 74 Ligier – the car the team had finished second to in 2021 and 2022. Pino kept the No. 33 in the top spot through his stint as the field settled in for the long haul. After a solid double stint from Willsey, Barbosa went straight to the front of the field at the four-hour mark before handing back to Willsey. Siegel subsequently took the helm for a double stint, trading the lead back and forth.

As the clock ticked over to Sunday, the drivers continued to pace the No. 33 at the front of the field while managing clutch issues that caused a few tense moments in pit lane. Pino, then Barbosa, then Siegel battled hard through the early hours of the morning and held that top spot – only relinquishing the lead during the mandatory four-minute pit stop for new brakes.

Barbosa headed back on track in the 5 o’clock hour in second position – and proceeded to lay down a master class in chasing down the competition, and then leaving them behind. By the time the sun rose near the end of his double stint, the four-time Rolex winner had not only taken the lead, but had put second-place an incredible two laps down.

Siegel returned to the helm and held that lead until just before 9:00 a.m, when the car ceased shifting. Diagnosing on pit lane then heading to the garage, the crew discovered an electrical in the exhaust system that had damaged the gearbox. Once again affecting repairs with impressive speed, the crew had the car back on track a mere 28 minutes later in third position, keeping up the fight to the finish to score second at the flag.

For team principal Sean Creech, a lifelong Florida resident with a 30-year sports car career, the lost opportunity was especially hard to take – though he was first and foremost proud of the effort from the entire team.

“It’s tough to lose a race like this especially when you know you had the car to win,” said Creech. “It means so much to win Daytona and we’ve had a front row seat to the watch presentation for three years in a row. But the entire team put forth an outstanding effort, both on Thursday and throughout the entire race, so my main emotion is pride. We’ll regroup quickly and head to Sebring – where we won last year.”

All four drivers expressed the same level of disappointment – but also the same level of gratitude for the team’s hard work and dedication through some extremely difficult circumstances.

“It just goes to show how good these guys are, that never quit mentality,” said Barbosa. “The car was working really well, the team was doing a really good job, nobody was making mistakes and everything felt really good – until we had problem. But that’s the way that it is. Racing is hard but they did a tremendous job and they should be very proud. There is nothing they could do about what happened, it’s just one of those things. We finished second for the third time but this is a tough one, since we had the pace and led most of the race. We were pretty dominant but unfortunately it didn’t work out. It’s a tough one to swallow.”

“A decade ago, I would’ve been thrilled with a second place finish but at this point, I will admit that it’s pretty hard to take,” said Willsey. “Every driver performed flawlessly. For me, it’s a testament to the car that the team put under me. I knew the pace I needed to have for us to be there in the end and I knew first and foremost that I needed to not put a mark on the car despite there being 61 other cars on track, and a lot of chaos. For João, Nico and Nolan, it’s pretty clear what those guys did – and also what the team did to support them behind the scenes, to give us a car that we could take to the front and stay there. A freak thing put us behind the wall and any shot of a victory ended there but the point is, just like we had to do a hot motor change three nights ago, the team rose to the occasion, got the car back on track, came out P3, finished P2.”

“This was one of the races that you try to find an explanation as to what happened or why we didn’t win and there is no way,” said Pino. “We did everything we could and were perfectly efficient. There were times we were extremely fast. It was my first time on pole here in the 24 and also my first time on the podium so it’s a special one. Of course, it’s bittersweet being P2, knowing that we had the pace to win. All the guys did all you could ask for. The next time, it will come.”

“We led a lot of the race and everything was going really smoothly until we had a gearbox issue,” said Siegel. “I think we deserved a win today and for sure had the car and the driver lineup to do it, so it’s definitely a disappointment to not come away with a win. For sure, there is a lot of pressure when you get in the car in the lead and have to keep it there, but it’s a lot of fun when you’re in contention for the lead. It’s a bummer, what happened, but I think everyone should be proud of the job they did. It’s a great group of people and it was a pleasure to get to know them all and drive for them. I’ve learned a lot from them all this weekend. It’s been great getting to know them and I hope we get another chance to do this in the future.”

Next up for Sean Creech Motorsport will be the second of two home state events, the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring March 11-18.

About SCM
Team leader Sean Creech has competed in a multitude of sports car series from 1990 until the present day, including Group C, IMSA GTP, WSC, Grand-Am, SRO World Challenge, and IMSA. SCM will contest the full WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2023 with João Barbosa and Lance Willsey. http://seancreechmotorsport.com/

About Exelixis
Founded in 1994, Exelixis, Inc. is a commercially successful, oncology-focused biotechnology company that strives to accelerate the discovery, development and commercialization of new medicines for difficult-to-treat cancers. https://www.exelixis.com/

About Focal One
One in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime in the United States. The Focal One® HIFU Prostate treatment offers patients a non-invasive outpatient procedure to target prostate tissue while avoiding the common side effects such as loss of urinary continence and sexual function. The Focal One treatment uses high-performance, high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) to precisely target and ablate the prostate, allowing patients to quickly return to normal activities. http://www.focalone.com/

About Jerich International
Jerich International is a family-owned global group of companies that offers large-scale trade and industry customers a holistic logistics approach to freight forwarding through global supply chain management. The company makes use of tailor made concepts, extensive know how and immeasurable experience to set industry-leading practices in logistics. https://www.jerich.com/

SCM thanks partners Exelixis, Focal One and Jerich International for their continued support.

Strong Race, But Tough Ending for the No. 93 Harrison Contracting Company NSX GT3 Evo22 in the 61st Running of the Rolex 24 At DAYTONA

Daytona Beach, Fla.) January 29, 2023 — The No. 93 Harrison Contracting Company NSX GT3 Evo22 made its debut in the Rolex 24 at DAYTONA this weekend with hopes of bringing home famed Rolex watches for its resume-stacked driver lineup including Ashton Harrison, Ryan Briscoe, Kyle Marcelli and Danny Formal.

Marcelli took the green flag from fifth position in the 25-car GTD field, boosting the No. 93 into the lead of the GTD class. Harrison continued to keep the No. 93 in contention as the midnight hours approached. The drivers and No. 93 Harrison Contracting team experienced the highs and lows of 24-hour racing—even having the hood of No. 93 detach near the halfway point in the race. Through the trials and tribulations of late night and into sunrise on-track action, the No. 93 team quickly found themselves back in the running for a podium result with an hour to go.

Battling to keep within range of the podium, Marcelli suddenly lost all power steering out of Turn 5 and was required to bring the No. 93 to pit lane to examine the issue. The mechanical hiccup unfortunately forced the No. 93 to collect a sixth-place result, still securing key points for the 2023 Michelin Endurance Cup.

Racers Edge Motorsports and the No. 93 Harrison Contracting Company NSX GT3 EVO22 will return on track for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring at Sebring International Raceway on March 18th, 2023. The 12-hour event go green at 10:05 a.m. ET with full race coverage on Peacock and on USA Network from 4:30 p.m. ET until the checkered flag flies.
No 93 Harrison Contracting Company Acura NSX GT3 Evo 22 DRIVER QUOTES:

Kyle Marcelli:
“Where do I begin. We just concluded the 61st Running of the Rolex 24 Hours at DAYTONA. We had a few things work against us. We lost the hood of the race car at the 12-hour mark. We had a lot of green flag running and had to stretch and take care of our brakes. Thankfully we got the rears (brakes) done around the 12-hour mark, but we weren’t able to get to the fronts under a yellow until about the four and half hours remaining. All the guys executed flawless pit stops and we were good on the box. We really didn’t put a wheel wrong on the track or off the track for 24 hours. Ashton just executed flawlessly. Ryan was amazing to work with this weekend – the guy’s got so much experience and it was fun to learn from him. Danny was super quick as expected—hungry, excited and kept the energy levels high. I was pleased with my own performance as well and did a number of stints in the car. I was in to close it and we pushed hard at the end. We first had to work hard to get laps back, which we did. With about two restarts to go, we struggled with some pace and then for whatever reason that final stint we found a ton of pace in the last stint and got by the Lexus and sister Acura. We were running fourth and running strong, caught up to the McLaren and was all over the back of them for that podium spot then nine minutes to go my steering just locked out coming out of Turn 5. I lost all power steering and totally deflated our efforts. We definitely had a shot at a podium. The team did a fantastic job, the drivers executed flawlessly and we end up sixth. We’ll move on to the next one. Big thanks to Harrison Contracting Company, HPD, Racers Edge Motorsports, Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport and the whole group.”

Ashton Harrison:
“I’m pretty bummed with the finish, but I’m so thrilled and excited for Racers Edge Motorsports for all the hard work they put in and thankful for Harrison Contracting Company for supporting this effort. Wayne Taylor and Travis Houge put in so much work trying to help us get this program off the ground. When the announcement came out with WTRAndretti, it made the program that much better. I’m so thankful and I can’t wait to get back to Sebring. I hope that we win. It was fun dicing it up with the other NSX, but next time I hope that it is for a podium or a win.”

Ryan Briscoe:
“I’m so proud of the effort by everyone at Racers Edge Motorsports. We fought all 24 hours and had ourselves on the lead lap right down to the end—competing for a podium. We all executed and worked really hard and ran a really good race. We were just unlucky with less than 10 minutes to go in the race which had us limp home with some steering issues. Kyle, Danny and Ashton, all three of my teammates were absolutely phenomenal out there. We were very consistent, great lap times, great driver changes—I think everything you could ask for to run a perfect 24 hours. I’m really happy and proud to be a part of the team. We’re all a bit bummed about the final result when we were so close to that podium. I think there is a lot we can take away and be proud of.”

Danny Formal:
“What can we say. It’s 24 hours of racing, it’s not 23 hours and 50 minutes. We were running in the top four, possibly top three. Kyle was doing a fantastic stint and we had an issue and lost two positions to come home P6. Super proud of Racers Edge Motorsports, Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport, just everyone in this family, this team—Ashton Harrison, Brett, Harrison Contracting Company—it’s just a huge family and huge amount of love for each other. It’s one big family. We had great pace, great stints. The mechanics had perfect pit stops and brake changes in under a minute, just incredible. I felt very comfortable in my stints and got to race with guys I watched growing up. Obviously, not where we wanted to finish after such a long, grueling race but it is what it is. It’s good championship points for our endurance championship and now we’ll try Sebring in a couple weeks.”

About Harrison Contracting
Harrison Contracting Company, Inc. (HCC) is a commercial painting and facility maintenance contracting company headquartered in Villa Rica, GA with divisional offices in Florida and Texas. HCC provides repainting/reimaging and facility maintenance services nationwide, and new construction painting across the southeastern US. At HCC, red is more than the company color, its culture. RED stands for Reliable, Experienced, and Diligent, and is the cornerstone for all we do. We are more than just your painter; we are your partner.

Racers Edge Motorsports with WTRAndretti is also proudly sponsored by Acura Motorsports and Honda Performance Development (HPD).

Garcia, Taylor, Milner fight from behind to challenge for GTD PRO class win

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 29, 2023) – Corvette Racing started its 25th season of competition with a runner-up class finish Sunday in the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Antonio Garcia, Jordan Taylor and Tommy Milner teamed up for the second-place GT Daytona (GTD) PRO result in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R.

After a drive back from two laps down in the middle of the night – due to a flat left-rear tire and a rear brake change – the No. 3 C8.R moved back to not just contention for the Rolex victory but to the lead just before sunrise Sunday morning.

The chaotic events of the middle eight hours looked like they would give way with a caution-free run of more than five hours into mid-morning. Taylor drove a double-stint for his final laps in the car and led the class multiple times. At that point and with a little more than three hours to go, Milner took over from Taylor and drove two stints of hard, intense racing that saw the Corvette and two other competitors swap the GTD PRO lead.

Milner gave way to Garcia for an even more chaotic final one hour, 45 minutes. The top three cars – the 3 Corvette, the 14 Lexus and 79 Mercedes – swapped back and forth through three full-course caution periods in the span of an hour and 20 minutes before a final 26-minute run to the flag with Garcia coming home second in class.

An up-and-down middle eight hours saw Corvette Racing re-emerge from two laps down and back into contention for a class victory as daylight arrived Sunday. The three Corvette Racing drivers each drove triple-stints through the darkness as they rotated through the C8.R for the second time.

Garcia, who started the race Saturday, worked with the Corvette Racing engineers to improve tire performance through his three stints. By the time he handed over to Taylor a little before the 10-hour mark, the C8.R was in a better state than when Garcia took over as Taylor left the pitlane in the class lead thanks to a solid stop by the Corvette pit crew.

Things began to look dire near the 10.5-hour mark when the No. 3 Corvette suffered a left-rear flat tire just before Taylor came on the Turn 1 speedway banking while running second in class. He nursed the car back to pitlane even as the tire came off the wheel before the Corvette made it back to pit entry.

The team quickly changed tires but had to stop a lap later to change the Corvette’s rear brakes due to damage from the flat tire. It dropped the No. 3 C8.R to two laps down.

Critically, Taylor was able to stay ahead of the GTD PRO leader and not lose another lap before a full-course yellow just before the halfway point of the race. The Corvette Racing crew got a lap back during a pass-around before stopping for fuel and tires, and then the crew changed the front brakes a lap later to return the Corvette to full strength – and the lead lap – with just over 11-and-a-half hours to go.

Taylor gave way to Milner from the sixth position in class about an hour later with the Corvette rejoining in fifth. Less than an hour into his opening stint, the race’s eighth full-course caution drew Milner closer to the front. He ran third in class and seven seconds from the lead as the race entered the final eight hours.

Corvette Racing’s next event in the WeatherTech Championship is the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on Saturday, March 18.

Photos: Richard Prince, Chevrolet Racing

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED SECOND IN GTD PRO: “P2 at Daytona… it was a bit crazy out there. With the P3 cars ahead of us, it was a lottery especially in turns One and Three. Everybody was getting super crazy. When you have a car with ABS, you can just go for it and that’s what people are doing. But we did all we could. That was all we had. A lot of times, I was very surprised to be where we were. We seemed to be good on fuel, which seemed to be our only chance. We just didn’t have the outright pace.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED SECOND IN GTD PRO:“The Rolex 24 is always kind of a stand-alone race for us every year. If you look at our race as a whole, we had some adversity during the night but came from two laps down. Everyone executed well. We were in the hunt most of the way. We didn’t have the outright pace, but it was a true Corvette Racing race where we battled our way back to second. We started with a third-place car and finished second, so that’s a win in our book.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED SECOND IN GTD PRO:“Based on how everything was going in practice and in the Roar, I think P2 in the end is quite good. When you have a chance to fight for the win like that and for us to run up front for so much of the race, to miss it by that much at the end is tough. We knew going in that the Mercedes guys were quick, the Aston was quick, the Lexus was quick. It was a great job by the team to persevere and to keep pushing all throughout the race. My teammates did a great job. We were just missing a little bit of pace at the end. It was a good race for all three of us. We were racing super-hard and pushing super-hard. We just came up a little short.”

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in nearly 80 countries with nearly 2.7 million cars and trucks sold in 2021. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Cadillac Racing starts GTP era with stout efforts, reliability of three new race cars

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 29, 2023) — Cadillac Racing began the Grand Touring Prototype era with third-, fourth- and fifth-place finishes in the 61st Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Renger van der Zande earned a podium spot, driving the electrified No. 01 Cadillac V-LMDh for the final stint of the mentally- and physically-taxing race on the 3.56-mile, 12-turn Daytona International Speedway road course. He shared the seat with Sebastien Bourdais and Scott Dixon.

Earl Bamber, Alex Lyn and Richard Westbrook co-drove the No. 02 Cadillac V-LMDh to fourth place in the season opener of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims and Jack Aitken persevered after a pre-dawn incident involving a GTD that necessitated a 25-minute trip to the garage finish fifth. The incident was the lone substantial setback for the new Cadillac prototypes, which only began on-track development in early July.

Questions were answered as teams, drivers and Cadillac engineers continue to learn about the car. Durability: No major mechanical or hybrid unit issues. Engine performance: Powerful. Drivability: Smooth.

“We brought three Cadillacs, which was the most of any brand, and all three took the checkered flag,” GM sports car racing program manager Laura Wontrop Klauser said. “I’d say everyone who has worked on this project, whether it be the engineers at Cadillac, the designers at Cadillac, the engineers at Dallara, Chip Ganassi Racing, Action Express Racing – everyone – should be so proud of everything we’ve accomplished.”

The Cadillac V-LMDh features an all-new Cadillac 5.5-liter DOHC V8 engine developed by GM’s Performance and Racing propulsion team based in Pontiac, Michigan. Cadillac is the only GTP competitor with a naturally aspirated engine.

The body, codeveloped by Cadillac Design, Cadillac Racing and chassis constructor Dallara, incorporates key Cadillac V-Series production car design elements.

The No. 01 Cadillac V-LMDh and No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-LMDh will next compete March 18 in the Twelve Hours of Sebring on the 3.74-mile, 17-turn Sebring International Raceway. The No. 2 Cadillac V-LMDh will make its FIA World Endurance Championship debut March 17 in the 1000 of Sebring.

Cadillac Racing driver quotes

No. 01 Cadillac V-LMDh (qualified fourth, finished third)

Sebastien Bourdais: “Obviously, didn’t run the perfect race but as close as you can get to it considering it was the first outing in a race for the Cadillac V-LMDh. Honestly, I just didn’t think it was going to take the perfect race and some. I’m really surprised that the competition beat us on performance and everybody ended up having a very clean race. It’s tough to be on the wrong side of things but scoring some good points. All the hard work from Ganassi, Cadillac and Bosch, Dallara and everybody that has been involved in this project has been rewarded with a triple finish. We’ll keep working and thanks for everybody’s hard work.”

Renger van der Zande: ““Yeah, finishing second or third is not what we came for, but hey it’s the first time and we got points for podium to start the season off with Ganassi. At the end of the day, we didn’t have the pace to win, and we didn’t have the speed on the straights to win. It’s time to collect and see where we can improve as a team. I think it’s a tribute to GM and to Dallara and Ganassi to build a car that lasts for 24 hours. I think that is an amazing thing and yeah, congrats to the winners.”

Scott Dixon: “Pretty decent finish and great work by the team and all the partners. That’s a feat in itself. I think coming down toward the end we knew it was going to be a tough fight, especially with the speed of the other cars. It was a fun race and just came up short.”

No. 02 Cadillac V-LMDh (qualified fifth, finished fourth)

Richard Westbrook: “What a journey for us to get to this point. To run flawlessly for 24 hours in the debut of the Cadillac LMDh is something we can all be proud of. Obviously, there is initial disappointment because we just missed out on the podium and had the potential to win. But listen, we just have so much to be proud of to get the car home without any issues is just a testament to the team, Cadillac, and everyone involved. We are only going one way and that is forward.”

Earl Bamber: “I think just an all-around good job by Chip Ganassi Racing and Cadillac to come out and run 24 hours and have both cars on the lead lap, have both cars with potential to be on the podium. Missed a little bit of pace to Acura and hate we missed out on the podium, but its good points in the championship. Now we can go on to Sebring and WEC.”

Alex Lynn: “We are disappointed not to get the win. That’s what you turn up to Daytona to do. The car ran flawlessly. Big congrats to Cadillac for building such a great car and we’ll be back.”

No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-LMDh (qualified sixth, finished fifth)

Pipo Derani: “It’s just one of those things and one of those races where you have to be there at the end and unfortunately, we got crashed by a GT. It wasn’t major, it was just a touch from the GT. But after two hours after that touch, our rear suspension gave up. So, really unfortunate there. The team did an amazing job to repair the car and put us back in contention. The car was really quick, so kind of bittersweet because we had a strong enough car to be on the podium, but that’s racing. Looks like we are going to be a strong team and I am looking forward to Sebring. The machine has worked flawless over a 24-hour race, which is incredible.”

Alexander Sims: “It’s always disappointing when you get to the end of a long race like that, put in so much effort and don’t get the result you feel you deserve. But that’s the way racing is; it’s sport. There’s one winner and a lot of losers and that’s what makes it so special when you do win. It’s the fierst race we’ve had with this car, a lot of learning has been done and I think already we see where we can make decent improvements on the car side, on my side and that’s just part of building that overall picture to continue through the championship and get the results as we go along.”

Jack Aitken: “To finish fifth after everything that we went through in this race is quite an achievement and I think it goes to show how much attrition was out there as well. It is a shame because we led laps and were running with the leaders at the time. But that’s just bad luck in multi-class racing. We have a lot to be really proud of and it’s just the start of the season, so lots of really promising things happening. It was a great experience and very different from the other 24-hour races that I’ve done. I want to come back and hopefully get on the top step.”

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