Cadillac Racing is headed to central Wisconsin for the IMSA Sportscar Weekend at Road America, August 6-8.
- Whelen Engineering Cadillac coming off win at The Glen
- Magnussen no stranger to Road America
- JDC-Miller Motorsports ready to get back up on the podium
The Whelen Engineering Cadillac team is coming off of a win at Watkins Glen International Raceway in the last outing for the IMSA WeatherTech DPi cars. Pipo Derani and Felipe Nasr are looking to keep the winning momentum going around the 4-mile, 14-turn undulating road course known for its signature turns including the Carousel, Kink and Canada Corner. The track located just east of Elk Hart Lake is a driver favorite. The duo is third in IMSA Driver DPi points, just 114 shy of the leaders.
“Road America is possibly one of the best racetracks in the world,” Derani said. “It’s superfast – especially driving our Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi V.R. It’s fantastic. We had a podium finish last year. I had one in 2017. The team has had a lot of success there. It’s a track we know well. But, at the same time, it’s a track that gives so much opportunity to any car that’s on track because it has so many different types of corners. It allows different cars to be quick in different places on the track. So, it’s very challenging. It’s a rewarding place to drive every single lap. It’s a thrill.
“We are coming in as the current race winners from Watkins Glen. We’re charging and trying to get closer to the Championship leaders. We are currently P3, but still very much within reach with four rounds to go. The approach will be to attack. We’re not in the position to just think about the Championship. We have to win races and then see where we are at, at the end of the Championship. We are going in with that mentality – expect to win. Hopefully, we can come away with a strong result again and put us even closer to the Championship lead. We’re going for it.”
Kevin Magnussen had the opportunity to race at Road America in an IndyCar in June as well as test there with the Chip Ganassi Racing team in the No. 01 V Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R. The Dane is teamed with Renger van der Zande and the duo will be looking to add another win to go along with their victory in Detroit in June.
“I love the circuit,” Magnussen said. “I think it is one of the best tracks in North America. It’s also the track in this country that I have done the most laps at. Through the test with the team in the Cadillac and the IndyCar race I did earlier in the year I have a lot of experience on the circuit. With my experience, I am looking forward to having a good weekend.
“So far this year we have been able to fight with the other teams at every race. It is a very level playing field in the DPi Class. It really comes down to the details on the weekend. We need to extract everything from the car and the team to have a successful race on Sunday.”
Tristan Vautier and Loic Duval will be looking to get back up on the podium at the Elk Hart Lake, Wisconsin track in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R. The duo has a big win at Sebring in March and will be a factor for the top spot come Sunday afternoon.
“I am looking forward to Road America,” Vautier said. “It’s one of my favorite tracks. I really enjoy driving there. The last few years it hasn’t been very favorable to our Cadillac with the BoP (balance of performance) with the long straights. This year, so far, the series has done a good job matching the performance of the DPi cars. I am looking forward to having a good weekend with the JDC-Miller Motorsports team this weekend. We had a difficult couple of races at Watkins Glen even though we almost pulled a podium out of our hat with the mixed conditions. We are looking forward to getting some momentum back. The team is working hard to get us back up to the front. I am impatient. It has been too long of a break since The Glen.”
Coming into the seventh race on the IMSA WeatherTech schedule, the Whelen Engineering Cadillac drivers are third in points with 1,954, -114 to the leaders. The No. 01 V Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R drivers sit fourth with 1,849 and the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R drivers are sixth with 1,781. Cadillac is leading the manufacturer points by 35.
Cadillac IMSA Road America Line-up and Standings:
3. No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R, Felipe Nasr, Pipo Derani
4. No. 01 V Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R, Renger van der Zande, Kevin Magnussen
6. No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R, Tristan Vautier, Loic Duval
The IMSA WeatherTech Championship Sportscar weekend at Road America will take the green flag at 2:40 p.m. ET on Sunday. Live Streaming can be viewed on TrackPass, NBC Sports Gold, NBC Sports App, and NBCSports.com. The television broadcast will air on NBCSN, Sunday, August 8, at 8 p.m. ET. IMSA Radio can be heard on IMSA.com and SiriusXM Radio (Sirius 216, XM 202, SiriusXM Online 992).
Image credit: Cadillac/Richard Prince
Cadillac DPi-V.R racing history, Whelen Engineering Cadillac wins the WeatherTech 240 at The Glen. Chip Ganassi Racing won their first race with Cadillac at the Detroit Grand Prix. The Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R won the Sebring 12 hours. In the season opener Rolex 24 At Daytona, the Ally Cadillac team placed second with NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson. In 2020 the Konica Minolta Cadillac team won the season opening Rolex 24 At Daytona and posted a win at Petit Le Mans. The Whelen Engineering team won Sebring in July. Konica Minolta Cadillac team won the IMSA Endurance Cup championship.
In 2019 Konica Minolta Cadillac took the win at the season opening Rolex 24 Hour At Daytona, the Whelen Engineering Cadillac squad followed that up by winning the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. The Mustang Sampling Cadillac team also posted a win at Long Beach on the year.
The 2018 season saw the Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R win the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona; Cadillac won the IMSA Prototype Manufacturer Championship; Whelen Engineering Cadillac drivers Eric Curran and Felipe Nasr win IMSA Prototype Drivers' Championship; Whelen Engineering Cadillac wins the IMSA Prototype Team Championship; Cadillac wins Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup (TPNAEC) Manufacturer Championship; Whelen Engineering Cadillac drivers Eric Curran and Felipe Nasr win TPNAEC Drivers' Championship; Whelen Engineering Cadillac wins TPNAEC team championship.
In 2017 Cadillac teams won every title in the inaugural season of the IMSA DPi formula including: Cadillac wins DPi manufacturer championship; Cadillac wins TPNAEC (Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup) manufacturer title; Jordan and Ricky Taylor 2017 IMSA WeatherTech DPi driver champions; Konica Minolta Cadillac team champions; Mustang Sampling Cadillac drivers Joao Barbosa, Christian Fittipaldi and Filipe Albuquerque won the TPNAEC DPi driver championship; Mustang Sampling Cadillac won the TPNAEC DPi team championship; Whelen Engineering drivers Dane Cameron and Eric Curran finish second in the driver's championship; Mustang Sampling Cadillac drivers Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi finish third in the driver's championship; Cadillac teams combine to win seven races in 2017: Rolex 24 Hours At Daytona, Twelve Hours of Sebring, Long Beach, Circuit of the Americas, Detroit, Watkins Glen, and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
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