Cadillac Racing; Cadillac DPi-V.R teams Chip Ganassi Racing , Mustang Sampling, Whelen Engineering, and Ally Motorsports at Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen in Watkins Glen, NY; June 25-27, 2021 (©Eric Klauser/Cadillac).
The Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R will start third on the DPi grid for tomorrow’s running of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.
Following their first win of the season at Detroit two weeks ago, Renger van der Zande kept the strong performance of the Chip Ganassi team going with a third-place qualifying effort with a time of 1:30.637. The time will have him starting from the second row with teammate Kevin Magnussen. The team has decided to run the six hours with just two drivers.
“I think it was one of the best laps of my career,” van der Zande said. “We fine-tuned the car for qualifying in a really nice way. So big to the Chip Ganassi team for giving me the fastest Cadillac out there. On top of that I think the lap was really, really good. I think the BoP (balance of performance) is off here. Being half a second off with the best lap of your career is not really what you want, but it is a good starting position for the race. It is going to be a long race, so anything is possible.”
Kamui Kobayashi is back with teammates Jimmie Johnson and Simon Pagenaud. The Japanese driver had the controls of the No. 48 Ally Cadillac DPi-V.R for the 15-minute session and posted a time of 1:30.671 that will have him starting fourth.
“It was my first time on new tires this week,” Kobayashi said. “So, it was a bit tricky. I tried my best to get the best out of it. My lap was good for P4. I was expecting a bit more, but it is ok. It is very tough to do a perfect lap at this track for me as it is my first time here. You have a lot of risk to do the maximum. I tried my best. We have a lot of speed in the car and I think we will be even more competitive in the race tomorrow.”
The Whelen Engineering Cadillac team comes into the weekend after posting second place finishes in the last two races. Pipo Derani had the wheel of the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R putting it fifth on the grid with a time of 1:30.824.
“The Whelen Cadillac seems quite well balanced,” Derani said. “All of the Cadillac cars seem very close. We knew the Acura cars would be quicker. We made some changes to the car for qualifying that were positive. With another tenth I would have been a few more positions up. That just shows the competitiveness of the DPi field. Strategy will play out and make for an interesting race. I think we will have a fantastic Cadillac for tomorrow.”
The JDC-Miller Motorsports team had Tristan Vautier qualify the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R. The Frenchman put in a lap time of 1:31.324 that will have he and teammates Sebastien Bourdais and Loic Duval starting seventh on the DPi grid.
“We have been struggling for speed,” Vautier said. “It has not been the best track for Cadillac and, as a team, we are a little bit off the other Cadillacs. We are missing something. We need to get more confidence in the car for the drivers. We struggled in practice at Sebring and ended up winning the race. We will keep our heads down and see if we can make something happen in the race.”
Cadillac IMSA Watkins Glen qualifying results:
3. No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing DPi-V.R, Renger Van Der Zande, Kevin Magnussen, 1:30.637
4. No. 48 Ally Cadillac DPi-V.R, Jimmie Johnson, Simon Pagenaud, Kamui Kobayashi, 1:30.671
5. No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R, Felipe Nasr, Pipo Derani, Mike Conway, 1:30.824
7. No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R, Tristan Vautier, Loic Duval, Sebastien Bourdais, 1:31.324
The green flag drops on the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen at 10:40 a.m. ET Sunday with live race coverage on the TrackPass app with a compressed TV show to air from 7 – 10 p.m. the same day, June 27. IMSA Radio will have live coverage throughout the race weekend on TrackPass, IMSA.com, XM 392, and RadioLeMans.com.
Weekend social media: IMSA Social Media Accounts: Facebook/Twitter: @IMSA; Instagram: @imsa_racing; Track accounts: Facebook: @WatkinsGlenInternational; Instagram: @wgi1948; Twitter: @WGI; Hashtags: IWTSC: #IMSA / #WeatherTech240; IMPC: #IMSA / #IMPC / #Sahlens120
Image credit: Cadillac/Richard Prince
Cadillac DPi-V.R racing history, 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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