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CADILLAC RACING LAGUNA SECA PREVIEW: ZOOM TRANSCRIPT

In advance of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race May 1 on the 2.238-mile, 11-turn natural terrain road course at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, DPi championship points co-leader Alex Lynn (No. 02 Cadillac Accessories Cadillac DPi-V.R) and Tristan Vautier (No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R), co-driver of the JDC-Miller MotorSports entry that has finished on the podium in all three races, met with the media April 19 via Zoom conference.
DPi results: Cadillac Racing at Laguna Seca 2021-20172022 media guide: Historic stats, technical transfer, why we race and more
Full transcript (by individual):
ALEX LYNN (No. 02 Cadillac Accessories Cadillac DPi-V.R):
YOUR FIRST TIME AT WEATHERTECH RACEWAY LAGUNA SECA. WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT IT, WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN WHEN YOU GET THERE?“Obviously, I’ve never been there, which is sort of the situation with most of the tracks this year. It’s a very iconic track. Great scenery, very famous corner and just look forward to driving it.”
COMING IN AS THE POINTS LEADER, THERE’S A LOT OF MOMENTUM AROUND BOTH THE 02 AND 01 CADILLACS. CAN YOU PUT YOUR FINGER ON WHY?“I think Chip Ganassi Racing is a great team. It’s been evident for a long time, and now that the program is gaining a lot of momentum and a lot of traction, I think we’re now trying to implement a lot of features going into the future and it’s time to bear fruit for us. It’s still early days so we have to remain very humble and continue working very hard.”
IS IT GETTING THINGS JELLED MORE?“I think it’s mainly having two cars working together. I know it’s my first year with Ganassi, but it seems that getting that Ganassi work ethic fully integrated now into this program. Obviously, they came from the Ford, which was a very competitive program for them and one year out and then coming back in with the prototype. I think it took a bit of time to get everything back in sequence with how they would want to run a racing team. They obviously run a very successful INDYCAR team and now it’s really clicking into place with team members really hitting their stride, new personnel coming in and starting to make a difference, new mechanics, engineers that have been promoted with fresh ideas. That’s now starting to bear fruit for us. That’s how I see it coming together at the moment.”
ARE YOU LEANING ON THE EXPERIENCE OF EARL OR RENGER (VAN DER ZANDE) OR SEB (BOURDAIS) AND COMING TO GRIPS WITH THESE NEW TRACKS?“Definitely. Having Earl as a teammate is perfect. Not only is he an IMSA champion in GTLM, but also a WEC champion. As a driver having a teammate in your car that has been there and won it, that is helping fast forward my learning procedure at different tracks. Obviously, I won races in ’17 – I was the third driver at that point – and puzzling on Ricky (Taylor) and letting him do all the hard work. Now, when you’re the main driver as well, you have to really fast forward a lot of learning processes to be able to compete straight away. I’m using that as a good launch pad.”
LEADING THE POINTS RIGHT OFF AND DOING NEW THINGS, WHAT’S THE VIBE LIKE ON THE TEAM?“I think the vibe is pretty good, but also it’s funny because we came off the back of Sebring that we were fortunate enough to win but the 01 was very competitive and obviously didn’t have the race they wanted. I would say the vibe on the team is very motivated because you have two cars that are really starting to push each other – whether that’s on the pit crew, the drivers, the engineering team. It’s a competitive team. Currently we’re leading but there’s a long way to go. But certainly motivated because you have two cars that want to perform al the time and be right at the front. That’s keeping all the drivers, all the engineers, all the pit crews to really stay on top of their game to be better than one another. That’s how I feel at the moment, very motivated to continue to get better.”
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST CONCERN GOING INTO LAGUNA SECA?“It’s pretty similar to Long Beach. On our side, we have to maximize everything. It’s about executing the plans, about executing performance and just a lot of focus. High focus and maximizing every single time you’re on track the game plan of each session and being very meticulous in preparation usually pays dividends come the end when we start talking about championship points. My main focus is high preparation and concentrate on executing everything.”
TRISTAN VAUTIER (No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R):
YOU’RE OFF TO A STRONG START. WHAT IS IT GOING TO TAKE TO KEEP THINGS ROLLING?“We had a rocky season with very high highs and very low lows last year, so it’s been good to start on a pretty consistent streak of races. Ending on the podium three races in a row is good and we’re happy because we have started on the right foot and it’s good points. At the same time, we know that to win the championship you do have to be consistent but you have to win races, so we have to win some. We were really disappointed not to win Daytona. We felt like we had a great shot. We were close at Sebring, but have to admit that both Ganassi cars were very strong. In Long Beach, honestly, we were lacking performance. It was that kind of day when you have a fifth-place car and you score a podium, so you leave the track very happy. Kind of like the day before somebody tells you that you’re going to finish third tomorrow, will you take it? OK, where do I sign. We cannot have too many races like that and we are aware of it. Long Beach was a weak race for us performance-wise. We’ve started strong but we know we have to keep stepping up our game and contend for wins. That’s what is going to keep our title chances alive. We need to be consistent, but also be able to be in the hunt for wins.”
IT’S EARLY IN THE SEASON, BUT THE CLOSE CHAMPIONSHIP CHASE MAKES FOR DYNAMIC COMPETITION.“I think it’s the nature of the championship. You have six cars, six great operations and great teams, and IMSA has a pretty good handle on the balance of performance right now. Obviously, some tracks favor some cars. The Cadillac is better on certain tracks than the Acura and vice versa. The way the races play out with the yellows, that’s the nature of IMSA racing. Anyone can win every week. Whoever executes perfectly and is on their game has a shot at winning. At the same time, the guy who won the previous weekend if they don’t do everything perfect they can easily be last. It tends to shuffle things very quickly and I think that’s why for the last years every time we’ve see a tight battle until the end because it’s so easy to be last, but you can turn things around very quickly and win.”
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO TO PUT IN THE BEST LAP POSSIBLE AT LAGUNA SECA?“The track is very unforgiving so it’s just finding that right balance because when it’s time to go it’s time to go. You still have to push and be at the limit, but the track grip is so low that it’s very easy to make mistakes. So, it’s just about finding that right balance between trying to make the most of it without overdriving. There are a lot of condition changes with sand being blown on (the racing surface) sometimes and that can be out of your control.”
WITH THE THREE-POINT SEPARATION, HOW DO YOU NOT KEEP THE FOCUS ON WHO’S CLOSEST TO YOU?“I think it’s a bit early in the season to be monitoring your closest rival in the championship. We are three races down, there are seven races to go. You just try to maximize every race with obviously keeping in mind that you are in a championship approach, and you have to be points-focused and points-oriented. But if you spend your time worrying about where the competition is at, especially the way those races play out that things can flip just on a pit strategy, three races into the championship it’s not the right approach. It might be something that you’re going to worry more about with one or two races to go. Maybe, depending on your position, you try to copy what the other guys are doing or do the opposite and kind of gamble. Right now, we have a long way to go to be in the hunt. You try to take it one race at a time.”