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Cadillac claims third place at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

Derani, Nunez co-drive No. 31 Whelen Engineering DPi-V.R to another podium finish
LEXINGTON, Ohio (May 15, 2022) – The No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R claimed its second consecutive third-place finish in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition and third podium finish in as many years at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course to pace the Cadillac contingent in the Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio.
After starting fifth in the 2-hour, 40-minute race on the 2.258-mile, 13-turn road course, co-drivers Pipo Derani and Tristan Nunez inherited third place following the lone full-course caution midway through the race and held the position. In 2021 and ’20, the Action Express entry was runner-up at Mid-Ohio.
“I think we got the maximum we could out of the car and we delivered,” said Derani, the reigning DPi champion. “Unfortunately, not quite there, but I think we have to be proud of our job finishing as the best Cadillac. The team was flawless all weekend and we’ll take another podium.”
The No. 01 V-Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R, which earned its third pole start of the season with Sebastien Bourdais behind the wheel, controlled the pace through the first 1 hour, 15 minutes. 
Bourdais exited the seat on a pit stop during the caution and Renger van der Zande took the green flag on the restart. Battling the second-place Acura in the winding back section of the track, the cars made light contact in Turn 6, which sent the No. 01 Cadillac off course. Van der Zande quickly recovered, but the opportunity for the second victory this season slipped away.
“I think Seb did a fantastic job putting it in the lead. When I got in I struggled with the tires on the restart. I tried to keep the position in first but lost control of the car by a little touch,” van der Zande said. “It’s tough to keep a fast car behind when dealing with low grip. It’s a shame. I think we had a good shot at winning with a good car and a good strategy. We are onto Detroit next, which is an important one for Cadillac.”
Bourdais and van der Zande combined to lead a class-high 61 f the 121 laps and finished fifth overall. The No. 10 Acura went on to win the race.
Earl Bamber and Alex Lynn teamed to finish fourth in the No. 02 Cadillac Accessories Cadillac DPi-V.R, while Richard Westbrook and Tristan Vautier co-drove the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R to sixth place.
Cadillac teams return to competition June 3-4 for the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic on the 2.35-mile, 14-turn temporary street course on Belle Isle in Detroit. The No. 01 V-Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R won the 2021 race from the pole. The USA Network will telecast the 100-minute race live at 3 p.m. ET Saturday, June 4.
Cadillac Racing results and quotes
No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.RPipo Derani, Tristan NunezFinish: Third Start: FifthPipo Derani: “We have to be proud. The 31 Whelen Engineering team did a fantastic job this weekend. I think we got the maximum we could out of the car and we delivered. Unfortunately, not quite there, but I think we have to be proud of our job finishing as the best Cadillac. The team was flawless all weekend and we’ll take another podium.”
Tristan Nunez: “It all kind of fell in our laps toward the end. Once again, we were the strongest Cadillac, which is good. And good for points. We go to our home turf next race and hopefully we’ll have better overall pace, which I think we will. Cadillacs are always strong at Belle Isle. Looking forward to getting to Detroit and banking some more strong results.” No. 02 Cadillac Accessories Cadillac DPi-V.REarl Bamber, Alex LynnFinish: Fourth Start: FourthEarl Bamber: “Tough race for us today. Our team had two really quick cars. We had an issue with the stop, which put us behind the 5 car. We recovered back to fourth, but I think third was on the table. Now, we look forward to Detroit, which is a good rack for Cadillac, and we need to score big points there.” Alex Lynn: “Not the day we dreamed of today. I thought we had a chance at third and could’ve stole a podium. In the end, Fourth place is important points for the championship. We will regroup and improve and come back for Detroit.” No. 01 V-Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.RRenger van der Zande, Sebastien BourdaisFinish: Fifth Start: FirstRenger van der Zande: “I think Seb did a fantastic job putting it in the lead. When I got in I struggled with the tires on the restart. I tried to keep the position in first but lost control of the car by a little touch. It’s tough to keep a fast car behind when dealing with low grip. It’s a shame. I think we had a good shot at winning with a good car and a good strategy. We are onto Detroit next which is an important one for Cadillac.”
Sebastien Bourdais: “It was a more eventful run than we wanted. We did not get a the start we wanted being in the safety car map. At that point, we lost the lead and wasn’t looking great. Fortunately, we got a couple of lucky breaks and put big pressure on the 10 car to retake the lead. We seemed to be under control with how fast the car was. The yellow came at the wrong time for us. Renger did everything he could to keep them behind. Unfortunately, it did not pan out for us. It was a good weekend for us, so obviously disappointed we did not come out with more points. We will keep digging and hope for better days.”
No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.RTristan Vautier, Richard WestbrookFinish: Sixth Start: SixthTristan Vautier: “My stint on the qualifying tires was really hard. I lost the rears early on, and I was struggling throughout my stint. I think the track kind of came to us near the end, so it’s a shame that we couldn’t put it together. I was a trying weekend for us. We would have liked to have a solid result out of it, so our eyes are on Detroit.”
Richard Westbrook: “We salvaged the most of it. I lost downforce and then run wide through Turn 1 and that really damaged the front splitter. Then it was just a case of bringing it home. I feel so bad for the guys. We had a good car in traffic, but when you go through the dirt in Turn 1 you give everything up. We worked so hard this weekend to get a decent car for the race and it looked like we had one.”