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IMSA at CTMP: Cadillac seeks to build on momentum

Cadillac Racing enters sixth GTP race leading in six championship categories
DETROIT (July 5, 2023) – With multiple elevation changes, high-commitment corners, long backstraight, swift succession of left- and right-hand turns, the challenging Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is often referred to as old school.
Renger van der Zande has a different description: bizarre. It’s a compliment.
“Mosport is one of the most bizarre and amazing tracks in the world, not only the IMSA calendar,” the co-driver with Sebastien Bourdais of the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R said.
Media resources
Cadillac guide:* Statistics* DPi history at track* Driver/team profiles* A look at the GTP car* History of winning
Notes: Storylines, factoids and more
Editorial use photos:Smile: Driver candidsIn uniform: HeadshotsOn track: Nos. 01 and 31 Cadillac V-Series.R at Watkins Glen International
He said it: Renger van der Zande Q&A		“Last year was the first time that I won there, but I’ve been trying really hard. And if you want to win there you have to try really hard because it’s one of those tracks where at home I tell how bizarre it is, how fast you go there, how much risk you take, how blind the corners are and at the same time very fast. Also, the traffic is not easy at all. Plus, you need a very fast car. If you don’t have a fast car on the backstraight, you can have a fast car in the corners but you’re not going to win the race. The whole package needs to fit.”
Van der Zande and Bourdais will seek to deliver a complete package this weekend to successfully defend their victory in the 2-hour, 40-minute Chevrolet Grand Prix, where the Grand Touring Prototype racecars are projected to turn in an average lap speed of 137 mph on the flowing 2.459-mile circuit. It was their third victory of the 2022 season in the twilight of the DPi era. The tandem is fourth in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP standings through five races. Pipo Derani, who drove to a third-place finish last year at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, will co-drive with Alexander Sims the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R this weekend. With the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R’s runner-up finish and revised points following the June 25 Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, Cadillac Racing:* Leads the GTP Manufacturer Championship by 83 points.* Leads the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTP Manufacturer standings.* The No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R leads the GTP Driver and Team Championship standings by 64 points.* The No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R leads the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTP Team and Driver standings through three of four races.
The No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R has collected three podium finishes, including an exciting victory in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in March.
“On our team, we had tremendous momentum coming back from Le Mans because even though we had an issue on Lap 1 the team pulled together and executed so well that when we got to Watkins Glen we were really riding high in the sense that once we put the car back on track at Le Mans we never had another issue, misstep or loss of lap,” said Chris Mitchum, director of operations for the No. 31 Cadillac prepared by Action Express Racing.
“So, when we got to Watkins Glen, we felt that we were well-prepared. The race was relatively mistake-free outside of the one moment of contact with the back of a GT car that really stole the pace from us. We didn’t get to qualify, we didn’t get a lot of track time and we raced against teams that dedicated multiple days of testing at Watkins Glen beforehand, so I couldn’t have been more thrilled with the pace and execution that we had in the race.”
Cadillac has earned eight Manufacturer Championships in all series since 2004, including 2021, 2018 and 2017 in the IMSA DPi class, along with IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Manufacturer titles in 2020, 2019, 2018 and 2017.
NBC will telecast the Chevrolet Grand Prix at noon ET Sunday, July 9, with additional coverage in the U.S. on Peacock Premium. Live broadcast of the race will also be on IMSA.com, RadioLeMans.com and SiriusXM (XM 207, Internet/App 992).
What they’re sayingNo. 01 Cadillac V-Series.RRenger van der Zande: “If you don’t have a fast car on the backstraight, you can have a fast car in the corners but you’re not going to win the race. The whole package needs to fit. It’s actually one of those tracks where it’s more interesting from an engineering perspective than you think when you look at it. When you look at the track layout, it’s all about the high speed, but it’s also about top speed at that track.”
Sebastien Bourdais: “It’s a fast track with not much room for error. It’s a place for soldiers like Renger, who pretty much single-handedly won the race last year with a difficult car to handle. I’ll again try to keep the car on the track at the start and let him do his thing. (about track position) He restarted last and went through the field a couple times. Traffic management is really tricky there. You have to read it right and with the track not being really wide and where you catch cars you have to make the right decisions.”No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.RAlexander Sims: “I’m really looking forward to Mosport. I did two GTLM races there, winning in 2017, and absolutely loved it. I’m really looking forward to the high-speed nature, particularly Turns 1 and 2 with the elevation and that fast corner. It has similar track tendencies to Watkins Glen, so I’m hopeful of a strong weekend.”
Pipo Derani: “It’s a high-speed track and traffic is going to play a role again like at Watkins Glen. It will be interesting, and the most important thing will be to try to stay out of trouble on a very tight track and hope for some good points.”