The No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R team is second in driver points heading into the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship event at Road America this weekend in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R drivers Nasr and Derani second in DPi points
Cadillac DPi-V.R gets BOP adjustment
Konica Minolta Cadillac team looking for first Road America win
Juncos Racing Cadillac sitting out Road America round
The 4.048 mile, 14-turn Road America circuit is a driver favorite known for such epic turns as Canada Corner and The Kink. The length and undulation of the central Wisconsin natural terrain road course rewards handling and horsepower. IMSA adjusted the BOP (balance of performance) prior to the weekend with a 20 kg (44 lbs.) weight increase for the Cadillac DPi-V.R, but also giving the car a 0.6 mm larger air restrictor. The extra horsepower will be welcome by the five Cadillac DPi-V.R cars to get around the long undulating Road America circuit located an hour north of Milwaukee, but the weight may affect Michelin tire wear.
Whelen Engineering Cadillac drivers Felipe Nasr and Pipo Derani are second in the IMSA DPi driver championship standings with 204 just three points out of the lead. The duo are taking the remaining three races on the IMSA calendar very seriously as they compete for a second straight championship.
“We want to win races and get back on top of the championship, so I’m looking forward to Road America,” Derani said. “We’ve got just three races to go this season so they are all critical. Racing at Road America is always so cool, and I think driving the Whelen Cadillac DPi-V.R there will be a blast! Hopefully we’ve got good speed and can have a good result this weekend.”
Jordan Taylor and Renger Van Der Zande will be looking to get the first win for the Wayne Taylor led team in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R at Road America in the team’s history.
“We always love going back to Road America,” Jordan Taylor said. “We’ve always had a strong car there but have never won the race. I think it’s the only race on the calendar that our mechanic Bill Mullen hasn’t won. We are very focused on going there and winning the race this year. Road America is one of the coolest tracks we have here in North America. Super long, 4 miles, very old-school, no room for error, so for us in IMSA, it makes for a very exciting race. It also makes it difficult for the engineers to set up the car. It’s always an exciting one. With three or four classes on the track at the same time in IMSA, it makes traffic very difficult. If you’re not able to get them before the Carousel, you can easily lose two to three seconds stretching from there to the back straight. So, you’ll see a lot of aggressive racing, especially in the last part of the race.”
Filipe Albuquerque and Joao Barbosa are looking to maximize every point paying position in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R this weekend.
“We’ve been doing everything we can to get the Mustang Sampling Cadillac back on track,” Barbosa said. “We’ve had a rough time the last few races, so we want to catch up a little bit. It’s a great track, and we love to go there. It’s a beautiful race track. Right now, we’re not even thinking about the championship, just going for the best results possible for the Mustang Sampling Cadillac. Obviously, our goal is finish as high up as possible.”
Simon Trummer and Stephen Simpson finished second last year in different equipment. The duo and JDC-Miler Motorsports team are looking to duplicate, or one better, that performance in the No. 84 Cadillac DPi-V.R on Sunday.
“Road America is one of the most enjoyable weekends of the year,” Simpson said. “We typically have a lot of family and friends at the track because it’s the teams home race and not too far a drive from my home in Indianapolis. Not to mention it’s one of the best tracks in the country! I really enjoy the challenges of Road America and think we will have a strong weekend. Turn 1 is great, the Carousel and The Kink are good too, but if we are going fast, it’s all fun! Last year we had a car on pole and I finished second, so we have had good success at the track in the past.”
The No. 85 Cadillac DPi-V.R JDC-Miler with Misha Goikhberg and Tristan Vautier driving will be looking to translate their love of the track into a result on race day.
“I love this track and it’s a great place for racing, because there are some good passing opportunities,” Vautier said. “As a team we’ve had two rough races at The Glen and Mosport so we’re pushing to get back in a good groove. We cannot control BOP, as a team all we can do is maximize our package and push to be the best Cadillac. The track has so many long straights that, on paper, it looks like it’s going to be a challenge. Then, no matter where you end-up overall, you can leave the track telling yourself you got the job done. Road America is a challenging track, you run with low downforce to be quick on the straights, so the car is very edgy and it’s very tricky to put the lap together, especially with so many corners to get right. Tire degradation is also going to be a big factor, I think there is going to be a lot of management involved from both the team and drivers’ side. With that said, my favorite section is the last two corners, I think they have great flow and there is quite a good rhythm!”
The No. 50 Juncos Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R will not be competing at the Road America event. The team is rebuilding their DPi-V.R after a heavy crash at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
Source. Kyle Chura/Cadillac Racing
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