Cadillac V-Performance Racing teams are heading west to California’s WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca for the penultimate round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix featuring America’s Tire 250 this weekend, September 7-9.
Whelen Engineering Cadillac leads prototype driver and team points
Mustang Sampling Cadillac second in points
Cadillac leads manufacturer points
Three new Cadillac entries coming for 2019
With the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca round being the second to last race on the 2018 IMSA Championship schedule the teams are focused on championship points. The Whelen Engineering Cadillac team leads the prototype drivers points championship with 228, followed closely by the Mustang Sampling Cadillac team with 221. The Konica Minolta Cadillac is in fourth with 216. Cadillac leads the manufacturer race with 35.
Since the last race at Road America one month ago, new team announcements have dominated the IMSA news cycle. JDC Racing will be campaigning two new Cadillac DPi-V.R race cars in 2019 along with new comer to the IMSA Championship, Juncos Racing who enter the series with a long pedigree in open-wheel racing making it six Cadillac DPi-V.R prototypes on the roster for next year.
Eric Curran and Felipe Nasr in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R are looking to add to their win at Detroit and four podium finishes this weekend at the 2.2-mile, 11 turn undulating road course best known for its Corkscrew turn this weekend. They also lead the battle for the Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup (TPNAEC).
“We will have the same approach that we’ve had all year, to avoid mistakes and just race for as strong of a result as we can on Sunday,” Curran said. “We always want to win-Detroit was awesome! But when you don’t win, coming home on that podium is of course the next best thing for the points. We just want to keep the wheels rolling and make the most of the weekend. WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca is challenging, no matter what car you are driving. It has a low grip surface and that can change from lap to lap with all the dirt and dust that gets on the track. So the car can move around a lot, and it is a tricky place to get the car set-up and working well but it is the same challenge for everyone!”
Filipe Albuquerque and Joao Barbosa have the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R second in driver points with two wins. The duo are just seven points behind their teammates for the drivers championship and six points behind in the TPNAEC.
“WeatherTech Raceway is a beautiful race track, with one of the most iconic corners in the country with the Corkscrew,” Barbosa said. “We’ve not had the best of racing luck there, so it is one of those tracks that we know we have to keep working on to be strong. We are heading in the right direction with the Cadillac DPi-V.R and have learned so much with the car since we were there last, so hopefully we can keep that progress going this weekend.”
Jordan Taylor and Renger Van Der Zande are looking for their first win of the season in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R. The defending prototype champions from last year are still focused on the season ending top prize.
“We have had a strong second half of the season, battling for wins in the past few races, so I’m looking forward to Laguna,” Taylor said. “We had a really strong car there last year and have learned some new things about the car over the course of this season that we can put to good use when we get there. We definitely still have a shot to win the championship. Since Daytona, we’ve been in the top-five every race. With how many prototypes we have in the class this year, it just takes one bad race for someone to lose a large amount of points. If we just keep doing what we’re doing, there’s no reason we shouldn’t be going to Petit (Le Mans) with a shot.”
Source. Kyle Crura/Cadillac Racing
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