Race Notes:
No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Cadillac DPi-V.R started from pole position
All four Cadillac DPi-V.R race cars have led the race
No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R had contact with GTD car early
Eighty-five degrees and new tires challenging drivers
Felipe Nasr, No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R, running sixth:
“At the start, I was able to get a good run out of Turn 1,” Nasr said. “I progressed into the top three. The Cadillac had some understeer at the beginning. We had a great first pit stop and that got us into P2. I was able to keep pace and challenge the Penske car. The grip changes, one corner you have it, the next you don’t. The feeling on the tarmac changes a lot. It is still early in the race.”
Joao Barbosa, No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R, running fifth:
“It is tough out there,” Barbosa said. “It is very slippery and the traffic can go either way as well. There seems to be very low grip for everyone. We got a break under this last yellow so we can make-up some ground. The track is hotter today than it has been all week. We can run consistent laps in the Cadillac. It is just very challenging out there right now.”
Jordan Taylor, No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R, running seventh:
“It is going well,” Taylor said. “We are trying to stay out of trouble. After a pit stop, I was coming out of the pits, I was way right and then an Audi drove into the side of me. It didn’t damage anything and I just kept going. We are running in the top three. We need to stay competitive for the next few hours and then go racing.”
Matt McMurry, No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Cadillac DPi-V.R, running ninth:
“It was a good stint,” McMurry said. “It was a little tough dealing with the heat and how that affects the way the tires degrade over a stint. We lost the dive plane early in the race, so following closely behind other prototypes was difficult because there’s a lot of understeer in their wake. So, most of the stint was spent managing that and the tires. Track conditions are not the worst I’ve seen here, but it’s going to get worse before it starts cooling off later in the afternoon. We held our pace throughout the stint and kept the car in the top five, so that’s the important part. (About the on-and-off in Turn 10 early in the second part of his stint) I was just pushing hard on the out lap and broke a little late. But it was fun – it was cool battling with guys like Graham Rahal and Helio Castroneves.”
2018 Sebring 12 Hours Cadillac Racing entries and drivers:
No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R, Jordan Taylor, Renger Van Der Zande, Ryan Hunter-Reay
No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R, Eric Curran, Felipe Nasr, Mike Conway
No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R, Joao Barbosa, Filipe Albuquerque, Christian Fittipaldi
No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Cadillac DPi-V.R, Matt McMurry, Tristan Vautier, Eddie Cheever III
Source. Kyle Chura/Cadillac Racing
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