Cadillac Racing says its three-day test earlier this week at Road Atlanta helped it overcome more than 6,800 racing miles with its new IMSA GTP hybrid model that will race for the first time in January at the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
Drivers from the brand’s factory partners at Action Express Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing toured the test mule of the Cadillac V-LMDh, the 5.5-liter naturally aspirated V8-powered prototype, Monday through Wednesday at the Championship site. WeatherTech SportsCar. end of season.
Although no lap times were provided, RACER understands that all three GTP manufacturers in attendance, including Acura and BMW, were up to date with the fastest laps set by the DPi at the Petit Le Mans 10-hour race.
A newcomer to the factory effort with CGR’s upcoming single-car effort in the FIA World Endurance Championship, Richard Westbrook offered unique insights after moving from JDC-Miller Motorsports’ privateer Cadillac DPi-VR with which raced Cadillac’s next-generation GTP machine on Saturday.
“Some things are better, some things need to improve, of course,” Westbrook said. “It’s a new car, but a very good first impression. I am very happy to be able to get off the road for the first time. It was really nice. It’s good to have a comparison while the DPi is still fresh in your mind because it was a very well classified car at the end of development. Right now we’re just getting the car running, putting up the miles and that’s where the focus is. The second stage of the learning process would be to unlock some performance. That’s the part I look forward to.”
On the AXR side, team veteran Pipo Derani, who is believed to have blew the car out of Turn 12 on Wednesday and continued, likes the feel of the hybrid Cadillac making nearly 700hp at full deployment. .
“It’s a solid foundation, as you’d expect from Cadillac and so many great minds behind the project,” he said. “When you start with a new car, you never know until you’re really racing against everyone else, but the feeling is really good, one that we can start working on and developing on. So far everything has been very positive.”