The No. 5 Cadillac racing team scored a second-place finish with the Cadillac DPi-V.R fielded by JDC Miller Motorsports in the one-hour 40-minute qualifying race that sets the field for the upcoming Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona this Sunday. The No. 10 Acura ARX-05 of Wayne Taylor Racing finished in first.
The No. 5 Cadillac racing machine, piloted by French driver Tristan Vautier and British racer Richard Westbrook, led the field to green from the pole position. Cadillac race cars made up the top four starting positions, while the No. 10 Acura was forced to start from the rear of the field after a rear wing angle violation resulted in a penalty.
No. 10 Acura ARX-05
The No. 10 machine, driven by Ricky Taylor and Felipe Albuquerque, didn’t take long to find the front of the pack, and took the race lead only 30 minutes into the event. Meanwhile, the No. 5 Cadillac fought tooth and nail to best the Acura throughout the short qualifier, eventually culminating in a thrilling nose-to-tail battle with 25 minutes of racing left on the clock.
Westbrook was behind the wheel of the No. 5 as the race wound down, battling Taylor in the No. 10. Westbrook held down second place and attempted to snag the first position away from Taylor, throwing his Cadillac after the Acura in Turn 1 on the final lap. The two cars made contact, sending the No. 5 for a spin. Westbrook was able to collect the car without major incident, but the spin eliminated any hope he had at finishing better than second.
No. 05 Cadillac DPi-V.R
The top three qualifiers were rounded out by the No. 48 Cadillac DPi-V.R driven by Jimmie Johnson and Kamui Kobayashi.
The Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona will begin on Saturday, January 29th at 1:30 p.m. EST.
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