Cadillac Racing teams didn’t win the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race at Laguna Seca, but the No. 31 DPi-V.R still managed to bring home a podium finish.
Pipo Derani and Tristan Nunez shared the driver’s seat of the No. 31 Cadillac machine for a third-place finish in the two-hour 40-minute race on May 1st. The No. 31 was followed by the No. 5 DPi-V.R driven by Tristan Vautier and Richard Westbrook in fourth, and fifth place went to the Cadillac Racing team of Earl Bamber and Alex Lynn behind the wheel of the No. 02 machine.
“I’m really happy to come out of this race with the best Cadillac,” Derani said in a post-race interview. “I think we did the best we could. It’s a good points day for the team. We had to work hard on the Whelen Engineering car during the weekend. But come race day, it was very good. I’m really happy.”
Derani has finished third at Laguna Seca four times in the last four years, but he remained optimistic. “To keep the No. 31 car on the podium here for the fourth year in a row is quite positive,” he said.
While three Cadillac racing teams finished within the top five, the No. 01 DPi-V.R was not as fortunate. The No. 01 machine, driven by Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande, was scored 32nd at the end of the race – dead last. A power supply issue became apparent early on in the race, and while the crew attempted to fix the problem by swapping several components, the issue persisted. The No. 01 Caddy was ultimately retired and did not complete the event.
Two Acura teams bested the Cadillac racing teams. The No. 10 NSX, driven by Ricky Taylor and Felipe Albuquerque, took the win, followed by the No. 60 Acura of Tom Blomquist and Oliver Jarvis in second place.
The IMSA season continues at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on May 13th through 15th.
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