The No. 31 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R went for a wild ride at Sebring on March 16th, 2024, flipping into the tire barrier from the lead after contact with a competitor sent the race car around.
Pipo Derani had a 12-second lead in the GTP class at the time of the incident. Miguel Molina, the No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3, made contact with Derani when the latter attempted to pass. Derani snapped sideways and went into the tire barrier with enough force to pick the No. 31 Cadillac Racing machine off the ground, turning it over before it came to a rest on its roof atop the tires.
Molina’s Ferrari sustained critical damage and was unable to continue. Unsurprisingly, so was Derani’s No. 31 Cadillac. However, once the V-Series.R was righted by track crews, Derani was able to exit the vehicle under his own power and was subsequently released from the infield care center.
Meanwhile, the No. 01 Cadillac Racing team had a different view of the race, holding the class lead with five minutes left on the 12-hour timer. Sebastien Bourdais had control at the time, but found himself under fire from the No. 40 Acura ARX-06 of Louis Deletraz. Deletraz had much fresher tires under him and was able to gain on Bourdais as the laps ticked off.
Eventually, Deletraz sent the No. 40 Acura past the No. 01 V-Series.R, but Bourdais didn’t surrender the position without a fight. The two drivers fought tooth and nail, bouncing off one another several times. Bourdais fell back, tailing Deletraz by 0.891 seconds at the line. Bourdais later admitted that the No. 01 Cadillac Racing machine experienced some electrical issues that may have put it off the pace in the final stint.
“Yeah, I think the whole Cadillac and Ganassi team did a great job,” Bourdais said after finishing second. “It was maybe not as straightforward as we would have liked. We had some electronics at some point. You saw the car slowing down. I was really worried this was going to happen again and maybe that’s it… It was a good day, good points day, but it’s always disappointing to lose the race like that in the closing laps.”
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