Wearing a special hot pink livery, the No. 01 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R rallied back to win at Petit Le Mans on October 12th, 2024. The team was faced with hardship during the 10-hour endurance race, but that did little to deter the trio of Renger van der Zande, Sebastien Bourdais, and Scott Dixon.
The team was hit with two drive-through penalties and given a black flag for a scrutineering system requirement while running fourth just 18 minutes into the race. In other words, a sensor was not relaying information, and although it was easily fixed during the team’s second pit stop, the No. 01 V-Series.R headed back out one lap down.
However, the team was easily able to pace the leaders under green flag conditions, earning its lap back and again lighting out after the frontrunners. The team pitted under the final full-course yellow with 48 minutes left, giving van der Zande control of the No. 01 V-Series.R and setting the stage for an epic race with the No. 6 Porsche Penske 963. Van der Zande restarted in second place, but drove the wheels off the No. 01 machine and made the race-winning pass with 15 minutes left.
The win was van der Zande’s 21st IMSA win and his 11th victory with Cadillac Racing. He won by 2.946 seconds over the No. 6 Porsche.
“Super happy to finish this off with a bang. It’s the last race for Chip Ganassi with Cadillac,” van der Zande said. “It’s my last race with Cadillac. I’ve been with Cadillac for seven years now, which makes me very proud, but also sad to leave. Nice things come to an end, and this is the right way, with Cadillac. In the last four years (with Chip Ganassi Racing). Chip has been so nice to me, Mike Hull, Mike O’Gara, the team. I think this year, we had such a good team, and everyone was working in the same direction. This win was really good.”
The No. 31 V-Series.R, meanwhile, finished fifth after an up-and-down race. Jack Aitken, Pipo Derani, and Tom Blomqvist went a lap down early on and were unable to recover, leaving the team without a win in 2024.
“It was eventful for us early on. We were a lap down since after two hours and just never had an opportunity to get it back,” Blomqvist said. “It ruined our race and disappointing way to end our season. I’ve enjoyed my time with the team. It’s just a shame we didn’t get any victories.”
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