Whelen Engineering Cadillac Primed for Championship Run at Petit
The Whelen Engineering Cadillac team leads the IMSA DPi points heading into the season finale IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Motul Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta this weekend, October 11-13.
Whelen Engineering leads DPi points
Cadillac leads DPi manufacturer standings
Cadillac teams lead TPNAEC standings
Vautier for Barbosa in Mustang Sampling Cadillac
Konica Minolta Cadillac looking for first win of 2018
Seven Cadillac DPi-V.R cars set for 2019
Championships on the line this weekend at the 2.5-mile, 12-turn Road Atlanta track located 40 minutes north of Atlanta. The Whelen Engineering Cadillac team is pulling out all of the stops as they go for the IMSA DPi championship. The team has a four-point lead over second place, so a strong run in Saturday's 10-hour race is a must. Cadillac has a 38-point lead in the IMSA DPi manufacturer standings. The Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup (TPNAEC) points have Cadillac teams in the top two positions. The Whelen Engineering Cadillac drivers lead with 31 points, followed by the Mustang Sampling Cadillac team with 25.
Eric Curran, Felipe Nasr and Gabby Chaves will be looking to run a calculated race in No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R this weekend. The team leads the championship points and have put in the hours of preparation and testing necessary to run well this weekend.
"We'd love to win the race, but first we've got to make sure we do what we have to do for the championship," Curran said. "It will come down to executing as a team and not putting ourselves at risk. You have to be there at the end, and Road Atlanta is not a very forgiving place. It is a real driver's track with how much speed you carry into the corners, but it is also a really challenging race. It is ten hours, and anything can happen in a race like Petit Le Mans.
"If we can execute on everything, hopefully we will be in a position to take the IMSA championship and the Tequila Patron Endurance Cup, which we've never done with the Whelen car, and go out with a win. What a way that would be to close out 2018."
"Final race of the year already? - how quickly the season goes by!" Nasr said. "I'm heading to Petit Le Mans fully prepared. We had the opportunity to test at the circuit a few weeks ago with the Whelen Engineering Cadillac and we were able to get ourselves ready for the final race. It's a really fun track, with fast flowing corners, but it's also very tricky for clearing traffic. It has all the ingredients to make it an exciting 10-hour race.
"I know we have the best team behind us in the paddock when it comes to endurance racing. Petit is very demanding and also physically challenging for us drivers. As a team, our goal remains the same - expect to win!"
Filipe Albuquerque and Christian Fittipaldi will be joined by Tristan Vautier at Petit this weekend. Vautier is sitting in for the recovering Joao Barbosa for the weekend. The trio are prepared to run for the win in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R as well as support their Whelen Engineering Cadillac teammates.
"The crash in Laguna was very frustrating because there was nothing Joao could do," Albuquerque said. "It was a domino effect created when the pole car did not accelerate normally. As each driver on the inside row behind him began to accelerate, then had to hit their brakes, a gentleman driver hit us from behind. It changes my approach completely heading to Petit Le Mans. Now I will not think about the championship because there is nothing to fight for. I will just go full attack mode to win the race. Second place is not an option. I really want to secure the win. For me, Petit Le Mans is one of those races that I have on my bucket list to win. I consider it a very prestigious event and we are totally motivated to win it."
Jordan Taylor, Renger Van Der Zande and Ryan Hunter-Reay will be running for the win in the No. 10 Cadillac DPi-V.R. The team that won five races in a row in 2017 is still looking for their top step podium finish in 2018. With nothing to lose as they are out of contention for the championship the trio is planning to go for it on Saturday
"We have nothing to lose this year heading into Petit, so we are just going for the win," Taylor said. "Unfortunately our championship fight ended at Laguna, but we have been battling for the win at every race in the second half of the season, which gives us confidence heading into Atlanta. We don't have to focus on racing for the TPNAEC points or anything else, it's just about the overall win. With no points pressure, it allows us to take as much risk as we want to. We don't have to worry about any of the TPNAEC stages or anything like that, so we can put all our focus on the end of the race."
In 2019, the Rolex 24 Hour At Daytona will see seven Cadillac DPi-V.R race cars on the grid starting with the Roar Before the 24 test weekend in just three months. The Action Express team returns with two cars, Wayne Taylor Racing with their entry, Spirit of Daytona with their blue Cadillac, JDC-Miller with two new cars and Juncos Racing with their new Cadillac will compete in 2019.
Motul Petit Le Mans will be televised live Saturday, October 13 starting on FS1 from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. then transitioning to FS2 12:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. EDT.
Cadillac DPi-V.R 2018 Results
Track Drivers Qualify Finish Points
Daytona Filipe Albuquerque
Joao Barbosa
Christian Fittipaldi 3 1
Eric Curran
Felipe Nasr
Mike Conway 7 2
Jordan Taylor
Renger Van Der Zande
Ryan Hunter-Reay 1 15
Matt McMurry
Tristan Vautier
Eddie Cheever III 5 20
Sebring Filipe Albuquerque
Joao Barbosa
Christian Fittipaldi 8 10 3 (56)
Eric Curran
Felipe Nasr
Mike Conway 5 3 1 (62)
Jordan Taylor
Renger Van Der Zande
Ryan Hunter-Reay 10 2 7 (48)
Matt McMurry
Tristan Vautier
Eddie Cheever III 1 12 11 (30)
Long Beach Filipe Albuquerque
Joao Barbosa 5 1 35 (1)
Eric Curran
Felipe Nasr 2 7 32 (2)
Jordan Taylor
Renger Van Der Zande 6 3 16 (4)
Mid-Ohio Filipe Albuquerque
Joao Barbosa 6 4 119
Eric Curran
Felipe Nasr 12 8 109
Jordan Taylor
Renger Van Der Zande 4 5 104
Detroit Filipe Albuquerque
Joao Barbosa 4 6 144
Eric Curran
Felipe Nasr 6 1 144
Jordan Taylor
Renger Van Der Zande 7 5 130
Matt McMurry
Tristan Vautier 12 13 48
Watkins Glen Filipe Albuquerque
Christian Fittipaldi
Gabby Chaves 14 6 169 (1)
Eric Curran
Felipe Nasr
Mike Conway 11 7 168 (2)
Jordan Taylor
Renger Van Der Zande 8 5 156 (4)
Matt McMurry
Tristan Vautier 12 11 68 (24)
CTMP Filipe Albuquerque
Christian Fittipaldi 11 4 197
(2)
Jordan Taylor
Renger Van Der Zande 4 2 188
(3)
Eric Curran
Felipe Nasr 12 3 198
(1)
Road America Filipe Albuquerque
Joao Barbosa 7 7 221
(2)
Jordan Taylor
Renger Van Der Zande 4 4 216
(4)
Eric Curran
Felipe Nasr 9 3 228
(1)
Laguna Seca Filipe Albuquerque
Joao Barbosa 11 DNS 221 (6)
Jordan Taylor
Renger Van Der Zande 1 12 235
(3)
Eric Curran
Felipe Nasr 9 5 254
(1)
Photo credits, Cadillac/Richard Prince.
The Cadillac DPi-V.R teams won every title in the inaugural season of the IMSA DPi formula including: Cadillac wins DPi manufacturer championship; Cadillac wins TPNAEC (Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup) manufacturer title; Jordan and Ricky Taylor 2017 IMSA WeatherTech DPi driver champions; Konica Minolta Cadillac team champions; Mustang Sampling Cadillac drivers Joao Barbosa, Christian Fittipaldi and Filipe Albuquerque won the TPNAEC DPi driver championship; Mustang Sampling Cadillac won the TPNAEC DPi team championship; Whelen Engineering drivers Dane Cameron and Eric Curran finish second in the driver's championship; Mustang Sampling Cadillac drivers Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi finish third in the driver's championship; Cadillac teams combine to win seven races in 2017: Rolex 24 Hours At Daytona, Twelve Hours of Sebring, Long Beach, Circuit of the Americas, Detroit, Watkins Glen, and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
A leading luxury auto brand since 1902, Cadillac is growing globally, driven by an expanding product portfolio that features distinctive design and technology. Today Cadillac is growing globally, driven by an expanding product portfolio featuring distinctive design and technology. More information on Cadillac appears at
www.cadillac.com. Cadillac's media website with information, images and video can be found at media.cadillac.com.
Additional information can be viewed at Cadillac.com, GM.com, media.gm.com; Twitter @Cadillac; Facebook, GM, Cadillac.
The Cadillac Racing media guide can be viewed at media.cadillac.com. For additional information please contact Kyle Chura, kyle@kcapr.com or (248) 821-0468.
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