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Whelen Engineering Cadillac Fourth at Road America

2019-08-04

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The No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R driven by Felipe Nasr and Pipo Derani finished fourth in today's running of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race at Road America.

IMSA WeatherTech DPi Road America Results:

1. No. 55 Mazda DPi

4. No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R

5. No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R

6. No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R

8. No. 84 JDC-Miller Cadillac DPi-V.R

9. No. 85 JDC-Miller Cadillac DPi-V.R

Pipo Derani and Felipe Nasr drove the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R to a fourth place finish. The highest finishing Cadillac made the first few laps interesting as Derani battled with the Mazda and Acura cars. As the two-hour-and-forty-minute race went the full distance without a caution it was hard to make-up track position on pit lane with strategy.

'We maximized what we had this weekend,' Nasr said. 'We have a good race car but we have struggled with all of the weight that has been added. We did the best job we could and the Action Express team keeps the fight going. We still have two races to go and I hope the series looks at our situation so we can remain competitive to the end.'

Renger Van Der Zande and the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac team made the bold decision to put new tires on the black DPi-V.R for the start and take the green from the back of the prototype grid. Van Der Zande was able to go from tenth to sixth on the first two laps putting he and teammate Jordan Taylor in a position to finish the day in fifth.

'For us, it was pretty much a flawless race, strategy-wise,' Taylor said. 'We decided to take new tires and start at the back, and Renger had a great start - jumped from 10th to sixth - and that was pretty much the entire race. He had no mistakes, I had no mistakes, the strategy was pretty straightforward and the guys had good stops. So, I think we can leave here kind of happy with the performance, disappointed with the result, and go to Laguna hoping to be a little bit more competitive.'

The No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R with Joao Barbosa and Filipe Albuquerque at the wheel drove to a sixth-place finish on the day.

'It was a boring race for us,' Albuquerque said. 'I was sitting on track alone trying to close the gap to everyone in front of me. The car was well balanced but was just not quick enough. We are so off the pace that it is frustrating because we are a team that is more than capable of winning. Laguna will be the same if nothing changes.'

The No. 84 JDC-Miller Cadillac DPi-V.R that showed good speed all weekend with Simon Trummer and Stephen Simpson had to settle for an eight place run. Simpson had a spirited battle with one of the Mazda drivers in the latter part of the race.

'Unnecessary contact really,' Simpson said. 'I am going to race other drivers like they race me. I don't want to make contact like, but it was out of my hands. A tough day for the JDC-Miller Motorsport guys. After yesterday with Simon's qualifying run, I was hoping for a good race. It just didn't seem to playout how we thought or how we hoped.'

Misha Goikhberg and Tristan Vautier drove the No. 85 JDC-Miller Motorsport Cadillac DPi-V.R to a ninth place finish.

'It was just a lot of time to make-up,' Vautier said. 'I think we had one of the fastest Cadillac race cars today. We were right with the leaders on pace. I am happy with the way the JDC-Miller Motorsport team is working. We have good pace. We need to execute our races a little better. I am proud of the team.'

The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship penultimate event will run at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, September 13-15.

Photo credit: Cadillac/Richard Prince

Cadillac DPi-V.R racing history, in 2018 the Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R won the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona; Cadillac won the IMSA Prototype Manufacturer Championship; Whelen Engineering Cadillac drivers Eric Curran and Felipe Nasr win IMSA Prototype Drivers' Championship; Whelen Engineering Cadillac wins the IMSA Prototype Team Championship; Cadillac wins Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup (TPNAEC) Manufacturer Championship; Whelen Engineering Cadillac drivers Eric Curran and Felipe Nasr win TPNAEC Drivers' Championship; Whelen Engineering Cadillac wins TPNAEC team championship. In 2017 Cadillac 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.

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