Four Cadillac DPi-V.R teams dominated the field at the “Roar Before the Rolex 24” preseason IMSA SportsCar test, placing in first, second, third, and fourth at the test’s first-ever qualifying session. The results ensure that all four Cadillac teams will be placed up front in pit lane and the garage area for the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
Leading the field of Cadillac DPi-V.R race cars was the No. 31 Whelen Engineering car, which achieved the best time of the weekend – 1:35.806 – in the hands of Felipe Nasr. He was followed up by Tristan Vautier in the No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Cadillac, who ran a 1:36.037, and Filipe Albuquerque in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling DPi, who posted a 1:36.135. In fourth was the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R, winner of the 2017 IMSA SportsCar team championship, which turned in a 1:36.481 lap in the hands of Renger Van Der Zande.
“Obviously, we’re coming back for a second year with our car,” says Jordan Taylor, co-driver of the No. 10 Cadillac DPi-V.R. “As a team, we’ve been racing here for 10-15 years, so we have a lot of experience here at Daytona and with this package, so we expected to come on strong. As the testing has gone on – we started at the front, and everyone is kind of working their way up towards where we are. Our increments of improvement are very small, because we have our car pretty well sorted, and everyone else is taking big chunks.”
Taylor says “it’s cool to see all the European guys, the European teams and drivers, adapting to what we’re used to and they’re adapting quickly. I think it’s going to be a good race at the end of the month.”
The 2018 Rolex 24 at Daytona will run from Saturday, January 27th to Sunday, January 28th. Of particular interest this year will be the battle between Jordan Taylor in the No. 10 Cadillac and his brother Ricky Taylor in the Team Penske Acura ARX-05.
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