Cadillac DPi-V.R teams have won every race of the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship season. They aren’t letting up, either, with Wayne Taylor Racing and Action Express Racing both eager to maintain momentum brought by their early season successes as the series heads to Mid-Ohio this weekend.
The No. 10 Cadillac DPi.V-R of Wayne Taylor Racing won the season-opening 24 Hours of Daytona, while the No. 31 Whelen Engineering and No. 10 Mustang Sampling Cadillacs of Action Express took victories at Sebring and Long Beach.
Both of the leading Cadillac teams will have their work cut out for them, though. The fluid, flowing nature of the permanent road course at Mid-Ohio is vastly different than Daytona, Sebring or Long Beach and IMSA visited the track for the first time just last year, so there some unknowns heading into the weekend.
“This is a very different track from Long Beach, as it is a proper road course with some very fast corners but there are still some places where you are right up against a wall,” said Pipo Derani, driver of the No 31. Cadillac DPi-V.R. “It is a smoother track than what we’ve raced on so far this year, but there is always a challenge with having enough grip so that will be the focus for us.”
Felipe Albuquerque, driver of the No. 10 Cadillac DPi-V.R, finished fourth in last year’s race at Mid Ohio and is hoping for a strong points finish after taking the win at Long Beach last month.
“Last year Mid-Ohio was a great result to earn the P4 because that was the most we could achieve that weekend with how everything was,” Albuquerque said. “It was impossible to do more but I hope we can fight for a podium this weekend. I am also looking forward to experiencing the Michelins at Mid-Ohio and hope they can give us a very connected feeling car to race with.”
The Cadillac teams will be facing intense pressure from the Team Penske Acura DPi-V.Rs this weekend, which have surprisingly gone winless in the first three rounds of the season and will be racing right near a major Honda plant in Ohio. Honda has also signed on as the title sponsor for the race.
The IMSA Acura Sports Car Challenge takes the green flag at 1:40 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 5. Fans can catch the race live on NBCSN, with coverage beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET, or through IMSA Radio.
Photos via IMSA
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Will be there for Cadillac and Corvettes 100th victory.