One Cadillac Racing team walked away with a podium finish after the Six Hours of the Glen at Watkins Glen on June 25th, 2023, while the other V-Series.R struggled during the six-hour race, ultimately finishing four laps down due to a string of issues.
The No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R crossed the line in third, driven by Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims and Jack Aitken. Under Aitken’s control, the No. 31 Caddy race car even laid down the fastest lap of the race, getting around the 3.4-mile road course in 1:33.028, and was leading at the time he laid down the blistering speed.
However, with just four minutes left on the clock, the No. 6 Porsche of Mathieu Jaminet completed the pass on the No. 31 Caddy for the lead. Ultimately, the team finished third behind the No. 25 BMW of Nick Yelloly and Connor de Phillip.
“The car felt good all day,” said Derani after the race. “Unfortunately, on the second to last pit stop, we had an issue with tire pressure which compromised our pace. And then the GT blocking, and I made contact that destroyed the front splitter. By that point, we were compromised and didn’t have enough to close on the leader. Overall, a good points day for us – especially in the endurance championship – and we’ll keep fighting.”
Meanwhile, the No. 01 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R was driven by Renger van der Zande and Sebastien Bourdais. Unfortunately, this team was involved in two on-track incidents that left the Caddy race car with damage and a penalty that proved too severe to overcome.
“I feel disappointed because we had bad luck, and the race just didn’t go our way,” said van der Zande. “It was pure survival out there and that’s just not a nice feeling when you’re not in a competitive position.”
Bourdais added, “We had a good start, and the car was strong. We were making some good numbers, but halfway through the stint we had contact with the Porsche. That was disappointing and I thought we had gotten away OK, but then we got run into by the BMW, which really sabotaged our race because the rear of the car was severely damaged. It was definitely one of those days where what could go wrong did go wrong.”
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