Cadillac Racing Starts Strong, But Suffers Late Mechanical Issues At Indy 2024

Both Cadillac Racing V-Series.R teams left Indianapolis disappointed on September 22^nd, 2024, after the six-hour race took a devastating turn for the luxury marque’s motorsports arm.

Adverse weather wreaked havoc on the race, causing a lengthy, hour-long full-course yellow in the first 110 minutes of the race. At the time, both the No. 01 V-Series.R and No. 31 V-Series.R were competing for a spot on the podium with blisteringly fast machines. In fact, Sebastien Bourdais put the No. 01 V-Series.R on the pole, and when Renger van der Zande assumed control, he kept up the pace and maintained the top spot. The No. 31 V-Series.R, split between Jack Aitken and Pipo Derani, meanwhile, started fourth and briefly led after the first round of pit stops.

Unfortunately, though, both race cars suffered mechanical issues in the latter half of the race. With just under four hours left, the No. 31 Cadillac Racing machine lost oil pressure. The team elected to pull behind the wall to assess the engine damage, but it was deemed irreparable. The No. 31 Caddy was subsequently retired from competition for the first time since the GTP class was established.

“The first stint went great for us,” said Aitken. “The car was working really well and managed to move up from P4 to second and even were closing in on the No. 6 Porsche. Then the rain started to come and we managed that pretty well, too, getting out of the pits in first place. But a bit of bad luck and the race unraveled for us. It was an encouraging race start and we’ll take that to Petit Le Mans.”

A short while later, with just under an hour and a half left, the No. 01 V-Series.R gave up the ghost as well. Van der Zande pulled into the pits to swap the controls to Bourdais, but the right-rear tire went flat just a lap later. Bourdais had to nurse the race car around the full course before returning to the pits, and by the time he had, the tire cord had unraveled and wrapped itself around the driveshaft. Three laps down, the No. 01 Cadillac Racing team persisted, finishing eighth overall.

“I jumped in the car. I did the out lap. I didn’t hit anyone, but something cut the right rear tire,” Bourdais said. “Debris, or someone when they got by when I was crawling around on cold tires, I have no idea. I didn’t feel anything at all. Just another really disappointing race because it definitely feels like we did everything we could to give ourselves a chance, then we get nothing at the end.”