Cadillac “still really green on knowledge” of GTP car

All 5 IMSA GTP producers – together with Lamborghini’s new SC63 LMDh challenger – can be in motion on Wednesday and Thursday on the 3.56-mile, 12-turn highway course that comes with sections of the high-banked oval.

The opening day is for prototypes solely, with GTD contenders becoming a member of on Thursday to make it an anticipated 43 vehicles on observe in complete.

Regardless of having a full season of racing below its belt, and successful the title with its Motion Specific-run automotive, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Bourdais believes there stays a lot to be unleashed from the 5.5-liter, V8-powered Caddy.

That course of begins with two day/night time periods this week, forward of the Roar Earlier than the 24 take a look at for all groups on 20-22 January and the Daytona 24 Hours opener on 28-29 January.

“Towards the tip of the season with the couple of checks we had, we began to study extra concerning the automotive and what makes it go and what doesn’t work,” mentioned ex-F1 racer and four-time Champ Automotive champion Bourdais. “It’s simply going to take time.

“Individuals assume we’ve had loads of testing, but it surely was all centered towards homologation and reliability. We’re nonetheless actually inexperienced on data of the automotive so far as designing setups and getting efficiency out of it.

“Since we homologated the automotive, there’s actually been little time to optimize it and perceive it so far as discovering that final half a second that’s a game-changer if you come to race weekends. It’s going to be a steady studying course of, attempting to make numbers fall into place and validate the reads.”

Bourdais will once more be partnered by Renger van der Zande for the complete IMSA season, with CGR’s IndyCar star Scott Dixon becoming a member of for the endurance occasions.

Picture by: Richard Dole / Motorsport Photos

#31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac V-LMDh Cadillac V- LMDh: Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims, Jack Aitken

Within the sister Motion Specific crew, Jack Aitken replaces Alexander Sims alongside Pipo Derani – who claimed his second IMSA top-class prototype title final 12 months.

“Like several new automotive, you all the time need extra testing, extra follow time,” mentioned Derani. “Particularly when it’s such a fancy racecar with the hybrid and a heavy automotive makes it for an extended highway by way of growth.

“We’re a 12 months and a bit into the event of this automotive however solely simply now beginning to perceive just a few issues that make sense to the setup and the way we make this automotive go faster. Nonetheless so much to enhance from everybody.

“It’s all the time a studying course of and you need to be humble sufficient to know you need to proceed that approach if you wish to succeed on this collection.”

GM sports activities automotive racing program supervisor Laura Wontrop Klauser mentioned of the Daytona take a look at: “We’ll be taking all the teachings from 24 hours of racing this 12 months and apply to see what we will do to prepare for subsequent 12 months.

“One of many issues that we’re enthusiastic about with our carryover program for ’24 is we’re capable of deal with the automotive and understanding it extra in addition to ensuring we now have all of the assist on the GM and Dallara facet prepared to assist the groups achieve success.

“Probably the most difficult issues this 12 months has been the dearth of time. We’ve been working race to race to race, and we’d sometimes slip in a take a look at. Actually, it was our race schedule in 2023 that saved us busy, which was phenomenal as a result of you’ll be able to’t have a greater take a look at than a race to see what you are able to do with the automotive.

“So, it will likely be good to be again at Daytona, deal with a take a look at plan.”

Cadillac was a contender for victory in final 12 months’s Daytona 24 Hours but it surely was ultimately outpaced by Acura’s ARX-06 vehicles – though the successful Meyer Shank Racing entry was later discovered to have manipulated tire information and was penalized.