In the exciting sprint finishes there is always a third 'wheel' who wasn't having any fun at all and at the 24 Hours of Daytona this role certainly fell to Cadillac.
The breathtaking finale that once again gave us the first seasonal round of the IMSA SportsCar Championship was a pleasure for the public and for the overall winner Porsche.
But the one who stands out is not always the best and in the GTP Class the 963 benefited from the latest neutralization with Full Course Yellow to take advantage of the pit stop by adopting Team Penske's strategy very well, putting the V-Series.R #31 behind it.
Tom Blomqvist tried until the end to restore the lead to the LMDh built on a Dallara chassis and prepared by Action Express Racing, but Felipe Nasr's strenuous defense allowed the Brazilian to pass the checkered flag first with a margin of 2 “112.
A shame for Cadillac Racing, which throughout the race showed for long stretches that it had a slightly superior pace to its rivals in the category, dueling with the combative Pipo Derani and Jack Aitken, Blomqvist's companions to form a trio of drivers ready to take on the visor with the knife between his teeth.
In addition to the pace, the other very positive thing is that the #31 Cadillac had enviable solidity, while the #01 of Chip Ganassi Racing fared worse, also among the candidates for success, but ended up KO during the night due to a problem mechanic that the technicians will now have to analyze, prematurely dismissing Sébastien Bourdais, Renger Van Der Zande, Scott Dixon and Alex Palou.
Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Images
#31 Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R: Pipo Derani, Jack Aitken, Tom Blomqvist, #7 Team Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Dane Cameron, Felipe Nasr, Matt Campbell, Josef Newgarden, #6 Team Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Nick Tandy, Mathieu Jaminet, Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor
“First of all, I want to say that the whole team did a fantastic job in these two weeks, as did my teammates. There wasn't a single bad stint in the whole race, really, always fighting against the Porsches, who were very fast,” Blomqvist said analyzing the race.
“We were fast at times, perhaps we were a little better at managing the tires on the double stint, while they were very strong on the restarts, especially during the night, when it was a little cooler and there was rubber on the track; there I slowly managed to reduce the gap, then we decided to make an early stop to try to overtake them. Luckily I managed to pass on the track.”
“In the end the goal was to close the gap, because obviously the next stop would have been a little longer. The FCY pretty much put an end to our chances, especially regarding our position in the pit lane because we couldn't react towards the cars that were behind”.
“I think it would have been a little more competitive if the yellow flag hadn't come out at the end, because it seemed to me that we had an advantage on the pace. But it was difficult to overtake, the Porsche was really strong on the straight. We were better in the mixed and even though there was no traffic it was hard to find an opportunity.”
“I think Felipe only made a small mistake where he went a few meters wide, but other than that, there wasn't any chance, so congratulations to them. They were really fantastic.”
Photo by: Bob Meyer
#31 Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R: Pipo Derani, Jack Aitken, Tom Blomqvist, #3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims, Daniel Juncadella
The Anglo-Swede's final triple stint saw him continue with a truly incredible consistency of performance, confirming him as one of the best drivers of the lot.
“We didn't change the rotation of the drivers for the entire race and it was already decided that I would have to finish, even without interruptions. We decided to lengthen the shifts because there were only three of us, resting as much as possible when it was the others' turn. During the night the team he did the math and left the others in the car for four sessions, so that I could rest enough to get onto the track fresh.”
In the final, clarity was important to manage the crucial moments, but Blomqvist found himself facing a worthy opponent who left him no opening to regain the lead.
“I think Felipe was a bit luckier in the last two laps, when the traffic was slow until the 'Bus Stop' chicane, which cuts you off. He managed to escape right at the end for this reason. As for fuel consumption, we used the least amount of energy possible. Obviously our car was the lightest, but the consumption was minimal.”
“Maybe they were a little better, but we also pulled a little by stopping early to try to create an opportunity to get back to the front; there it's always easier to manage things and you can find a way to maintain your position. They made the most of what they had.”
“I tried. But as I said before, I remember he only went wide once. We were both very focused because the lap times dropped at the end. We did everything we could to secure victories for our teams. It was fun, there was a lot of adrenaline in the car, but it was close. This is motorsport sometimes.”
Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images
#31 Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R: Pipo Derani, Jack Aitken, Tom Blomqvist
Derani, author of the Pole Position in Qualifying, does not hide the disappointment of seeing an all in all deserved success fade away for so little, but takes it philosophically, trying to see the positive sides of the weekend.
“First of all, it must be said that it is always an emotion and we are here to enjoy these moments. For the fans it was a fantastic race, obviously we are drivers and we always want to be first, but there is nothing better than fighting wheel to wheel with great opponents and to have such a beautiful finish to a race that was like this from start to finish”, explains the Brazilian.
“I think it was a feat, we had our good moment and Tom did a fantastic job, trying to undercut and overtake Felipe. Obviously at Daytona the pits are reversed in order, so they could see where we were and they did a short refueling to take the lead. It's part of the game.”
“We gave everything we could, it was definitely more difficult watching in the pits than being in the car, but we knew Tom would do his thing, we just couldn't do it. I'm very proud because I think we did a fantastic job with the whole team.”
“We didn't make a single mistake all week, we came here with a very competitive car and we were in front from the start to the end of the race. I had great battles. There is nothing better to enjoy and celebrate motorsport with a race like this.”
Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images
#31 Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R: Pipo Derani, Jack Aitken, Tom Blomqvist
Pipo also looks with satisfaction at the improvements that Cadillac and AXR managed to make over the winter, taking advantage of everything that was gained in the first season with the LMDh.
“Last year, if you look at how we started the year, we finished fifth in a season of ups and downs. We had a winter where we told ourselves we had to improve various aspects. We did it and we made sure we to be able to come back stronger in 2024.”
“We showed up with a very competitive car and we did a fantastic race, we were impeccable. Starting the season with a Pole and a 2nd place gives us hope that we are on the right path to fight for another title. Let's hope that it doesn't It's such an up-and-down season like last year, but we're very satisfied with how Daytona went, even though the result was slightly lower. Everyone should be proud and look forward to the next edition.”
Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images
#31 Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R: Pipo Derani, Jack Aitken, Tom Blomqvist
Aitken, on the other hand, is unable to swallow an ending which, experienced from the outside, was even more cruel when he saw how the victory was slipping away.
“It definitely hurts to come second for such a short time, we said many times that we had so much confidence and felt comfortable with whoever was in the car for the finale. Tom did a great job and I really thought he secured the win for us with the overtaking on Felipe before the FCY”, admits the Englishman.
“Watching from the outside is definitely a little hard on the nerves, because at that point you can't do anything. It was still touching to see the reaction in the garage, when all the members of the Cadillac crew managed to hold their heads high, putting in a lot of effort in the last couple of weeks after a pretty busy year.”
“It wasn't a long winter and we showed up great. Hopefully it's a good indication for the rest of the season. But right now it definitely hurts, right or wrong.”
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