Kamui Kobayashi thinks the #48 Ally Cadillac DPi-V.R. will be in a better position to win the Sebring 12 Hours than they were at the Rolex 24 earlier this year. Kobayashi described a number of areas that needed improvement following Daytona, including the pitstops where the team was losing up to five seconds per stop.
The #48 Cadillac is run through a partnership between Action Express Racing and Hendrick Motorsports. Many of the crew members, however, come from Hendrick Motorsports and were relatively inexperienced when it came to sportscar racing. “Many guys [were] coming from Hendrick, which has never been in sportscars,” Kobayashi described.
“Every pitstop we lost quite a lot of lap time, which [was] at least five seconds per stop. There were many things we could improve,” Kobayashi said. He added that he has had conversations with the team’s engineers and that they hope to have many of their growing pains ironed out for Sebring.
The relationship between the drivers also progressed steadily throughout the Rolex 24 and Kobayashi thinks that will help the team in Sebring. “In the beginning, we tried to understand each other and how we communicate. At the end of the week, after Daytona, we had really good fun,” he said.
Kobayashi also complimented the efforts of Jimmie Johnson. “He tried to learn the car as much as he could and I think at the end of the race he managed to get pretty good speed,” Kobayashi said of Johnson.
Gains made by Johnson and by the team are two factors that put them in a better position to go for the win at Sebring. “We have more [of an] opportunity to win the race,” Kobayashi said.
Traditional wisdom has tended to favour the Cadillacs at Sebring, with their high-torque engines and suspension being more suitable to handle the bumps that Sebring presents. Mazda winning last year’s race and Acura looking strong as well as presented some challenge for Cadillac. The Balance of Performance at Daytona also kept the manufactures even with Renger van der Zande describing the BoP as “quite impressive” – a rare comment from a racing driver!
“I don’t think we can really say ‘wow, this car is going to be the fastest.’ I feel confident with the Cadillac because we’re good over the bumps and we’ve always been strong there with that car,” van der Zande said.
The changing track conditions will also be a challenge. We have seen in past races cars can dominate the first eight hours of the race but fall off after the sunsets and the temperatures drop.
“You can do a morning session where you’re one and a half seconds faster than in the afternoon when it’s warm, so let’s see how it all pans out,” van der Zande explained.
Many teams, including Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing, have conducted test sessions at Sebring. Jimmie Johnson and Simon Pagenaud both participated in a test under the #31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi.V-R. entry. Wayne Taylor Racing and Meyer Shank Racing have also completed tests at Sebring with their Acura ARX-05c chassis’.
