In today’s IMSA GTP qualifying session at Daytona, the GTP pace was hot, red hot. Despite being heavier and producing less downforce than their DPi predecessors, the entire field of LMDh cars in GTP managed to eclipse the best time set by the previous formula. This meant the fastest car broke the all-time qualifying lap record too.
It was a 26-year wait between the Toyota Eagle Mk III’s lap from PJ Jones in 1993 and Oliver Jarvis’ tour of the banking back in 2019, when the previous record of 1:33.685 was set. This time, IMSA fans have had just five years to wait for the record to be challenged again.
This time it was Pipo Derani in the #31 Action Express-run Cadillac V-Series.R that would raise the bar, with a blistering 1:33.236 (at an average speed of 222.311 kilometres per hour) in a tight affair which saw Sébastien Bourdais in the #01 Cadillac Racing get within a tenth and make it a front-row lockout for the GM brand.
The track conditions, Derani explained, were “perfect” for his tour.
“The car was really well-balanced today,” he said after setting the time. “We missed a couple of tenths in the qualifying sim, and we worked on what we needed to do between practice and qualifying.
“The car was on rails and it felt good to feel the full potential of the GTP. But honestly, I was quite surprised we were a second quicker than the previous practice. But the conditions were perfect.
“They told me I’d broken the record as I was parking up in victory lane,” he continued. “It’s nice because the new cars are evolving. The technology we are developing today and what hybrid power means to us as a manufacturer is that everything we are learning will eventually hit the road. To have all this translate into a lap record at Daytona is fantastic.”
Derani wasn’t the only driver who noted how ideal the low temperature and wind direction made it the perfect setting for fast laps on an afternoon when the GTD Pro and GTD qualifying lap records also fell.
LMP2 pole-sitter Ben Keating noted how the “headwind into the Bus Stop and tailwind over the front stretch” helped him produce a lap time that left him in shock and questioning whether the numbers on the dash in his United Autosports ORECA were correct.
Nevertheless, the GTP cars have come a long way since last January, when testing time with the brand-new cars before the Roar was limited and the parts supply was short. The difference in pole time alone is stark, a 1:34.0 compared to a 1:32.6.
It’s been a steep learning curve but it’s paying off
“We now have so much more understanding of what we need from the tools,” Derani told DSC. “Last year so many cars were locking up, and missing lap times because the systems aren’t as tuned as they are now.
“The change in the past year is massive, most of the lap time comes from us understanding what we need. It’s been a steep learning curve but it’s paying off.
“The development has been tremendous. The job that was done throughout the year and even on single weekends was amazing. You go from FP1 to FP2 sometimes and things feel different, so it’s not surprising at all.”
To Cadillac, this adds yet another IMSA accolade to the V-Series.R programme, which in just 12 months has already racked up wins, titles, a Le Mans podium and now a lap record at arguably the most iconic circuit on the IMSA calendar.
“I’m so proud of everyone involved in the programme,” said GM sports car programme manager Laura Wontrop Klauser.
“The work has never stopped since we started designing the car to the development, to testing to the races to whatever they consider the offseason. It shows the amount of hard work and effort put in that we came ready and will continue to push and be ready to chase the win.”
The work has never stopped since we started designing the car to the development, to testing to the races to whatever they consider the offseason
Getting pole is of course one thing, while winning the Rolex is another. The real task comes next weekend when Cadillac will look to score its first win at Daytona since 2020. It will not be easy, as the field is larger than last year and the four manufacturers have a year of data and experience to draw from.
Derani likes his chances though. Along with Jack Aitken, who has been promoted to a full-time seat in the car for 2024 and Tom Blomqvist, who won the race last year with Meyer Shank Racing, he feels they have the talent and experience to score Cadillac its first Rolex win since 2020.
“It’s great to have Jack on board. He is well-integrated with the car so it’s a perfect fit. And with Tom it’s great to bring in a champion with a champion’s mindset, who brings the understanding of another hybrid.
“We are learning a lot and we work well as a group.”
Images courtesy of IMSA/Galstad/Dole
