IMSA fan favourite JDC Miller Motorsport has made a huge investment for 2019, moving from racing a pair of ORECA 07 Gibsons in the WeatherTech Prototype class last year, to a pair of brand new Cadillac DPi V.Rs this year in the newly-separated DPi division.
While the class split has left just four LMP2s set to race in Daytona (two of which, are one-off entries), the DPi class is now larger, in part because JDC Miller and CORE made the lead from racing with ORECA to Cadillac and Nissan respectively.
But the fear of other teams jumping ship, and a lack of cavalry, wasn’t behind JDC’s move, instead, it was the want to race for overall wins and the title.
“From the get-go, when we started in 2014 in PC, we wanted to go and compete in the highest class for overall wins, even as an independent team,” said Matthias Czabok, the team’s Head of Corporate Development, to DSC.
“We made a decision early that’s what we wanted to to. We committed to Cadillac fairly soon, and committed to two cars, as we know that’s where we want to go. The choice to move after the class split wasn’t about how many cars there would be left in LMP2, it was always following out business model.
“We planned to be eligible to compete for overall titles and wins.”
It’ll a steep learning curve for us because everything is new. Everyone still needs to get used to a new car.
But, winning races and titles at this stage is still very much a long-term goal. The team received its pair of Cadillacs with just enough time to complete a brief shakedown before the Roar earlier this month. With so much to learn, and so little time, the early part of the season, Czabok says, is going to be a real challenge.
“We’re really looking forward to the season. But we know it’ll a steep learning curve for us because everything is new, moving from LMP2 to racing the Cadillac in DPi. Everyone still needs to get used to a new car. Every time we go to a new track, it’s going to be a real learning experience.
“Before the Roar, we had just one test in Sebring, and it was more of a shakedown to understand the car’s systems, which are different to the ORECA.
“But, it must be said that so far the support from Cadillac, and the guys from Dallara has been amazing. They’ve been supportive of everything we’ve asked for them. There are more companies to work with now, but there’s more involvement from their side too.”
Even with limited running at Sebring and Daytona, the team’s overall impressions of the Cadillac, after running the ultra-successful ORECA 07, are positive.
“The guys so far have been impressed with it, and the drivers have too, they say it drives very well,” he continued. “At this point, we’re trying to figure it all out.
“The #85 car ran the first time at the Roar. And aside from the odd niggle, everything ran to plan (though it must be noted that shortly after speaking to DSC, the #85 did suffer a gearbox failure!). We’re just trying to get the drivers comfortable, outside of Tristan who drove one last year it’s a new car for everyone else.”
Beyond Daytona though, the team is aiming to find its 2018 form, which saw it score podiums and take an overall race win. And even with the DPi-LMP2 battle swinging like a pendulum during the year, the team stayed in the hunt right until the final race.
Czabok says the team hopes to be back to its best before the season ends.
“To be brutally honest we’ll take this year one race at a time. That’s our mindset, we finished with one car fourth in the championship and won a race. There were tracks last year where the LMP2s struggled with the DPis, but this year we have a different outlook, as we’re on a level playing field.
“If we execute right and have a little bit of luck, we’re hoping for good results. We don’t want to set our expectations too high, but we also want to match what we’ve accomplished the last two years, getting podiums, wins and do well in the championship.
We know the first couple of races will be hard
“It was great to have a car in the hunt going into the last race last year, so, you never know what’s going to happen. We know the first couple of races will be hard, but I think later in the year we can match what we could accomplish before.”
