Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon in the No.3 Cadillac V-Series.R says that the 24 Hours Of LeMans was definitely an eventful race after the No.3 Chip Ganassi Racing No.3 Cadillac V-Series.R was forced to retire from the race.
”It was definitely an eventful race. I think just the conditions alone created a lot of strange stuff going on. The sad part was we were back in it, you know. We were on the lead lap, we had the safety car pack-up, we were going to restart around seventh or eighth. It would’ve been on for a decent finish. It’s just how racing goes, it’s unfortunate. It was a lot of fun to be here with Cadillac.”
Renger van der Zande said:
”I think we were right up there at the end again. In the first two hours we’d lost the race. But we stayed in there, we kept the gap to the leaders the same for 15 hours almost, and after 15 hours we got a chance with the safety car to emerge. And that’s when we had the mechanical issue. It’s a lot of hard from everyone at Cadillac, GM, and Chip Ganassi Racing — the drivers, everybody involved. It’s been an amazing experience here to do Le Mans with this group, but it’s really a shame we have to end it this way.”
Sébastien Bourdais commented on the race saying:
It’s a shame we’ve had DNFs in the two biggest races of the year, but it’s part of racing. We tried to fight as much as we could and did the best we could. Now we’re going to go back to the States and tackle the six hours [Watkins Glen] – another tough event. We have work to do because we weren’t very good there last year and we didn’t have the luxury to go testing with the tight schedule. We hopefully made some good progress on the hard tire and the set-up for Watkins and we’ll keep pushing. We’re second in the [IMSA] championship so we’ll try to maximize the results.”
The No. 2 Cadillac finished seventh when the clock expired Sunday, leading the way for Chip Ganassi Racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Alex Palou in the No.2 Cadillac V-Series.R commented after his 24 Hours of LeMans debut saying:
“It was a lot of fun till the end just because of that hope of trying to get the win but failing at the end. It was a great experience the first time doing Le Mans with Cadillac. I learned a lot and I’m looking forward to the next one. [That] was actually the first time I drove in the rain at night. It was a first time for many things this year.”
Alex Lynn in the No.2 Cadillac V-Series.R commented saying:
We absolutely gave it our everything all week. It’s been a close fight, led a lot of laps and Ferrari and Toyota coming out just a little better than us similar to last year. We’ll regroup and go again. I’m proud of the efforts of everybody at Cadillac, Chip Ganassi Racing and those who support us.”
Earl Bamber in the No.2 Cadillac V-Series.R stated:
“We definitely came here much more prepared than last year. We ticked all the boxes that we wanted to improve on. We led the race for long periods of time. Ultimately, didn’t swing in our favor with the weather at the end. But that’s sort of Le Mans and racing. We can be proud as a program about what we’ve achieved, how much we’ve gone forward. Now we just need a result to show for it. Other than that, I think we’ve made big leaps and bounds forward.”
Dixon and Palou will head to Laguna Seca in California next weekend for the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey, round eight of the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season in second and third place in the Drivers championship.