The No.1 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V-LMDh of Scott Dixon, Sebastien Bourdais, and Renger van der Zande scored a well deserved third place finish in the 61st edition of the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona International Speedway on Sunday after leading a combined 198 laps to end the race on the lead lap on a successful debut weekend for the LMDh class.
Speaking following the action, six-time NTT IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon commented saying:
Pretty decent race. For all of us, it was just trying to get to the end. Great work by the team and all the partners involved, honestly. That’s a feat in itself. I think coming down toward the end we knew it was going to be a tough fight, especially with the speed of the other cars. But I had fun, it was a fun race and just came a little bit short.”
The Iceman’s attention now shifts to preparing for the 2023 NTT IndyCar Series season, which gets underway with two days of Spring Training testing at The Thermal Club in California next week.
Sebastien Bourdais commented on the race, saying:
Obviously, we didn’t run the perfect race but as close as you can get to it considering it was the first outing in a race for the Cadillac V-LMDh. Honestly, I didn’t think a win would take the perfect race and then some. I’m really surprised that everybody ended up having a pretty clean race. It’s tough to be on the wrong side of things, but we scored some strong points and all the hard work from the group at Chip Ganassi Racing, Cadillac, Bosch and Dallara have been rewarded by a triple finish.
Renger van de Zande stated following the race:
“Finishing third is not what we came for, but it’s the first time with the car and we got points with the podium to start the season. At the end of the day, we didn’t have the pace to win, but we will collect and see where we can improve as a team. The podium is attributed to GM, Dallara and Chip Ganassi Racing to build a car to last 24 hours. That’s an amazing thing.”
The No.2 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V-LMDh driven by Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn, and Richard Westbrook finished the race in fourth overall, and speaking following the race, Bamber commented saying:
“I think it was overall a very good job. It was really impressive for Chip Ganassi Racing and Cadillac that we can come out and run 24 hours with both cars on the lead lap, both cars fighting for podium. I think we missed a bit of pace, but the podium points are great for the sister car. Now, it’s on to race Sebring.”
Alex Lynn commented on the race by saying:
“I think we’re disappointed to not get the win. That’s what you turn up to Daytona to do. The car ran flawlessly. Big congratulations to Cadillac and we’ll be back.”
Richard Westbrook commented by saying:
“What a journey for us to get to this point. To run flawlessly for 24 hours in the debut of the Cadillac V-LMDh is something we can all be proud of. Obviously, there is initial disappointment because we just missed out on the podium and had the potential to win. But listen, we just have so much to be proud of to get the car home without any issues. It’s is just a testament to the team, Cadillac, and everyone involved. We are only going one way and that is forward.”