Cadillac and two drivers at Imola: a strategic advantage?

We left the Cadillac team delighted with its fourth place at the end of the 1812 kilometers of Qatar last March, “the best of the rest” behind the untouchable Porsches at Losail. Since then, unfortunately, the V-Series.R n°2 has been rejected due to non-compliant bodywork, without however attacking the decision of the American lineage. This weekend, the WEC paddock will travel to Italy for the 6 Hours of Imola, a unique round in the World Endurance Championship calendar.

And Cadillac arrives with a little originality that can make all the difference: as announced at the beginning of the year, it will have only two drivers, Alex Lynn and Earl Bamber, that the Detroit brand will present in Emilia-Romagna. There is no Sébastien Bourdais or Renger van der Zande so the Frenchman and the Dutchman are stuck with their duties in Long Beach where the third round of the season in IMSA takes place on the same weekend.

Fewer drivers, fewer compromises?

On the grid, Cadillac will be the only team to have only two drivers in its car. Furthermore, it will be the same for all six-hour rounds this season (Imola, Spa-Francorchamps, Interlagos, Austin and Fuji). However, this surprising choice could represent a real advantage for the American company, especially on a track like that of Imola…

“I always thought it was an advantage to have only two drivers in a six-hour race. An advantage at all levels: less laps, more time on the track. For a driver, it’s easier to improve the car when he can drive longer”, Sébastien Bourdais explained to us before the Italian round. Le Manceau knows what he is talking about, as he has already won the 6H of Imola in 2011 with Peugeot… and in pairs, with Anthony Davidson.

Indeed, one less driver in the crew means fewer compromises in terms of settings, but also fewer handoffs. In Imola, besides the characteristics of the circuit and the hilly and poor track, the narrowness of the pit road can create traffic jams and several problems in the event of passing through the general pits. Cadillac can avoid these limitations by spending less time in the box and thus get back on track more quickly.

Fatigue risk?

However, the presence of only two drivers also presents some risks, especially with the longer and more tiring times of Alex Lynn and Earl Bamber, especially on a track as demanding as that of Imola. But the two Cadillac drivers are relying on their experience of the Italian circuit to shine this weekend.

“Imola was my first European race. It was 2008 and I won, remembers Earl Bamber. I have good memories of Imola because it was my first time racing on the European circuit and the win made the experience even more enjoyable. It was an eye-opening experience, a great weekend in Imola. I can’t wait to get back out there with Cadillac Racing and fight for another win.” “As a team we can’t wait to get back to racing. The season is now starting to build up to prepare for Le Mans. Imola is a twisty circuit, with lots of stops and starts, but our car looks very fast, so I’m very optimistic about our race.”adds Alex Lynn.

Cadillac and the brake temperature challenge

To erase the scandal from Qatar, Cadillac is hoping for a good result in Italy, driven by the good performance shown by the V-Series.R in Losail… however, Sébastien Bourdais tells us that the LMDh could be more fun than the LMH in Imola, for a very special reason.

“I think very honestly that the advantage will be on the side of LMH (at Imola), for the good and simple reason that in terms of brakes, there is a risk of causing a lot of problems for LMDh, emphasizes French. Brake temperature is very high, this was already a problem when I drive with Peugeot. It is one of the circuits that generate the most energy at the braking level. This would be a big problem, the hybrid system on the LMDh being much smaller than the LMH. Having a great hybrid system that you can rely on, rather than relying entirely on your brakes, will be very important. »

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