6H of Imola – Why did Cadillac choose not to take a 3rd driver?

In the entry list, the driver grids for the 37 registered cars are complete … except for one. Only one car will have just two drivers at the wheel this weekend, at Imola. As announced at the beginning of the season, Cadillac is coming to Italy with two people, and not three like the rest of the Hypercar. A series only approved by the six-hour race regulations, but a solution adopted by the American team only this weekend… but why?

Cadillac with the successful experience of two drivers

The most obvious reason is the clash between the 6H of Imola in WEC, and the Long Beach round in IMSA, which will take place on Saturday evening. Regular drivers from the Cadillac group, Sébastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande, will be taken over their duties in the United States. But then, why didn’t Cadillac choose another driver from the GM family? For a Corvette, for example? In fact, Cadillac made this choice carefully, taking into account its long experience in IMSA, as Laura Wontrop Klauser explains.

“Earl (Bamber) and Alex (Lynn) have been working together for a few years: they have a great relationship, they work really well and they complement each other really well. stresses the head of sports operations at General Motors. So I think we built that good relationship between the drivers and we’ll see what happens. »

“We have two six-hour races in the IMSA championship this season, one at Watkins Glen and one at Indianapolis. We often enter two drivers for these two races. Sometimes three, sometimes two. Of course, it depends on the heat (at the circuit). We’ve had success in the past (with two pilots). We know we can do it, and I think both drivers are excited to have the car on their own and show the world what they’ve got.”

Cadillac could benefit from this two-driver solution: one driver under 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.

Is the IMSA program important at Imola?

“I always thought it was an advantage to have only two drivers in the six-hour raceSébastien Bourdais told us before this weekend. Advantages at all levels: less laps, more time on the track. For the driver, it is easier to improve the car when he can drive for a long time. » However, if the Frenchman – winner of the 6H of Imola in 2011 with Peugeot – will not be present, the two European and American teams will be in constant contact this weekend for important support between the two programs.

“We are connected. The IMSA supporting team and the WEC supporting team through Cadillac are therefore both linked to each other, notes Laura Wontrop Klauser. Once the race weekend starts, I think they really focus on their work, but I think it’s only a text or a phone call away from each other if needed. »

Cadillac arrives in Emilia-Romagna with the intention of revenge after being eliminated from the 1812 km of Qatar. At a track as unusual as Imola, which has similar characteristics to American circuits, can the Detroit company benefit from its IMSA program in the WEC?

“I think it might help.” We’ve done a great job at Sebring in the past, which is probably one of the tracks we think about the most (when we talk about problematic tracks). We put a lot of effort into it, so that we get a lot of profit. That’s what we’ll see… or maybe not, because we know a lot of teams have done a lot of testing here too. »

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