Bourdais: 2023 Cadillac GTP car “keeps you awake”

After the final race in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s DPi era at Road Atlanta, Cadillac, BMW and Acura stayed on for a long-form test at the 2.54-mile roadcourse. In the course of this, the new Cadillac passed the 11,000km (6835-mile) mark in terms of track distance covered during its development.

Sebastien Bourdais, who will continue with Renger van der Zande in a Ganassi-run Cadillac in 2023, said: “The car is powerful. It’s making close to 700 horsepower, obviously, but when you couple that with quite a bit less downforce – like significantly less downforce – it’s definitely a car that gives you a run for your money.

“You have to work at it. You’ve got some good mechanical grip, but then the weight negates that some. Aero-wise, you get there pretty quick but then you can’t lean on the aero quite as much.

“You get there fast, but it’s a bit harder to stop. When you get to the corner, you’ve got to stop it more. It’s definitely a car that keeps you awake.”

Van der Zande, who drove the DPi-V.R to eight victories – four with Wayne Taylor Racing, four with Ganassi – said he is impressed with the V-LMDh and has found testing it a fulfilling experience.

“As a driver you can give your feedback to the great engineers that we have and they start working on the comments you give [regarding] what you need to win races in the future, so it’s a very interesting period. The sound of the engine is so raw and so Cadillac as well. I’ve been impressed on the sound and to drive away on the electric side of it is impressive. It’s way more powerful and it puts a big smile on my face.

“One of the development points you can use out of the DPi era is you go to a track like this where you can have those back-to-back feelings and give your feedback. It’s going from big tuning to fine-tuning. You don’t get those opportunities often.”

There will be two Cadillacs on the IMSA grid next year – one run by Ganassi, and one by Action Express Racing, for whom Pipo Derani and Alexander Sims will drive.

“It was really, really nice to get a solid haul of laps,” said Sims, who was a part-timer for Corvette Racing the last two seasons. “Good times, did some fast laps as well, which was nice. Some long runs, got a good understanding of the car through a full stint and then did a few bits of slightly more performance testing towards the end of the day.

“Nice to feel a bit more comfortable with the speed of the car. Obviously still work to do, but it’s been a solid test day.”

In the WEC, Cadillac will have one entry in 2023 in the Le Mans Hypercar class, run by Ganassi and driven by Richard Westbrook, Alex Lynn and Earl Bamber. Westbrook, for whom this was a first test of the new car, remarked: “Some things are better, some things need improving on, of course. It’s a brand new car, but a really good first impression.

“I’m really happy to get my first run out of the way. It was really enjoyable. It’s nice having a comparison while the DPi is still fresh in your mind because it was a very well-sorted car by the end of the development.

“Right now, we’re just making the car run, putting miles on it and that’s where the focus is. Stage two of the learning process would be unlocking some performance. That’s the bit I’m looking forward to.”

Cadillac Racing assistant program manager Kalvin Parker explained: “Getting comfortable with the further development we’ve had in the systems, accumulating data, getting acclimated to the tires and just durability is important. We’ve been developing and adding new components as we move toward homologation, and it’s how robust are they.

“For the drivers, to go directly from the DPi into the V-LMDh on the same track has been really helpful to get an understanding of where the limits are going to be. They’ve been at a few tracks now where they can compare the differences in weight, differences in power. It’s noticeable the growth the teams have made from those first couple of tests to now in terms of comfort level with the cars, feeling they can push the systems and their understanding of the car.”