“It seems like it’s been feast or famine for the 01,” said team owner Chip Ganassi, whose team runs the number 01 and 02 cars. It was the team’s 63rd IMSA win.
Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande in the No. 01 Cadillac DPi-V.R won the final* IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar race on Belle Isle yesterday, with only two of the five classes racing on the tight, walled and unforgiving street circuit.
It was the second consecutive victory for the No. 01 Cadillac on the 2.3-mile, 14-turn street circuit, and the fourth in five races in DPi competition for Cadillac.
Bourdais and van der Zande also won on the Long Beach street circuit in April. A Cadillac led all 73 laps in the first caution-free race ever at Belle Isle. Cadillac appears to have a more compliant suspension setup than competing Acuras, which were bouncing and thrashing on the rough street pavement. Oliver Jarvis finished in second 0.309 seconds back in the No. 60 Acura of Meyer Shank Racing. Earl Bamber, finished third in Ganassi racing’s No. 02 Cadillac
“It seems like it’s been feast or famine for the (No.) 01,” said team owner Chip Ganassi, whose organization prepares the Nos. 01 and 02 Cadillacs and collected the team’s 63rd IMSA win. “They either win or something stupid happens.” Ganassi started what was a memorable week as a team owner by winning the Indy 500. (AutoInformed: Honda Beats Chevrolet at the Brickyard. Record Purse Claimed)
Bourdais has earned pole position for four of the last five WeatherTech Championship races, but prior to Detroit, he and van der Zande won just once this season on the streets of Long Beach, California, and failed to finish on three occasions. The race was Bourdais last before retiring.
Bourdais, who claimed the Motul Pole Award with a track record lap of the Belle Isle Raceway 2.3-mile, 14-turn temporary street course on Friday, led the first half of Saturday’s race before bringing a hand off to van der Zande. The No. 01 V-Performance Academy DPi-V.R made up 65 points in the championship race this weekend and sits fourth through six rounds.
Lexus took the GT3 win, clearly beating Aston Martin and BMW, which finished 2nd and 3rd respectively. IndyCar rookie Kyle Kirkwood led a revamped Vasser Sullivan lineup to the team’s first win this season. It was the first career IMSA victory for Kirkwood and teammate Ben Barnicoat. Kirkwood won the pole for the race but raced Saturday with an injured right hand from a crash in IndyCar practice Saturday morning. The Lexus has power steering. How he fares Sunday in IndyCar remains to be seen.
Kirkwood started the race and ran second during his stint while saving fuel before handing off to Barnicoat shortly before halfway, making a pit stop a lap after the leader – the so-called overcut. The Vasser Sullivan crew had a quick two-tire pit stop and the No. 17 Lexus returned to the track in first. Barnicoat then led the final 43 laps.
The next race for the WeatherTech Championship, the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen at Watkins Glen International set for June 23-26, is the third of four rounds in the 2022 IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup. All five series classes will compete. The Glen is a fast 3.4-mile, 11-turn track for a race that was once long ago run on the streets.
*A new era of the Detroit Grand Prix begins in 2023 as it returns to its original home on the streets of Downtown Detroit. On June 2-4, 2023, the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear will have three full days of activities and celebration on some of Detroit’s most popular and active Downtown areas, including racing on a new 1.7-mile, 10-turn street circuit along Jefferson Avenue, Bates Street, Atwater Street, St. Antoine, Franklin Street and Rivard.
Provisional Results <here.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Caution-Free IMSA Belle Isle – Cadillac Wins DPi, Lexus GT3
“It seems like it’s been feast or famine for the 01,” said team owner Chip Ganassi, whose team runs the number 01 and 02 cars. It was the team’s 63rd IMSA win.
Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande in the No. 01 Cadillac DPi-V.R won the final* IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar race on Belle Isle yesterday, with only two of the five classes racing on the tight, walled and unforgiving street circuit.
It was the second consecutive victory for the No. 01 Cadillac on the 2.3-mile, 14-turn street circuit, and the fourth in five races in DPi competition for Cadillac.
Bourdais and van der Zande also won on the Long Beach street circuit in April. A Cadillac led all 73 laps in the first caution-free race ever at Belle Isle. Cadillac appears to have a more compliant suspension setup than competing Acuras, which were bouncing and thrashing on the rough street pavement. Oliver Jarvis finished in second 0.309 seconds back in the No. 60 Acura of Meyer Shank Racing. Earl Bamber, finished third in Ganassi racing’s No. 02 Cadillac
“It seems like it’s been feast or famine for the (No.) 01,” said team owner Chip Ganassi, whose organization prepares the Nos. 01 and 02 Cadillacs and collected the team’s 63rd IMSA win. “They either win or something stupid happens.” Ganassi started what was a memorable week as a team owner by winning the Indy 500. (AutoInformed: Honda Beats Chevrolet at the Brickyard. Record Purse Claimed)
Bourdais has earned pole position for four of the last five WeatherTech Championship races, but prior to Detroit, he and van der Zande won just once this season on the streets of Long Beach, California, and failed to finish on three occasions. The race was Bourdais last before retiring.
Bourdais, who claimed the Motul Pole Award with a track record lap of the Belle Isle Raceway 2.3-mile, 14-turn temporary street course on Friday, led the first half of Saturday’s race before bringing a hand off to van der Zande. The No. 01 V-Performance Academy DPi-V.R made up 65 points in the championship race this weekend and sits fourth through six rounds.
Lexus took the GT3 win, clearly beating Aston Martin and BMW, which finished 2nd and 3rd respectively. IndyCar rookie Kyle Kirkwood led a revamped Vasser Sullivan lineup to the team’s first win this season. It was the first career IMSA victory for Kirkwood and teammate Ben Barnicoat. Kirkwood won the pole for the race but raced Saturday with an injured right hand from a crash in IndyCar practice Saturday morning. The Lexus has power steering. How he fares Sunday in IndyCar remains to be seen.
Kirkwood started the race and ran second during his stint while saving fuel before handing off to Barnicoat shortly before halfway, making a pit stop a lap after the leader – the so-called overcut. The Vasser Sullivan crew had a quick two-tire pit stop and the No. 17 Lexus returned to the track in first. Barnicoat then led the final 43 laps.
The next race for the WeatherTech Championship, the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen at Watkins Glen International set for June 23-26, is the third of four rounds in the 2022 IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup. All five series classes will compete. The Glen is a fast 3.4-mile, 11-turn track for a race that was once long ago run on the streets.
*A new era of the Detroit Grand Prix begins in 2023 as it returns to its original home on the streets of Downtown Detroit. On June 2-4, 2023, the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear will have three full days of activities and celebration on some of Detroit’s most popular and active Downtown areas, including racing on a new 1.7-mile, 10-turn street circuit along Jefferson Avenue, Bates Street, Atwater Street, St. Antoine, Franklin Street and Rivard.
Provisional Results <here.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.