Cadillac locks out Rolex 24 front row

The winning atmosphere surrounding Cadillac Racing’s championship in the inaugural Grand Touring Prototype season carried over to a chilly January weekend as Cadillac swept the front row with a record-shattering qualifying for the 62nd Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Reigning IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP champion Pipo Derani toured the 3.56-mile, 12-turn Daytona International Speedway course iin the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R in 1 minute, 32.656 seconds during the 15-minute session to earn his 10th IMSA pole overall and Cadillac’s fourth since the first season of DPi competition in 2017.

Sebastien Bourdais, driving the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R, was close behind at 1:32.727 to complete the front-row lockout. The previous track record was 1:33.695, set in 2019. Also, for comparison: 2023 pole-winning lap time in first race of GTP era - 1:34.031. 2022 pole-winning lap time in final year of DPi era - 1:34.034.

“I’m so proud of everyone involved in the program. The work has never stopped since we started designing the car to the development, to testing to the races to whatever they consider the offseason,” GM sports car racing program manager Laura Wontrop Klauser said. “It shows the amount of hard work and effort put in that we came ready and will continue to push and be ready to chase the win.”

Cadillac entries paced the 10-car GTP field on the time chart in four of the six test sessions leading into qualifications at the Roar Before The 24. Cadillac prototype entries have won the Rolex 24 four times since 2017.

"With the help of a great team and a great car beneath me, obviously the Cadillac was flying out there today. It’s a privilege and pleasure to drive such a car. It was really well-balance today,” said Derani, who will co-drive the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R with Jack Aitken and Tom Blomqvist. “I think we’re working in the right direction. Obviously, last year we were close to pole position, but we were not quite there. I think in the end, everyone is really tight."

Blomqvist will aim for his third successive victory in the North American endurance classic.

Bourdais is co-driving the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R with Renger van der Zande, Scott Dixon and Alex Palou – a stout roster that represents seven Rolex 24 At Daytona overall victories and 12 INDYCAR championships.

“It was obviously a great day for Cadillac; you always want to go P1-P2,” said Bourdais, who 10 years ago co-drove a Chevrolet Corvette DP for Action Express Racing and earned the first of his two overall wins in the Rolex 24 At Daytona in the inaugural IMSA WeatherTech race following the merger.

“For us, it was a solid effort, but we just didn't quite get everything the way we wanted for that perfect run. But we have a really solid racecar and now we will just try to adjust things over the next week to get it the best we can for the race. We’ll try to execute as a team, with the drivers, and hope that we can come out of this with a watch.”