BRASELTON, Ga. – A fresh livery wasn’t just a great cause Thursday for Cadillac Racing. It also proved quite fast.
With the No. 01 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R wearing fading pink-to-black colors to support the American Cancer Society and Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Sebastien Bourdais clocked the fastest lap during the first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice session in preparation for Saturday’s Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
Bourdais’ effort of 1 minute, 11.013 seconds (128.764 mph) on the 2.54-mile, 12-turn circuit in the No. 01 Cadillac was the fastest lap in the Grand Touring Prototype class and fastest overall in the 53-car field during the opening two of three practice sessions. A third practice was scheduled for Thursday evening.
Bourdais and Renger van der Zande are the car’s two full-time drivers, with six-time IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon joining for Saturday’s 10-hour race.
Dixon will mark his 50th IMSA race with Saturday’s start. His first IMSA race was at Petit Le Mans in 1999, and he has regularly competed in endurance races that don’t conflict with his IndyCar schedule. He has five IMSA victories on his resume, four in the Rolex 24 At Daytona and one at the 2020 Petit Le Mans.
He has also competed six times in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, including the past two with Bourdais and van der Zande.
The IMSA milestone gave Dixon, who stands second all-time in IndyCar victories and championships behind A.J. Foyt, pause for thought.
“It makes you reflect a lot on the memories you’ve had at all these tracks,” said Dixon, 44. “The wins and the near misses, especially, are probably the ones you think about the most. I didn’t think I’d ever hit 50 races doing just partial starts.”
Thursday’s practice sessions began preparations for Saturday’s season finale, which will crown champions in four classes at the end of the 10-hour race.
Felipe Fraga recorded the fastest lap in the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class during the morning session with a lap of 1:12.823 (125.564 mph) in the No. 74 Riley ORECA LMP2 07 he co-drives with Gar Robinson and Josh Burdon.
During the afternoon session, Daniel Serra was fastest in Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) with a lap of 1:18.722 (116.155 mph) in the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 he co-drives with Davide Rigon and Alessandro Pier Guidi.
“We improved a lot compared to the first session,” Serra said. “We have our work to do, especially with tire degradation, which is quite high at this track. The most important session is the next one (Thursday night). It’s cooler and is (at the same time as) when the race finishes. We need to understand what we need to do with the car for that situation.”
Parker Thompson led the way in Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) at 1:18.916 (115.869 mph) during the second session in the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 he co-drives with Frankie Montecalvo and Aaron Telitz.