The pole-sitting No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R, with Jack Aitken behind the wheel, led at the 12-hour mark of the 62nd Rolex 24 At Daytona.
Both Cadillac Grand Touring Prototype entries paced the field multiple times for multiple laps on the 3.56-mile, 12-turn Daytona International Speedway course as Cadillac Racing pursues its fifth victory in the North American endurance classic since 2017.
Sebastien Bourdais, driving the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R that was running second to the sister No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R, reported hitting debris in Turn 5 that shredded the left-front tire 8 hours, 42 minutes into the race. The car went off course and continued, with Bourdais bringing the hybrid to pit lane.
Scott Dixon relieved Bourdais and, running a lap down, came back into the pits for fuel and tires. A pit lane speed violation that required a drive-thru temporarily dropped the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R three laps down.
“The tire went down right away and I was fortunate not to hit the tire (barrier) because I didn’t think I was going to stop it,” Bourdais said. “If I would have hit the tires it would have been really bad, but now we’re probably a lap down but it could have been a lot worse.”
Alex Palou, the defending IndyCar champion took over the seat from Dixon and was running one lap down in sixth place at the halfway mark.
Through the initial six hours, the Cadillac racecars combined to lead a majority of the race laps. Reigning GTP champion Pipo Derani, who earned the pole with a track-record lap during the 15-minute qualifying session January 21, recorded the quickest lap of the race (1 minute, 35.863 seconds) on Lap 2.
Flag-to-flag streaming coverage is available on Peacock. USA Network’s coverage resumes at 6 a.m. until noon ET. NBC will telecast the race conclusion from noon-2 p.m.
No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R
Sebastien Bourdais: “It’s a very slippery track on the fairly old pavement with lots of yellow and white lines that do not have abrasive in it, so you better get the wheels straight when you hit those because you’re in for a ride with those.”
Alex Palou (on driving at night): “You always have to adapt, with different cars, different track conditions, and especially if the night suddenly comes. The most difficult part was not seeing a lot of references, but honestly, it’s cool. I think that’s the challenge of motorsport, and you always need to adapt. You always need to push yourself.”
No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R
Pipo Derani: “I feel great. I did a long stint and everything went OK. I was double stinting my tires to stretch the longevity. Now Jack (Aitken) is in the car and the car is very good at the moment. All in all, it is going according to plan.”
