Sporting championship rings

Members of Action Express Racing were presented rings for their 2021 IMSA DPi team championship season by George “Sonny” Whelen and Christine Whelen – owners of Whelen Engineering, the primary sponsor on the No. 31 Cadillac V-LMDh.

Whelen Engineering first partnered with Action Express Racing in 2015.

“It’s a little emotional because we won the championship in 2021 and it shows that despite all the (medical) issues they’ve had they still consider us part of their family,” said Pipo Derani, the ’21 DPi driver champion. “To come back here and do this amazing gesture for all of us is fantastic. It shows what kind of people they are and it’s great to be part of a fantastic group like this.”

Since 1952, the Whelen Engineering Company has been a global leader in the design and manufacturing of reliable and powerful warning lights, white illumination lighting, sirens, controllers and high-powered warning systems for automotive, aviation and mass notification industries.

Collaboration from the start

From the outset, Cadillac Racing and its drivers have been instrumental in developing the Michelin GTP class tires for the 2023 season both on the Dallara and Chevrolet simulators and during on-track testing.

“The tire is probably the most critical component on the car in that it’s the only place that the entire car connects to the ground and the car itself is built around the tire,” GM sports car racing program manager Laura Wontrop Klauser said. “The tire and the suspension need to work together or otherwise you’ll be fighting the car constantly.

"So, developing the tire with Michelin from the beginning was critical in making sure our car performed. Between the simulation that we’ve done, the many miles we’ve put on the car, the countless feedback sessions we’ve had with Michelin working together, that collaboration has given us a great package because ultimately the car is the sum of its parts.”

GTP teams have 33 sets of Michelin tires (12 soft “low temperature” and 21 soft “high temperature”) at their disposal for this weekend and the sessions leading into the twice-around-the-clock race. They will have 21 sets total for the race.

Did you know about the unicorn?

Jack Aitken, endurance driver of the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-LMDh incorporated a unicorn in his helmet design. “The core design on the side is my logo, so it’s a big JA. My painter is kind of a made genius who lives in The Netherlands and he made the initials out of geometry shapes, like a mosaic, and put some tartan in there for your Scottish heritage and some of the colors of the Korean flag. On the back is a unicorn in the same motif and that’s because the national animal of Scotland is a unicorn. Most people are shocked when I tell them. It’s like a cool conversation piece.” ... Earl Bamber, co-driver of the No. 02 Cadillac V-LMDh, drove in the 24H Dubai last weekend. The Grove Motorsports team finished fourth in the GT3 class. "I treated it as a good warm-up for the Rolex 24," he said.