Deletraz Hoping to “Build Momentum” in Cadillac Gains

Photo: Jake Galstad/IMSA

Louis Deletraz is hoping that Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing’s recent double podium finish in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen is a sign of further things to come in the final three IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP races of the season.

While out of the drivers’ championship hunt, Deletraz and co-driver Jordan Taylor scored a runner-up finish with the Cadillac V-Series.R last month at Watkins Glen International, in what came as the the first-ever double podium result in WTR’s history.

Entering this weekend’s Motul SportsCar Grand Prix at Road America, the Swiss driver said he’s upbeat on continuing the team’s recent form.

“Road America has always been great,” said Deletraz. “It’s an awesome track; so fast.

“Obviously, it will be the first time with the Cadillac. It’s still a new car to us, but we just came off a great event at Watkins with our first podium, our first double podium for the team.

“We want to build momentum from that, so let’s try and do that. We think the tarmac has lost some grip compared to last year, so we’ll have to work with that and obviously looking forward to it.”

The No. 40 Cadillac’s podium run at Watkins Glen was in fact its first of the season, with Deletraz and Taylor currently sitting ninth in the GTP drivers’ points standings.

“For sure it’s not been the easiest start of the year, clearly,” he said. “And to finally get a podium, which we worked hard for, at Watkins is good.

“To share it with the 10 car was fantastic. It’s the first time since we have had two cars at Wayne Taylor Racing.

“We want more, we want to win. Yes, we got a little help from the safety car at Watkins at the end of the race, but we still would have finished fourth with a good strategy and good calls from the team.

“I think we can do well [this] weekend at Road America and go get that first win and catch back some points in the championship.”

While being his second full season with the team, which previously ran Acura ARX-06 machinery, Deletraz noted that it’s taken some time for the team to fully come to grips with the Dallara-chassied LMDh car.

He feels like they’ve finally hit the sweet spot in terms of communication, setup and strategy.

“We’ve learned a lot,” said Deletraz. “Daytona was the first one. Obviously, everything was new, so much learning for the team side, for the drivers, all the engineers.

“Also, getting to know each other between the Cadillac guys and Wayne Taylor Racing took some time.

“You see rewards from teams who have been with the same manufacturers for three years and there’s no way to skip that. But every race we’ve improved, every race we learned.

“And myself and I think everyone on the team feels more comfortable. I think we also understand where the car wants to live in terms of setup for different tracks — for bumpy tracks and high-speed tracks — we’ve seen through now with Watkins.

“Road America, I think is definitely the race we’re most ready for, and where we have the most data and the most experience. So, I’m really looking forward to seeing how we get on there.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John