Photo: Rick Dole/IMSA
Louis Deletraz said he “saw the opportunity” to make his move on Sebastien Bourdais in the closing minutes of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring that put Acura in victory lane for the first time at the Florida endurance classic.
The Swiss driver passed Bourdais in a bold maneuver on the inside of Turn 7 with six minutes to go in the around-the-clock enduro to seal the first win of the GTP era for Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti.
“The car was really strong in the end and I knew we were in a position to win, which to be fair was a lot of pressure,” Deletraz said.
“I never really done that. Daytona was my first time. That’s my second time finishing an [IMSA] race.
“I just obviously wanted to win and also bring points for the championship but I saw the opportunity. Seb was tough but fair, so thanks to him.
“In the end I saw the gap, I went for it, and I had more pace and we won.”
When asked by Sportscar365 if he felt there were other opportunities to get by the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V-Series.R, which led a race-high 97 laps, Deletraz said he had evaluated a number of chances.
“Every time I got close, there was a yellow pretty much, which was not helping me,” he said.
“I saw I was strong on braking, especially in the low-speed like T7, T10 but every time I was close he was defending very well on the inside and I was on the outside and he squeezed me off.
“I realized quickly that I was never going to make it on the outside, which was fair enough.
“I thought about it, saw a gap in T7 and I just went for it, put it off the brake and go in and try to avoid him crossing back.
“Then I think we had some more contact on the straight, which again was hard racing but I think fair. In the end we both made it to the flag, which is also down to two drivers.
“I could not have done it by myself. If he didn’t respect me we both would have been in the wall. I’m really thankful to that.”
Jordan Taylor, who earned his second overall Sebring win, credited Deletraz for taking the win for the trio that also included NTT IndyCar Series star Colton Herta.
“Louis’ closing stint was what made the difference today,” Taylor said. “The team did a good job to keep us in the fight but he really fought for the win and got it for us.”
Bourdais: ‘There Was Way too Much Contact’ in Battle for Win
Post-race, Bourdais was left questioning Deletraz’s driving standards, particularly with the number of times the two cars made contact during the pass sequence.
None of the contacts were reviewed by IMSA race control, which means they were considered racing incidents.
“Louis seems to think that I was the instigator,” Bourdais said. “I’m a little shocked. Definitely, that was way too many contacts.
“Both sides of the floor, toward the rear, are significantly damaged.
“I think we can both be pretty lucky it didn’t rip a stem of a wheel ’cause we probably could have picked up a puncture four or five times during the last few laps there.
“I’m not really accustomed to that and not a big fan of it.
“To be honest, I don’t think he needed it because he had so much pace anyways.
“Hats off to them anyways. They had the package at the end to make the difference. We just had to settle for second.”
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