How Cadillac Racing's 01 passed every GTP to WIN at Laguna Seca (IMSA 2023)

Cadillac Racing's Ranger venizanda put on a phenomenal show at empsa's annual trip to Laguna Seca and this is what he and teammate Sebastian bourde desperately needed because despite finishing on the podium at the season opening Daytona 24 hours the 01 crew has had a string of terrible luck at the Sebring 12 hours an engine fire took them out of contention and then in a subsequent race at Long Beach a Break by wire issue took bourde out before he even reached the first corner and then most recently when the teammates headed over to Spa Ranger suffered a power steering lockup going through a Rouge which sent him flying into the barriers to say that frustrations had begun to boil over by this point is an understatement so as bourde is sitting on the pre-grid waiting to get this two hour and 40 minute race started you can be sure that he and his teammate are desperate to finally get a good result and get their season back on track [Music] however this isn't going to be easy because bourde is lining up to take the green flag in sixth place which means that the only cars behind him are the two BMWs in the brand new jdc Miller Porsche so asbode takes the green flag we can look to the inside and see that one of the BMWs is already passing board a and then there's a massive lock up in front of bourde and he is going to follow both of the Porsches and the Acura wide and I'm going to pause it here briefly because if we look in front of us we can see that now the second BMW and the jdc Miller Porsche have both passed bourde meaning that as he sits right now bourde is a ninth out of nine in the GTP class but he's gonna get hard on the power be able to get up the inside of the jdc Miller Porsche before this right-hander solidifying himself back in eighth place but with a ton of work to do to salvage any sort of decent result however instead of focusing on charging back through the pack for day is going to focus on Tire saving and that's because imsa has limited the teams to three sets of new tires to be used between the 20-minute qualifying session and the two hour and 40 minute race so bourde and the 01 crew are going to try to save tires in the first two stints so they can have fresh tires at the end of the race and if we jump 20 minutes ahead we can see that this Porsche ahead is still within touching distance borde isn't losing time and he is able to conserve his tires but as borde sweeps through this right-hander we can see a puff-up smoke ahead in the GTP Porsche is going to collide with a GTD Aston sending it into the barriers this will set up a full course yellow and the team's first real chance to play with Tire strategy as borde trundles down the pit Lane we can already see that ahead of us the 60 Acura right there is taking a new set of tires four days crew is going to hop over the wall as he stops and not take tires bourde was able to keep these tires fresh enough but ahead of us the 25 BMW is taking right side only tires and bordeau is going to fire the car away LeapFrog one of the BMWs the BMW that took two tires is gonna be just ahead and then the 31 Cadillac also did not take tires and as they exit the pits with only two hours and 12 minutes to go they will probably only need two more pit stops so that means from here on out they can bolt on a fresh set of tires at every Pit Stop this could potentially give the 01 crew a massive advantage over the teams it elected to change tires but as Bordeaux waits to take the green flag and get back to racing his task is very similar to the previous stint he doesn't need to pass the cars in front of him he just needs to make sure he stays close to them and doesn't let anyone pass him as they go through the final corner you can see bourdeus struggling so much on tires that BMW in front of him has so much more grip coming out of the corner gains several car lengths just on acceleration alone again bordeau just needs to stay close to these cars and cannot let the cars behind pass if he wants any chance of making this tire strategy work is able to survive the Andretti hairpin cleanly gets a nice exit a nice launch into this right-hander is able to kind of consolidate his position and we're going to jump ahead here towards the end of the stint because another yellow flag comes out this is probably the best luck that the 01 crew has had all season because it was such a short stint on these worn tires just 20 minutes until the safety car and now they have two fresh sets of tires they can bolt on but as they trundle down the pit Lane fresh tires aren't the only trick that the o1 crew has up their sleeves because Ranger vansanda is about to jump into the car and those of you that are imsa fans might remember the incredible drive an amazing pass that Ranger vanderzanda put on the 31 Cadillac to give Spirit of Daytona the win back in 2017. if there is any driver that you want in your car here at Laguna Seca to finish out a race it's Wrangler vanderzanda and as ringer exits his pit box you can be sure he's channeling that energy from the race back in 2017. they're going to stop here briefly at the end of the pit Lane and there's gonna be actually an awkward moment here but ringer does have a huge amount of work in front of him to make this strategy work because although he has the fresher tires he is way back in the field and he will have to pass all these cars in front of him to make this strategy work as they're just waiting on the green flag as Wrangler vanessanda is already looking up the inside of Philippe Nazar in the Porsche which is also on new tires they're going to get hard on the power two big power slides in the cars ahead and they're gonna send it all the way down the front straight take the green flag the Porsche of Nazareth is already looking up the outside making it past the BMW renger is going to be looking to follow through as quickly as he can as the BMW and the Porsche almost make contact Ranger is just going to sit behind them for the moment not much of a chance yet to make a move on this BMW in front of him we're gonna see Felipe and Nazar in this Porsche ahead similar to Wrangler on Fresh tires is going to be ultra aggressive here and as they come into this left-hander Felipe andazer is going to go around the outside of the Porsche unused tires ahead of him BMW is going to look to maybe follow through not quite able to and they're gonna head up the hill to the location where ranger made that famous pass back in 2017 into the corkscrew and Rengar is gonna send it he is going to send it again on the inside of the BMW recreating that incredible pass that he made on the 31 Cadillac putting himself one spot closer as the azer gets a big wiggle and goes off the road going through rainy curve that's two spots now that Wrangler has made up since the restart one of them threw a crash one of them threw an incredible pass and now he's all over the back of this Porsche which is on old tires and is struggling hurting her grip they're gonna go up the hill one more time the Porsche is going to have a little bit of a wiggle on the exit not gonna be able to put the power down Ringer's gonna look to the outside you can't really make the move there and he's gonna send it again though on the inside that is two for two two passes and two laps through the corkscrew I have never seen anything like that kind of dragon before two for two through the corkscrew just incredible but now ringer needs to set his sights on the three cars ahead of him in first place the 31 Cadillac which is also on Fresh tires and in second and third two Acuras which are on worn tires the number 60 car ahead of the number 10. [Music] we can see here through the end ready hairpin so little grip both of the cars wiggling as they struggle to put the power down coming out of the corner come to this right-hander both cars just so slow through the Apex and not able to accelerate coming out of the corner ringer is going to need to get by them as quickly as possible so he can set Chase to the 31 Cadillac ahead because every second he spends Behind These Acuras is a second that he's losing to the 31 car as they go under the bridge across the start Finish Line and over the crest heading into turn one Ranger is going to look to make his move he looks very faintly to the inside and the 10 Acura just Wiggles as they cannot get the car turned Rangers can get hard on the power a much better exit with that wider line gonna look to the outside it's gonna send it to the inside side by side through the Apex a little bit of contact on the exit but Wrangler vandazenda is through into third place just two cars separating Rengar and bourde from the win that they so desperately want and so desperately need as they come through the corkscrew ringer is closing so quickly on the 60 Acura ahead [Music] but again he needs to make this pass stick and he needs to make it happen quickly because that 31 Cadillac is running away by this point the 60 card that we can see is just squirming going through every corner anytime he tries to turn in the rear just wants to let go and the car just wants to spin wrenger needs to find a way to get past the 60 car and pass it quickly 60 now though it's just I was able to turn through the Andretti hairpin almost taking a straight line through the corner Bringers we look to the outside dart back to the inside a late break but the 60 breaks later goes super deep into the corner that move that worked on the Ted Acura is not going to work on the 60. ringer needs to figure out a new strategy to get by the 60 car and to catch up to the 31. as they go through the final Corner again the 60 car just cannot get to the Apex Wrangler is hard on the power all over the rear of this Acura they're going to come over the crest Wrangler is going to look to make his move looks very faintly to the inside the 60 covers it tight to the Apex Wrangler is going to hang it out wide and cut back to get a great exit out of the corner looks to the outside fakes to the inside the six is going to break late ringer breaks early gets hard on the power at the Apex able to get a much better exit the 60 car and makes the move stick with an hour and 12 minutes ago Wrangler is up to Second Place only needs to make one more pit stop and has a fresh set of tires to bolt on things are looking up for the 01 crew but unfortunately if we look back to the 60 car those tires that looked bad three minutes ago are now significantly worse with an hour and nine minutes left in the race the 60 car just has no ability to put the power down it's gonna look to the outside of this GT car gonna send it on this right hand or the Porsche locks up it is absolute chaos with a 60 car barely able to hang on to his tires the 25 BMW is going to look up the inside of the six Porsche they make contact at the Apex that unsettles the Porsche which means it can't put the power down and can't pass the 60 car they come through the corkscrew one more time into reigning curve this Porsche needs to set up a move on the ailing number 60 Acura coming to this fast sweeping right-hander there's a gaggle of GT cars in front of them the BMW is going to look on the inside of the Porsche the Porsche breaks even later sends it up the inside of the Acura they're gonna go side by side through the exit they have GT traffic in front of them a Corvette c8r right there and they're going to go three wide past the Corvette now again three wide pass another GT car and the BMW gets pushed off the track into the pit Lane sending it late on the brakes is the 60 Acura and the 25 is going to sneak up the inside pushing the Acura at further two positions down that tire strategy for the 60 crew did not work out they are struggling so much we can Flash ahead to the 01 crew who's been slowly gradually falling back from the 31 but also driving away from the rest of the cars behind [Music] and with 57 minutes to go Wrangler is going to pop into the pit Lane for their final pit stop and a fresh set of Michelin Rubber and fortunately for them another Stroke of Luck there's a full course caution as they enter the pits so that means all of that Gap to the 31 car built up is now gone Wrangler vanazanda is going to re-enter the race with just one car separating him for day and the 01 crew from victory foreign [Music] ER knows that he might only have one chance one opportunity to make a pass and if he gets an opportunity he has to make it stick Alexander Sims launches early breaks hard into the final corner but wrenger was ready for it on his bumper through the Apex and Nails the throttle right behind him on the exit ringer isn't going to be able to close the gap on the straight it's gonna have to happen in the corners so as they head into the Andretti hairpin they're both laid on the brakes Sims defends to the inside Ranger is going to take a really wide line in the 01 car set up for a really nice exit out of the Andretti hairpin looks the outside thanks to the inside and then sends it late on the brakes on the outside and is able to hold on and able to take the lead in the final stint in the 01 Cadillac let's look at that one more time hangs it around the outside on the 31 car reminiscent of that pass back in 2017. now all that separates Wrangler from a win is fast consistent laps but there is no time for him to rest because there are some hard charging cars behind him if we look ahead of us here in the Acura we can see this Porsche of Nick Tandy is on Fresh tires and is very very fast he's going to send it on the inside of the BMW to move up to third place and he's going to be slowly but surely closing in on the 01 Cadillac is going to move his way into second place as well But ultimately he was no match for the 01 crew who despite being shuffled back to last place on the first lap we're able to use excellent Tire management and fantastic speed and passing to take the checkered flag to take the win and to take control of their season again now bourde Vander zanda and the entire 01 crew have some momentum and confidence to build off of as they head in to bourdes home race the 24 Hours of Le Mans a special win and what more special day to do it on than Mother's Day so happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there and let's just briefly listen to how much this win mattered to ringer Vander zanda what an amazing win and if you made it this far thank you so much for watching I really appreciate all the love and support it means a lot to me this channel has gotten a lot more eyeballs recently than I'm used to and it's really just incredible to see so thank you guys so much again I love you guys I appreciate you guys I'll see you next time

Channel: Grooved Slick

Views: 90,431

Keywords: IMSA Laguna Seca, Cadillac LMDh, Cadillac Le Mans, Cadillac WEC, Cadillac IMSA, Renger Van Der Zande, Sebastian Bourdais, IMSA 2023, IMSA GTP, Cadillac GTP, IMSA LMDh, WEC LMDh, Cadillac Laguna Seca

Id: _6EVlwnlxe8

Length: 15min 44sec (944 seconds)

Published: Wed May 17 2023