The Cadillac V-Series.R LMDh took pole for the race last weekend and was the fastest GTP class car in each of the four practice sessions this week, but Bourdais insisted that it is unlikely to be the car to have in the all-important final stages of the race.
“We’re plenty quick on outright pace: we can do a quick lap, we’ve seen that in all the sessions and in qualifying,” said Bourdais, who races the #1 Ganassi-run Cadillac Racing entry together with full-season team-mate Renger van der Zande and IndyCar stars Scott Dixon and Alex Palou.
“But we have the lightest car and therefore the least powerful car, and we know that at Daytona power is king.
“Power has a big effect on the dynamic of the race, particularly in the closing stages.”
Bourdais outlined concerns about what he called the “raceability” of the car in the last hour when Daytona traditionally boils down to a sprint between the remaining cars on the lead lap after the final safety-car period.
“So many times we’ve seen Daytona come down a shoot-out over the last 30 minutes or so, and in that scenario power is what you want,” he said.
“It is probably the car with the most power that is going to come out on top - and that’s not us.”
IMSA does not publish top speeds on the 3.56-mile Daytona International Speedway, but Bourdais believes that the Cadillac is lacking in that respect against at least some of its rivals.
“In the interactions I’ve had with the other cars out on circuit we know we aren’t so good in terms of top speed,” he explained.
Source: Autosport