All five IMSA GTP manufacturers – including Lamborghini’s new SC63 LMDh challenger – will be in action on Wednesday and Thursday at the 3.56-mile, 12-turn road course that incorporates sections of the high-banked oval.
The opening day is for prototypes only, with GTD contenders joining on Thursday to make it an expected 43 cars on track in total.
Despite having a full season of racing under its belt, and winning the title with its Action Express-run car, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Bourdais believes there remains much to be unleashed from the 5.5-liter, V8-powered Caddy.
That process begins with two day/night sessions this week, ahead of the Roar Before the 24 test for all teams on 20-22 January and the Daytona 24 Hours opener on 28-29 January.
“Toward the end of the season with the couple of tests we had, we started to learn more about the car and what makes it go and what doesn’t work,” said ex-F1 racer and four-time Champ Car champion Bourdais. “It’s just going to take time.
“People think we’ve had a lot of testing, but it was all centered toward homologation and reliability. We’re still really green on knowledge of the car as far as designing setups and getting performance out of it.
“Since we homologated the car, there’s really been little time to optimize it and understand it as far as finding that last half a second that’s a game-changer when you come to race weekends. It’s going to be a continuous learning process, trying to make numbers fall into place and validate the reads.”
Bourdais will again be partnered by Renger van der Zande for the full IMSA season, with CGR’s IndyCar star Scott Dixon joining for the endurance events.
Source: Autosport