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Image credits: © Cadillac. GM Corp.
2011 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe Racer news, pictures, and information | ||
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Cadillac Racing Waves Green Flag for 2011 Season
- Final pre-season test of racecars completed this week in Sebring, Fla.- Teams set to compete this weekend in Streets of St. Petersburg
- Event marks Cadillac's first race since 2007
Cadillac Racing finished a final round of track tests this week in Sebring, Fla., as a pair of CTS-V Coupe racecars prepare for their first weekend of competition March 25-27 at the Streets of St. Petersburg.
The event will mark Cadillac's return to the Sports Car Club of America World Challenge GT series. Cadillac last competed in the series in 2007 wîth a racing version of the CTS-V Sedan. Cadillac Racing will compete twice on the Streets of St. Petersburg course: Saturday, March 26, at 11:50 a.m. and Sunday, March 27, at 4:30 p.m.
'We look forward to getting back on the track,' said Don Butler, vice president for Cadillac marketing. 'We know the competition will be tough, but we're also confident in our performance credentials. The CTS-V Coupe provides a great foundation for building a world-class racecar.'
Johnny O'Connell, a three-time GT1 champion in the America Le Mans Series, and Andy Pilgrim, who won the 2005 SCCA World Challenge GT class in a Cadillac, will be behind the wheel of the CTS-Vs. The drivers will participate Thursday at 7 p.m. in a webchat on the Cadillac Facebook page, which also will carry updates from this weekend's races.
Both drivers were impressed wîth the CTS-V Coupe racecar as they finished track tests this week at Sebring and prepared for the Streets of St. Petersburg race. The event kicks off the 2011 World Challenge season, which has eight races from March to October.
'The St. Pete race has a great atmosphere,' Pilgrim §äid. 'Fans can get really close to the teams in the paddock. The track has some classic street-course tight sections and really good fast corners on the backside.'
Said O'Connell: 'St. Pete is a beautiful circuit wîth lots of challenging areas. I've won there before, which always makes it nice to go back to. The CTS-V Coupe racecar has been very nimble during testing and seems to brake very well. I not only expect it to do well on a street circuit, but everywhere we compete.'
In less than eight months, Cadillac Racing and Pratt & Miller, a New Hudson, Mich., engineering firm that specializes in motorsports, transformed a CTS-V Coupe body structure from GM's Lansing (Mich.) Grand River Assembly Plant into a racecar that meets World Challenge requirements.
The racecar shares the production car's distinctive wedge shape, an aerodynamic design well-suited for the track. A deck-lid spoiler was added to the racecar for increased traction in turns.
The production version and racecar both feature a 6.2L V-8 engine. The output on the racecar engine is restricted to 535 horsepower, compared to a 556 horsepower rating on the production version. The CTS-V Coupe racecar, though, weighs 3,200 pounds, about 1,000 pounds less than the production car.
'The tight timeframe presented a challenge for the team, but we were fortunate to start wîth an extremely capable production sports car,' said Mark Kent, head of GM Racing. 'The CTS-V Coupe translates well to the track. The production version already provides plenty of power and exceptional handling.'Source - Cadillac
Cadillac today released the first photographs of the CTS-V Coupe race car, which will debut at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on Monday, Jan. 10. Cadillac announced last month it was re-entering the Sports Car Club of America World Challenge GT racing series for the 2011 season, which begins March 25-27 in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Johnny O'Connell, a three-time GT1 champion in the America Le Mans Series, and Andy Pilgrim, who won the 2005 SCCA World Challenge GT class in a Cadillac, will be behind the wheel of the CTS-V racecars. The first on-track tests will be conducted in late January at Sebring International Raceway.Source - Cadillac
Johnny O'Connell, a three-time GT1 champion in the America Le Mans Series, and Andy Pilgrim, who won the 2005 SCCA World Challenge GT class in a Cadillac, will be behind the wheel of the CTS-V racecars. The first on-track tests will be conducted in late January at Sebring International Raceway.Source - Cadillac
Cadillac Racing Returns to Sebring with CTS-V Coupe Racecars
Cadillac Racing returned to Sebring International Raceway in Sebring, Fla., on Tuesday, Feb. 22, for a second round of testing prior to the beginning of the 2011 Sports Car Club of America World Challenge GT season.For the first time, both CTS-V Coupe racecars hit the track wîth full exterior colors, decals and numbers. Driver Andy Pilgrim will pilot the No. 8 car for Cadillac Racing, and teammate Johnny O'Connell will be behind the wheel of the No. 3 coupe.
Cadillac is reentering the World Challenge GT series this year, beginning wîth the season-opening race in St. Petersburg, Fla., on March 25-27. Cadillac previously competed in the World Challenge from 2004 to 2007.
'We're here fine-tuning the cars, validating components and vehicle dynamics,' said Jim Vurpillat, Cadillac global marketing director. 'It's our first opportunity to get both cars on the track at the same time, in full race trim. Besides lòòking incredible on the track, the cars are performing at an exceptional level.'The first test at Sebring Raceway in January was earlier in the vehicle development process and limited to one racecar without the exterior treatments.
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The World Challenge GT schedule has been finalized for the 2011 season and includes eight races in the Únited States and Canada from March to October.'We're getting in a lot of laps, and that's what we need to do to get ready for the 2011 season,' Pilgrim saidSource - Cadillac
Cadillac Returns To Racing With CTS-V Coupe
Two teams set to compete in SCCA World Challenge GT Series• Racecar based on award-winning CTS-V Series line
• Program designed to validate, enhance Cadillac performance
• Andy Pilgrim, Johnny O'Connell signed as Cadillac driversDETROIT – Cadillac announced today it will return to racing in 2011 wîth a race-prepared version of its CTS-V Coupe competing in the Sports Car Club of America World Challenge, North America's top production-based racecar series.
The move returns Cadillac to a series where it competed from 2004 to 2007. Competing in the GT Class wîth the CTS-V Sport Sedan, Cadillac captured the Manufacturer's Championship in 2005 and 2007 and the Driver's Championship in 2005.
Cadillac will field two teams in the upcoming SCCA World Challenge GT Class wîth a racecar based on the CTS-V Coupe. The CTS-V line, which also includes the CTS-V Sedan and CTS-V Wagon, was recently named to Car and Driver magazine's 10 Best list for 2011.'Returning to racing in the SCCA World Challenge is a great way to demonstrate the performance and capability of the CTS-V Coupe,' said Don Butler, vice president for Cadillac marketing. 'The racecars in this series are production based, which allows us to validate our performance against the best of our competitors on the track, and not just the showroom.'
Cadillac is working wîth Pratt & Miller, a New Hudson, Mich., engineering firm which specializes in motorsports, to develop the CTS-V Coupe racecar. While some of the production CTS-V components will be modified due to the unique demands of racing or to meet the SCCA series' technical rules, every effort is taken to maintain as much production content as possible.
'The SCCA World Challenge lends itself well to a natural transfer of knowledge,' said Jim Campbell, GM vice president for Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. 'The series will become a key test-bed for Cadillac. We anticipate using what we learn on the racetrack to ensure the V-Series stays on the cutting-edge of performance.'The first event in the SCCA World Challenge is March 25-27 in St. Petersburg, Fla. Johnny O'Connell, a three-time GT1 champion in the America Le Mans Series, and Andy Pilgrim, who won the 2005 SCCA World Challenge GT class in a Cadillac, will be behind the wheel of the CTS-V racecars.
Introduced for the 2003 model year, the CTS-V has quickly earned a reputation among luxury sports car buyers. For the 2011 model year, Cadillac added the CTS-V Coupe and the CTS-V Sport Wagon to the CTS-V Sport Sedan, creating an impressive family of performance vehicles. The CTS-Vs feature Brembo brakes, a supercharged 6.2L V8 delivering 556 horsepower and a Magnetic Ride Control suspension system that can read and react to the road 1,000 times a second.
Started in 1944, the SCCA organizes and supports racing at all levels from amateur to professional. The World Challenge series is designed to provide teams, manufacturers and aftermarket suppliers a competitive production-based race series in which to prove their products. The races follow a 50-minute maximum time limit, wîth the number of laps and total distance determined by track configuration, lap times and race conditions.Source - CadillacCadillac Racing Heads to Historic Streets of Long Beach
Round 3 race of 2011 SCCA World Challenge season on Sunday- Cadillac drivers Johnny O'Connell sixth, Andy Pilgrim 11th in GT Series point standings
- Cadillac second in Manufacturer's points in GT Series
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Cadillac Racing returns to competition Sunday at the historic Streets of Long Beach for the third round of the 2011 Sports Car Club of America World Challenge season.
Driver Johnny O'Connell is sixth in the World Challenge GT Series driver point standings wîth 157. O'Connell joined Cadillac Racing in 2011 following a Hall of Fame career in the American Le Mans Series that included three GT1 series championships.
Teammate Andy Pilgrim, who won Cadillac's first World Challenge Driver's Championship in 2005, is 11th wîth 125 points.
Cadillac returned to racing in March at the Streets of St. Petersburg. It was Cadillac's first race since 2007 and the debut of the CTS-V Coupe race car.
The double-header race weekend at the Streets of St. Petersburg featured Rounds 1-2 of the 2011 World Challenge season. O'Connell placed fourth and seventh and Pilgrim finished 11th and eighth to place Cadillac second in the Manufacturer's point standings in the World Challenge GT Series.
'Given the quick development time and consolidated testing schedule for our racing program, we were really happy wîth the results at St. Petersburg,' said Jim Vurpillat, Cadillac global marketing manager. 'We're excited to be back in Long Beach and look forward to competing on Sunday.'
Race results and live streaming of the second race are available at www.world-challenge.com. Follow @Cadillac on Twitter for tweets during tomorrow's race. Úpdates from St. Petersburg also will be available on Cadillac's Facebook page.
The CTS-V Coupe race cars are based on the award-winning CTS-V Coupe production car, which is manufactured at GM's Lansing, Mich., Grand River assembly plant. It features Brembo brakes, a supercharged 6.2L V-8 delivering 556 horsepower and a Magnetic Ride Control suspension system that can read and react to the road 1,000 times a second.
With three separate classes of competition (GT, GTS and Touring Car), World Challenge is North America's top production car-based championship. World Challenge events are a maximum of 50 minutes start to finish, feature standing starts and involve the world's most popular manufacturers racing head-to-head.Source - Cadillac
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| TEAM CADILLAC READY FOR 2013 WORLD CHALLENGE SEASON | |
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| Corvette's Chassis Innovations Refined on the Race Track | |
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| Chevy Performance Rolls with Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour | |
 | Weeklong drive kicks off with unprecedented access to GM's Milford Proving Ground Road trip! It's that time of year again for the annual automotive pilgrimage known as the Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour® and Chevrolet Performance helps get it started on Saturday, June 2, at General Motors' Milford Proving Ground. The Power Tour winds up in Arlington, Texas, on June 9. With more than 3,000 hot rods, muscle cars, classic trucks and late-model performance vehicles and approximately 12,00...[Read more...] |
| Vintage Racing Ushers In The 2012 Season At Road America | |
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