Source:  http://sportscar365.com/features/commentary/oconnell-miller-debrief-2/
Author: Johnny O'Connell

Photo: John Machaqueiro/Cadillac

Whenever I see Arie Luyendyk, one of the things he always tells me is that to him, I’m one of the smartest guys he knows, for getting out of single seaters and getting into sports cars.

As I write this, I know the entire motorsport community has their thoughts and prayers with the family of Justin Wilson. I know that everyone at Cadillac Racing and Pirelli World Challenge have him in our minds, our hearts, and prayers.

Going into Miller I was hopeful that the circuit would suit our new ATS-V.R. It’s smooth, and has some faster corners that I felt we would be good through. This proved to be the case.

We rolled off the trailer decent, but this weekend the engineers made all of the right moves. The car for qualifying was very difficult to drive, razors edge, but good enough to throw down one very good lap to get the pole.

At the start of the first race, I knew that I was going to have my hands full. JD Davidson has been on a roll lately, the Nissans are really showing how strong they are, and I knew he would be pushing me hard the entire race. Which he did. A new PWC rule is that we do rolling starts for the first race on double race weekends and our traditional standing starts on Sunday.

At the start I was lucky to get a small gap to him in the first few laps, and then it was drive every lap as if it was qualifying. I could look in my mirror and see that he was sliding and pushing every bit as hard as I was.

When we finally got to traffic and I was a bit luckier than he was on Saturday. Our fast laps were so close, I think I managed to beat him to pole by only a hundredth or so to secure pole for race two.

For race two, we got a good standing start and I was able to lead into Turn One. My car was exceptional the first few laps, but then became more and more difficult to drive.

Again, I spent the race with JD pushing me the entire time, knowing one slight mistake would be all that he needed to close a very small gap. If the race had gone another ten minutes I’m not certain I would have been able to hold him off as I feel his car was probably working better than ours the last ten minutes of the race.

Again, it was run every lap as if it was qualifying, make no mistakes and like Mosport, we were able to pull off the double race wins on the weekend.

In closing, it needs to be pointed out what a great event Pirelli World Challenge put on at Miller. The number of serious racing fans that showed up, spoke of how much they enjoy watching our races, the length of lines for the autograph session, says all you need to know about the direction things are moving.

The fans of our sport are special, and I’m confident that like me, their thoughts will be first with Justin.

Sonoma is next weekend. I am just about 10 points out of the GT championship lead with three races left. I know that everyone at Cadillac Racing is hungry.

SOURCE:

http://sportscar365.com/features/commentary/oconnell-ctmp-debrief/

O’CONNELL: CTMP Debrief

• By Johnny O'Connell

Photo: Richard Prince/GM

Strong, it’s the best word to describe Cadillac Racing. When presented with a challenge, the team always finds a way to overcome.

We’ve had moments where we’ve shown ourselves to be very strong, Long Beach certainly comes to mind, as well as Barber Motorsports Park.

Then the racing gods step in and take potentially good results away from us. After the fire, we needed a good result, and we needed to be strong at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (a.k.a. Mosport), one of my favorite tracks.

Qualifying is always going to be critical this year. I felt I had a good car going into qualifying, but never thought we would go as quick as we did getting the pole.

I’ve done thousands of laps at Mosport and I have to say that it is probably the best lap I’ve ever done there – so far. We earned that pole, the entire team.

It’s funny, in that just before going to Canada I got really sick. Big time head and chest cold. I shared my concern with my buddy Rick Swarts. He reminded me that I always seem to do great when I’m sick.

For race one I got a good start and was able to hold onto the lead. For the entire race I had Kevin Estre in his McLaren all over me.

I was able to drive a mistake-free race and hold him off despite a lot of pressure. He is a nice guy and great addition to the series, so it was nice having a clean race with him.

In race two, we were able to get another good start, this time standing, and again lead flag-to-flag.

This time I had my good friend Butch Leitzinger on me the entire time.

His Bentley was probably a bit quicker, but getting there and getting by are two different things, and I’m sure his aero balance wasn’t what he needed to get by once he got close to me.

He is a pro and when racing someone like him there is a lot of mutual respect for each other’s race craft. That is the type of racing I enjoy the most.

As always thanks to everyone for supporting us. Getting that first win in the new Cadillac ATS-V.R was special. It’s an amazing car. I also want to thank everyone at GM. The wins this past weekend were my 55th and 56th wins driving for GM.

Surround yourself with good people and good things happen. I am one lucky redhead for sure.  On now to Detroit, a place where we are always strong.

Pirelli World Challenge champion Andy Pilgrim takes The RACER Channel for a tour of his new twin-turbo V6 Cadillac ATS-V.R and discusses some of the coupe's unique technical aspects.

TEAM CADILLAC TAKES FIRST AND SECOND IN PIRELLI WORLD CHALLENGE RACE SERIES.
 

Team Cadillac drivers Johnny O'Connell and Andy Pilgrim finished first and second in the running of the Pirelli World Challenge at Long Beach. O'Connell posted his 11th career Cadillac victory.      

O'Connell and Pilgrim one - two LONG BEACH, Calif., (April 13, 2014) - Team Cadillac drivers Johnny O'Connell and Andy Pilgrim finished first and second in today's running of the Pirelli World Challenge Series, Long Beach Grand Prix presented by KIA. O'Connell posted his 11th career Cadillac victory.

O'Connell (Flowery Branch, Ga.) was able to race to some Long Beach redemption this afternoon in southern Calif. Last year he was winning the event while nursing his CTS.V.R around the 1.9 mile, 11 turn closed street course with a three inch piece of a competitors brake rotor lodged in the radiator. Just five turns from the checkered flag he coasted to a stop. Today O'Connell was able to get a great start and head the field the entire race. He had to soldier through one restart, following a first lap caution, but was pressed only by teammate Pilgrim (Boca Raton, Fla.) who finished second.

"I got a pretty good start," O'Connell said. "Andy may have gotten a little better launch than I did, but there was no way I wasn't going into Turn One deep. The first couple laps were very challenging. The car was really sliding around after the restart, then the Pirelli tires came in and the car really came to me. I got some really good breaks with traffic and was never really held up. I know Anthony Lazzaro was chewing on Andy, so I had to keep pushing. I think Andy I were really close I just had the track position. Getting so close last year I was super motivated to get the win today. It was nice to get the victory for the team and all of the Cadillac fans that came out this weekend."

Despite a strong start Pilgrim was being pressed by Lazzaro, but held on to make it a Cadillac one - two finish.

"I got a really good start," Pilgrim said. "Johnny was on the inside, so I was happy to slot in behind him into Turn One. Our plan was to work hard at the beginning of the race as we thought it would get slippery towards the end with our heavy car. We both were sliding at the end. Traffic worked in our favor. Anthony got hurt twice toward the end of the race with slower cars, so that helped. I had a good car, it was going away at the end, but that is to be expected. A good day for Cadillac."

The win will have Pilgrim as GT points leader heading into the next round at Barber Motorsports Park. The race from Long Beach will be televised on NBC Sports, Sunday, April 20 at 5:30 p.m. with a re-air Friday, April 25 at 1 a.m.

The Pirelli World Challenge Series will travel to Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala. for the first time in the series for a double race weekend April 25 - April 27.

Additional information on Cadillac can be found at media.cadillac.com. Multi-media and team information can be viewed at cadillac.com, GM.com, media.gm.com, world-challenge.com, andypilgrim.com and johnnyoconnell.com; Facebook: GM, Andy Pilgrim, Johnny O'Connell, Team Cadillac and Cadillac.

Winning the Pirelli World Challenge Manufacturers' and GT Drivers' Championships is no small feat. Team Cadillac triumphed in both competitions, two years running. Buckle up and relive every turn in the Team's high-octane history with a recap of last season's victories.

Team Cadillac is geared up and ready to launch. On March 28, the streets of St. Petersburg will be lined with competitors like BMW, McLaren, Audi, Lamborghini and Ferrari undefined all seeking to unseat Team Cadillac's reign. Follow from the streets or on Twitter. #TeamCadillac.

It takes calculated form and function, with a pit crew of quantum mechanics. CTS-V amends the laws of physics by upping high-speed stability with an aerodynamically tuned front splitter and rear spoiler. And oncoming oxygen ceases to resist when channeled through the precisely rendered performance fascia and brake ducts. All working together to keep the 556-hp V8 and race-inspired Brembo® brakes as cool as can be. Just a few of the reasons victory begins with a V.

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