An editorial, another one, about my friends at Action Express Racing as we embark on a new journey with the GTP class Cadillac GTP-V.R. We have been testing the car extensively and seem to have a handle on the systems the new car will use, especially the spec hybrid boost motor, electric motor and battery, on the rear wheels, which every single GTP entry from each manufacturer (Cadillac, Acura, BMW, and Porsche), will use. Action Express shall be one of two teams for Cadillac alongside our longtime rivals from Chip Ganassi Racing. We shall run one car while Ganassi shall run one car as well, in IMSA, and one, in the FIA World Endurance Championship, with their second car joining their team for the Rolex 24.
Action Express has, according to my friend and team owner, Bob Johnson, confirmed our endurance driver. Briton Jack Aitken will be joining countryman Alexander Sims, and our longtime, veteran pilot, the rapid Brazilian Pipo "The Dynamo" Derani, aboard the red and white #31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac GTP car. Aitken comes in as a test and reserve driver for the Williams Formula 1 team, and so he shall definitely, along with Alexander Sims, who has a background in Formula E racing, be totally familiar with the hybrid technology and how to manage and maximize the effectiveness of the boost when it's use is allowable. We have also seen Sims compete recently in the GM stable with Corvette Racing in the GTD Pro class. But now, he steps up to the plate in a prototype and I believe he shall do very well.
We shall see much competition this year with the new class. Our motto is "Expect to Win" and I am very much crossing my fingers we can and shall live up to said motto. With the arrival of the other Cadillac GTPs, the Porsche 963s, the Acura ARX-06s, and the BMW M Hybrid V8s, we shall have worthy adversaries, but I shall remain optimistic we can and will win some races in the upcoming season. The GTP field will be stacked with talent across the board for the endurance and sprint events, both.
The car has an all-new motor in conjunction with the hybrid power from a spec battery and rear wheel energy regenerator which, according to IMSA, shall account for 67 horsepower as a boost for a total of 670 horsepower from each of the cars entered, which calculates around 603 brake horsepower being the maximum allotment from the internal combustion engines alone, sans the hybrid boost, which shall be determined depending on the track, at which thresholds it can be deployed, as we have seen for many years now in the FIA World Endurance Championship with their cars, but it is something entirely new to IMSA that the teams and manufacturers have all been learning about.
You will hear audibly, on an onboard camera, along with the throb of each of the combustion engines, which shall each have their own distinct engine note you can pick up if you turn your back on the track and guess who is going by, a whirring sound, like a futuristic machine, on deceleration. That is the hybrid motor regenerating under braking when the driver turns into the corner. It will be easy to spot if you listen for it, on any of the new cars, should they be wired up for television with an onboard camera. Hybrid is the way of the future in motor racing, and we can see electric cars coming, however, that is a topic for another day as yours truly remains very skeptical about electric cars being viable for racing. That will be hard to pull off at best.
For the Cadillac, it uses a 5.5 liter naturally aspirated V8 motor and is the only GTP racer that shall not make use of turbocharging. The competitors to the Cadillac, including the Porsche 963, the BMW M Hybrid V8, and the Acura ARX-06 are all turbocharged cars. This has been prevalent in IMSA since the first GTP class ran in the 1980s and '90s, with a battle between atmospheric and turbocharged engines. So, you have Cadillac using the 5.5-liter, 335 cubic inch V8. Acura is using a variation of Honda's longstanding IndyCar motor, which is a 2.4-liter turbocharged V6, the smallest of the GTP engines, at 146 cubic inches. Porsche is using an all new 4.6-liter turbo V8, or perhaps it is 4.8 liters displacement. I cannot say exactly as I don't remember. So that equates to somewhere between 280 and 292 cubic inches.
BMW have taken an approach of pulling an old engine out of mothballs and revamping/reusing it. They are going with their tried and true 4-liter P66 V8 motor that was successfully used in the Class 1 touring car era of the DTM, the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, and slapping a turbocharger on it. So, that is a 244 cubic inch motor and is in the middle insofar as the displacement. It shall be interesting to see how the new cars perform, all of them. Naturally, I shall be cheering for Action Express to hopefully be the best of the Cadillac's and to take the fight to the best the German and Japanese automakers have to offer, with American ingenuity.
I have seen the driver lineups for both Cadillac teams, and in my heart of hearts, believe Action Express have chosen the best drivers for the job. It will be fabulous to see how the Rolex 24 works out for our team, with Pipo, Alexander, and Jack, behind the wheel. Bring on Daytona. Very excited to see what develops. As you have probably read, there will be no qualifying race for this year's Rolex 24. Just as well. Sports cars, unlike the stock cars, even though they too, have borrowed a lot of technology from the endurance cars for the new Next Generation stock car, the endurance blokes and ladies don't need a qualifying race and we shall qualify in groups depending on prototype or production cars.
A qualifying race is too much to prep for and too much risk to take right before the biggest, longest, most prestigious IMSA race of the year, and I shall say, having first been open to it, I am glad IMSA scrapped the idea. It just isn't necessary. So, there you have it. My thoughts on the upcoming season. As for Action Express' prospects, we have seen the peaks (with the 2021 championship), and the valleys (with a 2022 season that saw only a few podium finishes). I say, bring on 2023. I believe we shall be back in the winners' circle. Excited for Daytona, and it is coming, very soon.
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