In the previous season, Pipo Derani and Alexander Sims teamed up to secure the GTP title in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for the team, with Jack Aitken joining forces with them to clinch the Endurance Cup.
The upcoming season’s full-time lineup will witness Derani and Aitken taking the reins as Sims has moved on to Corvette’s GTD program. In addition, Tom Blomqvist, the 2022 IMSA DPi champion and the two-time defending champion of the Daytona 24, will co-drive during endurance rounds that do not clash with his debut campaign in the IndyCar Series for Meyer Shank Racing.
As the team heads into the Roar Before the Rolex 24 At Daytona this weekend, Chris Mitchum, the director of operations for Action Express Racing, which manages the factory program No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R, anticipates significant changes in the team’s program in the second year of its GTP initiative.
Mitchum remarked, “There is a huge advantage from where we were 12 months ago to where we are now. In racing years, if you can make the comparison to dog years, I think we’ve achieved at least three years’ worth of work in one year’s time across the entire Cadillac program. A tip of the cap to IMSA with how they structured everything. We’re equally prepared to go to Daytona now as we were in every other championship year we’ve had.”
The six-time IMSA champions have already begun their preparation, shaking off off-season rust and collaborating with Blomqvist at last month’s Daytona.
“Anytime you’re able to get on track is a benefit because there are constant updates,” Mitchum explained. “For us, one of our biggest advantages at the December test was we were able to bring in Tom Blomqvist. For him to be able to learn the team and get the time on track with the car after being in the simulator, it allows us to go into the 24 with a team member who knows how we operate and knows the preparation.”
Mitchum expresses confidence in the strength of Action Express Racing’s driver lineup, stating, “It’s fair to say it’s one of the best driver lineups we’ve had as a team. There is a definite relationship that exists between the three drivers at a friendship level and having a bit of understanding between each other. So, it’s not a completely new person to meet. I think any time on a team, you can equalize that high level of competition among all three drivers. It’s amazing to watch how they raise their own game within their own team.”