Team Cadillac Shows Well in Final Long Beach Practice

Team Cadillac Drivers Show Well in Final Practice for Long Beach Grand Prix; Both in Top Six

Pilgrim Fourth, O’Connell Sixth in First Dry Session of Weekend

LONG BEACH – After the first real track time of the weekend, Team Cadillac put both CTS-V Coupes in the top six during Pirelli World Challenge Series practice.

Andy Pilgrim led the way in the No. 8 CTS-V, posting fourth-quick time at 1:23.684 around the 1.968-mile street course, and point leader Johnny O’Connell was sixth at 1:23.806.

“It wasn’t bad, for a totally green track after two days of rain,” said Pilgrim of his session. “Traffic is an issue here, especially with the GTS cars around the Fountain. You can’t get them easily. It’s a good start, but this is not the ideal Cadillac track. We’re both in the top six, which is what we need to do, but obviously, we’ve got some work to do.”

Lawson Aschenbach led the way at 1:22.822 in a Porsche, and the Volvo of Randy Pobst was second at 1:23.485. Justin Marks sneaked into the top three on the final lap of the session, posting a lap at 1:23.684, just .001 ahead of Pilgrim. Tommy Drissi was fifth in another Porsche.

O’Connell had a struggle with his No. 3 CTS-V, but is confident it will work itself out.

“I’m not as happy with my car now as I was at St. Pete,” he said. “I’m not showing the grip I want, but that’s why you run these sessions. The beautiful thing about a team like Cadillac Racing is, they have the ability to get it all right in time for qualifying and the race.”

James Sofronas’ Porsche was seventh, followed by the Volvo of Alex Figge, Dino Crescentini’s Porsche and the Ferrari of David Welch rounded out the top 10.

Qualifying for Round 3 of the Pirelli World Challenge Series is set for 8:25 a.m. Sunday, with the race to follow at 4:15 p.m. Live streaming of Sunday’s race is available, and the race will be broadcast on NBC Sports Network on April 29, from 3-4:30 p.m. EDT. The Cadillac Racing Media Kit is now available online.

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