|
Cadillac introduced the CTS-V model in late 2003 with the objective of moving into the luxury performance market.
The CTS-V race car was developed to compete in the Sports Car Club of America's (SCCA) Pro Racing Speed World Challenge series.
The World Challenge series allowed Cadillac to showcase many of the car's production components under competition conditions.
GM Racing worked with GM Performance to build and develop a performance platform for the race-prepared World Challenge Cadillac CTS-V.
|
| By weight, 73 percent of the race-prepared Cadillac is stock or derived from production parts, including the engine, gearbox, differential, suspension, and many other components. The CTS-V is a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, four-door sedan with a roll-cage designed as an integral part of the chassis. The wheelbase is 113.4 inches. The base weight is 3,050 lbs. but subject to change according to the R.E.W.A.R.D.S. system. This weight equalization rule adds or removes ballast from a car based on a driver's finishing position. The system was implemented to prevent any driver/car combination from dominating the class. |
|
|
The CTS-V race car uses an all-aluminum 5.7-liter (347.8 cubic inches) V8 engine with two valves per cylinder. Rules allow a cylinder overbore limit of 0.5mm. The motor produces 540 horsepower with a maximum rpm of 7,600 and 475 lb-ft. of torque. The driveline includes a six-speed manual transmission and limited-slip differential. Modifications permitted include transmission tunnel alterations and the engine my be moved three inches rearward. It has a 25-gallon fuel tank to carry enough fuel for the 50-minute sprint race. It has an estimated top speed of over 165 mph. |
| The Cadillac team enlisted the services of Andy Pilgrim and Max Angelelli to drive the CTS-V. After several years in showroom stock series Pilgrim joined the factory Chevrolet Corvette team in 1999 and stayed until 2003 when he joined Cadillac the following year. Angelelli's background was in open-wheel racing before moving to sports cars. Most recently, he was a member of Team Cadillac in the American Le Mans Series. Cadillac entered a third car at selected events for drivers Ron Fellows, Johnny O'Connell, Olivier Beretta, and John Heinricy to increase the chances of securing the Manufacturers' Championship. |
|
| CADILLAC CTS-V | WORLD CHALLENGE GT |
|---|---|
| Vehicle Type | Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, four-door sedan |
| Engine Layout | V8 Aluminum block and cylinder heads |
| Displacement | 5728cc |
| Valves | 16 |
| Compression | 12.0:1 |
| Maximum RPM | No RPM Limit |
| Horsepower | estimated 540 bhp |
| Torque | estimated 475 lb-ft. |
| Wheelbase | 113.4" |
| Base Weight | 3050 lbs |
| Wheel Size | (F-R): 11x18" - 12x18" |
| Tire Size | (F-R): 275/35/18" - 335/30/18" |
| Forward Gears | Six speed manual transmission |
| Differential | Limited slip |
|
Race one of the World Challenge series was held at Sebring International Raceway. The No. 8 Cadillac CTS-V of Max Angelelli qualified on the pole, and his teammate, Andy Pilgrim, in the No. 8 Cadillac, started third. At the start, Angelelli lost the lead to the Audis of Michael Galati and Randy Pobst, but two laps later, he was in first place. He held the spot to the checker. It was a different story for Pilgrim. His car stalled immediately before the standing start, leaving his Cadillac behind thirty-one other vehicles. After finally starting the car, Pilgrim climbed back through the pack, passing as many as four cars per lap. He crossed the finish in second place, 0.358 seconds behind Angelelli. |
| The next event was held at Lime Rock Park. Max Angelelli qualified fifth fastest in the No. 16 Mobil 1 / Motorola / Bose Cadillac CTS-V. His teammate, Andy Pilgrim, started sixth in the No. 8 Cadillac. A poor start caused Angelelli to fall back to ninth, but in the second half of the race, his car improved, and he chased down the leaders, Randy Pobst and Michael Galati, in the Audis. He could not advance any further and collected the final position on the rostrum. Pilgrim lost a spot to the No. 22 Viper Competition Coupe of Tommy Archer but passed Michael Culver and Lou Gigliotti to finish in the fifth position. |
|
|
The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course hosted round three of the championship. John Heinricy joined the Cadillac team. Heinricy is a successful amateur racer with five SCCA National titles and the director of high-performance product engineering at General Motors. He was assigned to the No. 12 Cadillac CTS-V. Team regulars Max Angelelli and Andy Pilgrim qualified ninth and twelfth, respectively. Heinricy put the No. 12 Mobil 1 / Motorola / Bose Cadillac CTS-V fourth on the grid. He passed Michael Culver and pressured Randy Pobst before finishing third to Michael Galati and Pobst. The points leader, Angelelli, placed sixth, and Pilgrim seventh. |
| The series' next stop was at California's Infineon Raceway. Joining World Challenge regulars was Wolf Henzler driving the Infineon / Farnbacher Racing Porsche 911 Cup. Henzler finished second in the 2003 Porsche Michelin Supercup Championship. Qualifying on the pole was Phil McClure, driving a Chevrolet Corvette, with Henzler in the second position. Andy Pilgrim in the No. 8 Mobil 1 / Motorola / Bose Cadillac CTS-V was fourth fastest in qualifying and Max Angelelli was sixth quickest. Angelelli exited the fifty-minute contest with a crash on lap 13. Pilgrim held his position and finished fourth. Henzler won in his first series start. |
|
|
For the next race teams headed north to Portland International Raceway. After two days of practicing and qualifying in 100-degree temperatures the race was held under more favourable conditions. Championship contender Tommy Archer qualified on the pole in the No. 22 c3controls / Whelen Engineering / 3R Racing Dodge Viper Competition Coupe. Max Angelelli was on pace and started on the outside of the front row. Pilgrim was fifth fastest in qualifying. Archer would go flag-to-flag in the caution filled contest. For the second consecutive race Angelelli crashed as the result of hitting Randy Pobst. He was credited with a nineteenth-place result. Pilgrim finished in the fourth position. |
| Next on the schedule was a double-header at Mosport International Raceway. For the second time this year, Cadillac had a guest driver. It seemed appropriate that the driver was Ron Fellows. Mosport is the factory Corvette competitor's home track. Fellows qualified the No. 12 Mobil 1 / Motorola / Bose Cadillac CTS-V third. Max Angelelli started on the pole, and Andy Pilgrim qualified eighth. Unfortunately, Fellows failed to make the presentation lap and started from the pit lane. He charged through the field and recorded the fastest lap before finishing ninth. Angelelli dropped down the order and just missed a spot on the podium. Pilgrim moved up to finish fifth. The Audis grabbed the top two positions on the podium, and the victory went to Michael Galati. |
|
|
Ron Fellows redeemed himself on Sunday after failing to make the presentation lap the previous day and starting from the pit lane. Fellows qualified on the pole and shot into the lead at the start. Despite the straightaway speed exhibited by Leighton Reese, Fellows led every lap and won by a margin of 3.454 seconds. His addition gave Cadillac some valuable points towards the Manufacturers' championship. Andy Pilgrim qualified fourth fastest, and Max Angelelli started in the sixth position. The Team Cadillac teammates Pilgrim and Angelelli finished fourth and fifth, respectively. |
| Round eight of the World Challenge series occurred at Wisconcin's Road America. Ron Fellows joined the team for the third consecutive race in the No. 12 Mobil 1 / Motorola / Bose Cadillac CTS-V. In qualifying, Fellows recorded the eleventh fastest time. Max Angelelli qualified third fastest, while Andy Pilgrim was fifth quickest. Despite their starting positions, the three Cadillac drivers were never in contention. Angelelli lost positions to Phil McClure and Michael Culver to finish in the fifth position. Pilgrim lost several places and finished fourteenth. At the checkered flag, Fellows had advanced three places to finish eighth. |
|
|
The penultimate round was held at Road Atlanta. Team Cadillac entered a third car for the fourth race in a row. At Road Atlanta, the No. 12 Mobil 1 / Motorola / Bose Cadillac CTS-V was reserved for Johnny O'Connell. Like Ron Fellows, O'Connell is a member of Corvette Racing. Max Angelelli was the fastest qualifier, while Andy Pilgrim was fourth quickest. O'Connell was gridded in the eighth position. Angelelli would lead all twenty-nine laps for his second victory of the season. His win erased a nine-point lead for Audi in the Manufacturers championship. Audi and Cadillac headed into Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca tied. Pilgrim finished in the sixth spot, while O'Connell was ninth. |
| The final race of the Speed World Challenge series was held at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Audi and Cadillac entered the event tied in the Manufacturer's points chase with forty-eight markers a piece. Team Cadillac enlisted the services of Corvette Racing's Olivier Beretta to pilot the No. 12 Mobil 1 / Motorola / Bose Cadillac CTS-V. But the driver getting all the attention was the round four winner, Wolf Henzler, in the No. 17 Farnbacher Racing Porsche 911 Cup. Once again, Henzler went flag-to-flag for the victory. The winner of the previous round, Max Angelelli, qualified eighth and finished seventh. Series regular Andy Pilgrim started twelfth but retired on lap 18 after a crash. Beretta placed seventeenth after starting last due to an engine change before the race. |
|
| Count | Date | Venue | Driver | Car | Start | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | March 19 | Sebring International Raceway | Andy Pilgrim | Cadillac CTS-V | 3 | 2 |
| Max Angelelli | Cadillac CTS-V | 1 | 1 | |||
| 2 | May 31 | Lime Rock Park | Andy Pilgrim | Cadillac CTS-V | 6 | 5 |
| Max Angelelli | Cadillac CTS-V | 5 | 3 | |||
| 3 | June 27 | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course | Andy Pilgrim | Cadillac CTS-V | 12 | 7 |
| Max Angelelli | Cadillac CTS-V | 9 | 6 | |||
| John Heinricy | Cadillac CTS-V | 4 | 3 | |||
| 4 | July 18 | Infineon Raceway | Andy Pilgrim | Cadillac CTS-V | 4 | 4 |
| Max Angelelli | Cadillac CTS-V | 6 | 22 | |||
| 5 | July 25 | Portland International Raceway | Andy Pilgrim | Cadillac CTS-V | 5 | 4 |
| Max Angelelli | Cadillac CTS-V | 2 | 19 | |||
| 6 | August 7 | Mosport International Raceway | Andy Pilgrim | Cadillac CTS-V | 8 | 5 |
| Max Angelelli | Cadillac CTS-V | 1 | 4 | |||
| Ron Fellows | Cadillac CTS-V | 3 | 9 | |||
| 7 | August 8 | Mosport International Raceway | Andy Pilgrim | Cadillac CTS-V | 4 | 4 |
| Max Angelelli | Cadillac CTS-V | 6 | 5 | |||
| Ron Fellows | Cadillac CTS-V | 1 | 1 | |||
| 8 | August 21 | Road America | Andy Pilgrim | Cadillac CTS-V | 5 | 14 |
| Max Angelelli | Cadillac CTS-V | 3 | 5 | |||
| Ron Fellows | Cadillac CTS-V | 11 | 8 | |||
| 9 | September 24 | Road Atlanta | Andy Pilgrim | Cadillac CTS-V | 4 | 6 |
| Max Angelelli | Cadillac CTS-V | 1 | 1 | |||
| Johnny O'Connell | Cadillac CTS-V | 8 | 9 | |||
| 10 | October 17 | Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca | Andy Pilgrim | Cadillac CTS-V | 12 | 22 |
| Max Angelelli | Cadillac CTS-V | 8 | 7 | |||
| Olivier Beretta | Cadillac CTS-V | 32 | 17 |
|
The team could not secure the Manufacturers' Championship despite the combined efforts of the Cadillac regulars and guest drivers.
The final tally was fifty-one points for Audi and forty-eight for Cadillac, leaving them second in the standings.
Tommy Archer won the Drivers' Title in the No. 22 c3controls / Whelen Engineering / 3R Racing Dodge Viper Competition Coupe. His record included four podiums, one of which was a victory. More impressive was that during the year, Archer never finished worse than seventh place. Cadillac's Max Angelelli finished third in the championship with two victories, and Andy Pilgrim was fifth in the final standings.
|
 |
 |
 |
| Copyright Notice: |
| All content (photographs and text) appearing on this website are the exclusive property of www.zoompics.com and are protected under International copyright laws. The subject matter on this website may not be reproduced, copied, stored or manipulated. |
