Whelen Engineering Looks To Repeat History In Detroit

Story By: MATT CLEARY / WHELEN ENGINEERING – DETROIT, MI – The No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R will be back in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition this weekend as the series makes the annual visit to the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic as part of the Detroit Grand Prix (LIVE, FS2 12:30 PM ET).

2016 IMSA WeatherTech champions Dane Cameron and Eric Curran will share the driving duties in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R for the 100-minute sprint event that is staged on the 2.35-mile temporary street circuit on Belle Isle in Detroit.

Cameron and Curran, who sprayed the champagne after earning a podium finish with a run to second place in the most recent round of IMSA action at the Circuit of the Americas, have long had the Detroit event highlighted on their calendars.

Not only did the bumpy circuit play host to the duo’s dramatic breakthrough victory in IMSA competition together for Whelen Engineering in 2015, the event is also a significant focal point for General Motors, which is based just across the river. The 2017 season has seen Cameron and Curran show pace with the Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R with podiums at Sebring and COTA, but not yet yield a race victory.

With that second place finish firmly in mind, the team is hoping to make the most of the Detroit visit with another run to the top of the podium on Saturday.

“Detroit is a big weekend for us,” said Curran. “It’s a tough track, but it is a lot of fun to race on. The tricky thing is that you are right up against the walls the entire time. Dane (Cameron) and I had a really big win there in 2015 with the Whelen Engineering DP, and hopefully this can be a place for us to break through with the No. 31 Cadillac DPi-V.R. It is a special place for us to race, not just because of the successful history that the team has there, but also because there is so much support with General Motors being based right there, it just adds even more motivation for us.”

The young American duo have been actively promoting the event, making regular media visits to the Motor City and participating in the PNC Education Day event at the Palace in May, which drew more than 400 students from Detroit elementary schools.

“This is a special place for Eric (Curran) and I, going back to our first overall win together with the team,” said Cameron. “It is always an important weekend on the General Motors side of things, as you are almost right in the shadow of headquarters! You want to win them all of course, but if you had to pick one this could be it, with all the support that is there from GM. It has always been a track that I’ve liked. We are on the back foot standings wise, so the big thing is to win some races and continue to keep learning these cars and get what we need from them to unlock all the speed these Cadillacs are capable of. It was great to have a clean run in Austin and hopefully we can build on that again this weekend.”