Manufacturers facing lack of spare parts

Two cars spent a lot of time dismantled in their garage this Tuesday during the first of two days of testing scheduled for this week at Daytona, a little less than two months before the 24 Hours of Daytona (January 28-29), a race which will mark the start of the season in IMSA. The only racing version BMW present in Florida this week as well as one of the three Cadillacs are both affected. The German manufacturer only ran its test prototype this Tuesday.

Cadillac rolls with a previous chassis

On the Cadillac side, the No. 31 from Action Express Racing runs without encountering any unforeseen events. These are on the side of Chip Ganassi Racing, the other team in charge of operating the American manufacturer's GTPs. The team showed up at Daytona with new chassis, numbers 06 and 07, but the first named has still not been fully assembled due to a lack of parts. The problem is that LMDhs have common platforms, so everyone needs the same elements, but there are not enough of them for everyone. As a result, chassis number 02 was taken out of the truck and took to the track this Tuesday for the CGR. A package that was not supposed to run during these tests.

Cadillac must therefore continue to use its hybrid system which has already completed the 24-hour simulation and all previous tests. The Detroit (Michigan) firm, however, has no choice but to wear out the same element, as it cannot replace it with something new. A problem that is not specific to Cadillac, but to the entire GTP paddock. This could even be one of the reasons behind the change in format of the Roar, returning to a more classic system instead of the qualifying race, in order to avoid rustling metal before the real race a week later. Without sufficient spare parts available, a car too damaged during a collision could indeed have to withdraw from the 24 Hours of Daytona.

No customer Porsches before Spa

Des interrogations qui ramènent aux problèmes rencontrés par Porsche dans l’approvisionnement de ses écuries clientes, que sont JDC-Miller MotorSports (IMSA), Proton Competition (IMSA et WEC) and Hertz Team Jota (WEC). Clients of the Stuttgart firm in IMSA should therefore be deprived of competition until Laguna Seca (May 12-14, 2023). The situation is also worrying for the WEC and the calendar of the German manufacturer's client teams seems increasingly unclear. Should they be worried about 24 Hours of Le Mans ? “Customers knew from the start that the cars would be delivered in April. This means that Daytona, Sebring, Long Beach and Portimão will not be possible for them”, assures a spokesperson for the manufacturer. The 963 customers should therefore be delivered at the end of April, in time for the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (April 29).

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