8/6/2011 - "This was our race to win."

By Ron LeMasters - Cadillac Racing Communications

That’s how a very disappointed Johnny O’Connell felt Saturday after Round 7 of the Pirelli World Challenge at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

O’Connell, who drives the No. 3 Cadillac CTS-V for Team Cadillac, had good reason to be wondering what might have been. Running second, O’Connell was caught out in a desperate move by third-place Patrick Lindsey and fell all the way to 11^th after going off-track as the result of Lindsey’s move.

Richard Prince PhotoAndy Pilgrim, driver of the companion No. 8 Cadillac CTS-V, benefited from the crash, moving up to fourth in the running order, but a lack of racing time due to three full-course cautions made advancement a difficult task.

“I was gaining on James (Safronas), but he was good in the parts of the track that I wasn’t, and once someone gets by you here at Mid-Ohio, it’s very difficult to get back around,” Pilgrim said.

The race lasted just 24 laps of the 2.258-mile course, due to the full-course cautions. Pilgrim was better on the long run, but with all the yellows, there weren’t many.

“We were really good on the back, from Turns 4 through 9, but I never could get in position to take advantage of that,” Pilgrim said.

At the start, both O’Connell and Pilgrim advanced smartly. When the flag went down, O’Connell jumped from fifth to second by Turn 2, and was measuring leader and eventual race winner Alex Figge.

Pilgrim jumped from seventh to fourth in the same segment, and appeared to have the same notion his teammate did: gain spots early and race your way to the front. But a start-line crash at the back of the pack negated that move, and set up a restart seven laps later.

On that restart, O’Connell stayed right with Figge and kept Lindsey behind. Pilgrim got caught out by a brake check from Figge and Safronas got past. “Figge went, then he slowed down,” Pilgrim said. “I had to slow down, and James had a run. He got by me right there and that was that.”

Richard Prince PhotoIt was the third restart that put O’Connell into the grass in the Esses. Lindsey made a move going into Turn 1, getting side-by-side with O’Connell. The Cadillac ace held him off through Turn 2 and down the straightaway toward Thunder Valley, only to have Lindsey dive inside at the entrance to the right-hander.

“He made a move into Turn 1 and we raced side-by-side through there,” O’Connell said. “That was great, good driving on both parts. At the end of the straightaway, he made a Hail Mary move and took me out.

“The cars that had been running second and third were in the back because of his stupidity. It’s a shame. We are working so hard to win and I really felt that this was one we could have won.”

Significant set-up changes overnight to the Cadillac CTS-V racers improved both take-off and overall grip, both drivers said. Now that they’ve had a chance to see what the changes did, the outlook for Sunday’s Round 8 is very positive.

Richard Prince Photo“If our cars are as well-behaved as they were today, we’ll qualify better and stay away from all the monkey business,” O’Connell said.

O’Connell is 4^th in driver points after seven rounds, 135 behind leader Patrick Long. Pilgrim sits 7^th, 213 behind the leader. Among manufacturers, Cadillac is second behind Porsche heading into Round 8 on Sunday at Mid-Ohio.

Figge won the race, with Long second and Safronas third. Pilgrim was fourth with Tomy Drissi rounding out the top five. Mike Skeen headed the second five, followed by Rob Morgan, O’Connell, Stephen Ruiz and Tony Gaples.