 GT Championship last season if it wasn’t for an electrical issue at Road America and an ill-timed flat tire at Lime Rock, but he’s putting last year’s misfortune behind him as he heads into the first race […] "'Pin It")
Cadillac Racing Looking for Victory at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
The No. 3 Cadillac ATS-V.R Coupe will be piloted by Johnny O’Connell during the 2017 Pirelli World Challenge (PWC) GT season
Photo: Richard Prince for Cadillac Racing
Cadillac V-Performance Racing driver Johnny O’Connell thinks he could have picked up his fifth Pirelli World Challenge (PWC) GT Championship last season if it wasn’t for an electrical issue at Road America and an ill-timed flat tire at Lime Rock, but he’s putting last year’s misfortune behind him as he heads into the first race of the 2017 PWC season at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
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Four-time PWC champion Johnny O’Connell
Photo: Richard Prince for Cadillac Racing
“Basically I plan on just continuing on as I always do, working hard with the team to put the most competitive Cadillac ATS-V.R Coupe on the track that we can,” O’Connell said. “I always enjoy racing at St Pete. Hard to believe my first win there was in Formula Atlantic in 1987. Luckily for me I’m just as hungry as I was back then.”
The events at St. Petersburg begin today, March 10th, and are scheduled to conclude on March 12th. The track where the drivers will be competing is a modified street course that’s 1.8 miles in length and consists of 14 turns. What’s more, this track travels through the streets of St. Petersburg, as well as the runway at the Albert Whitted Airport.
Also driving a Cadillac ATS-V.R racecar in this weekend’s events is Michael Cooper. Cooper won two races during the 2016 PWC season and hopes to improve upon that success this year.
“I want to win the Championship. Period. But that isn’t my goal per se,” Cooper said. “Minimizing mistakes and getting the most out of each race is what will ultimately achieve that goal. That is my focus. I’ve always gone about my racing in that way and my mindset has not changed.”
Also new for Cooper this year is the Vector Blue paint job on his Cadillac racecar, which replaces the monotonous black hue that was featured on his car a season ago.
If you won’t have the chance to watch the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in person, you can catch it on March 18th at 2pm when the CBS Sports Network broadcasts the race.
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Johnny O’Connell hopes to win his fifth Pirelli World Challenge championship this season
Photo: Richard Prince for Cadillac Racing
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