JDC-Miller Motorsports will run as a two-car Cadillac DPi-V.R team in 2019, debuting the new program at the 2019 Rolex 24 at Daytona. The team confirmed the move Thursday in a statement after much speculation.
Having won the 2018 Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen, JDC-Miller stands as one of the IMSA WeatherTech Championship’s most competitive LMP2 programs. However, just one week after IMSA announced the split of the Prototype class into two separate categories, the team confirms the move to remain at the top tier of the championship.
“When we first started our IMSA WeatherTech program in 2014 we knew our goal was to work with a brand like Cadillac,” team boss John Church said in an official statement. “We feel strongly that we have found the best possible partner and look forward to adding to the incredible success Cadillac has already enjoyed in IMSA.”
In late June, Church expressed a desire for the team to move to a DPi program due to the LMP2’s lack of competitiveness in the Prototype class. At the time, the team was unsure if the move was possible due to the costs of running a privateer team in the DPi class.
The move to a competitive program in DPi will allow the team to build upon their own success as an LMP2 program with the help of an already established championship contender in Cadillac.
“We welcome the JDC-Miller team to the Cadillac V-Performance family,” Cadillac Racing’s Matt Russell said. “Their performance with the LMP2 cars has been impressive and we look forward to them joining the grid with their two new Cadillac DPi-V.R cars at Daytona in January.”
The team also revealed that Stephen Simpson will remain in the seat for 2019, due to his strong performance in 2018 and an option to continue for next season. Speaking ahead of the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, he was clear on the importance of a DPi move for the team to remain competitive.
“We all have the same goal: we want to win races,” Simpson told MotorsportWeek. “Not just class races, we want to be fighting and winning overall races, and we also want to be fighting for a championship. I know that as a group, we feel that to genuinely fight for an overall championship we need to have a DPi program.”
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