24 Hours of Le Mans: Cadillac preview

WECHyperCarIMSA

Jun 2

Fourth in WEC - First in IMSA

Ahead of the centenary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Cadillac Racing is fourth in the FIA World Endurance Manufacturer’s Championship (WEC) and leads the Weathertech Sportscar Manufacturer’s Championship (IMSA). For the June 9th race, Cadillac is paying homage to its first venture to Le Mans with the same car numbers 2 (the usual WEC entry) and 3 (IMSA #01 Chip Ganassi Racing) as 1950, along with #311 (IMSA #31 Whelen Engineering).

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Portimao (#2), Spa Francorchamps (#3) and Sebring (#31).

Nine drivers will aim to grab the overall victory of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the 16-car Hypercar class with the Cadillac 5.5-liter DOHC V8 engine developed by GM’s Performance and Racing propulsion team based in Pontiac, Michigan. Cadillac is the sole GTP manufacturer with a naturally aspirated engine.

The #2 Cadillac V-Series.R co-driven by Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and Richard Westbrook is the full-season FIA WEC entry. Through three races, the Chip Ganassi Racing-run team is a respectable fourth in the championship standings. The trio of drivers recently were joined by Renger van der Zande and Scott Dixon, co-drivers with Sebastien Bourdais of the #3 Cadillac V-Series.R, for an endurance and performance test at Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimão, Portugal.

“The team has put in a lot of work and focus on Le Mans, so we know we will have a good and reliable car,” said Westbrook, who earned an overall podium finish in 2022 at Le Mans. “Then it comes down to us executing and keeping everything clean and running max attack for 24 hours. If you do that, there is a good chance you’re going to get a podium or something better.” Source: Cadillac Racing

📷 © Cadillac Racing: Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and Richard Westbrook driving #2 Cadillac V-Series.R

Earl Bamber: “It’s exciting to see the talent we have at Cadillac Racing and I’m looking forward to going to Le Mans. It's going to be tough, but we’re definitely closing the gap to Toyota and Ferrari step by step and the endurance and performance testing we have done has been important. You have to run a clean race and have good pit stops at Le Mans to have a chance at victory. I said it at Daytona that if that car was at Le Mans, it would have won because we had a clean race and a quick car. That’s what we need to repeat when we go to Le Mans, and I think this group is building towards it." Source: Cadillac

📷 © Cadillac Racing: Renger van der Zande, Sebastien Bourdais and Scott Dixon driving #3 Cadillac V-Series.R

Renger van der Zande: “It’s a special race. It’s the most famous classic race in the world and that’s what we’re aiming to win. I think Cadillac is a super American brand. I’ve been racing in America for 10 years and most of my time with Cadillac, so going with my American racing family as I call them to go for the Le Mans overall victory is something special. A lot of people from Holland will be watching us fight for the overall win, and that would be special. It will be a busy week, tense and exciting. We’ll be having tire warmers now for Le Mans, so it’s also a little different from what we’re used to racing the whole season (in IMSA). We’ll have to learn a lot in a short period of time.” Source: Cadillac

📷 © Cadillac Racing: Jack Aitken, Pipo Derani and Alexander Sims driving #311 Cadillac V-Series.R

Jack Aitken: “I think some of the biggest challenges of Le Mans are off the track because it’s obviously a huge event and there is a lot of pomp and circumstance with scrutineering the car in town, the driver parade and it’s a very long week. Managing your energy levels throughout the week is a bit of fine art, I believe. I have full faith on the engineering side that we’ll get up to speed quickly. That’s not going to be a problem. It’s going to be more the intricacies of Le Mans itself.” Source: Cadillac

Cadillac V-Series.R in WEC championship prior to Le Mans

Read our full report Cadillac V-Series.R in IMSA and WEC.

Cadillac V-Series.R in IMSA championship prior to Le Mans

Both the #3 Cadillac V-Series.R and #311 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R, already have won races this season in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Cadillac is leading the WeatherTech Manufacturers’ Championship.

Read our Daytona, Sebring and Long Beach reports about Cadillac V-Series.R in IMSA

📷 © Luc Warnotte #311 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R won the 12 Hours of Sebring, co-driven by Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims and Jack Aitken - 📷 © Cadillac Racing. Bourdais and van der Zande won the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca race in the #01 Cadillac V-Series.R.