WEC at Portimao: Cadillac Racing Preview
Following an impressive debut of the hybrid Cadillac V-Series.R in the FIA World Endurance Championship, Cadillac Racing turns its attention to the opening leg of the European schedule and the 6 Hours of Portimão in Portugal this weekend.
Second round at Portimão
📷 © Luc Warnotte at Sebring.
Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and Richard Westbrook will share the driving duties of the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R In the 11-car Hypercar class on the Algarve International Circuit.
“It will be the first time we run the car in Europe. That will be a challenging weekend,” said Bamber after the team opened with a fourth place in the 1000 Mile of Sebring on March 17.
The 6 Hours of Portimão will mark the third race for the No. 2 drivers in the new Cadillac V-Series.R powered by a 5.5-liter V-8 normally aspirated engine developed by GM’s Performance and Racing propulsion team paired with the spec energy recovery system.
📷 © Luc Warnotte at Sebring.
They opened with a fourth place in the Rolex 24 At Daytona in January followed by the strong showing at Sebring International Raceway.
“We’ll keep giving it the same effort we’ve given it so far and try to build on this good result,” team manager and strategist Stephen Mitas said.
The WEC has visited the Algarve International Circuit once (June 2021) – an eight-hour race in which Westbrook co-drove a Hypercar entry with Ryan Briscoe and Romain Dumas that qualified 11th and placed 30th overall (54 laps behind). Bamber and Lynn have raced at the circuit in various formulas.
📷 © Luc Warnotte at Sebring.
Completed in 2008, the racecourse has hosted the Formula One Portuguese Grand Prix, MotoGP and the Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Finals among other races and is an annual stop for the European Le Mans Series. Bamber observed that many of the circuit’s 15 turns have personality and that its undulating 4,653 kilometers (2.891 miles) length is akin to riding on a roller coaster.
Two free practices Friday and one Saturday totaling 150 minutes precede the 15-minute Hypercar qualifying session. Green flag for the 6 Hours of Portimão is scheduled for 7 a.m. ET/noon local Sunday.
📷 © Luc Warnotte at Sebring.
Drivers quotes
📷 © Luc Warnotte at Sebring.
Earl Bamber: “I’m very excited for Portugal. We had a great day in Sebring, fighting for a podium, and I think we all want to go one step higher and make it there this time. The team has been doing some really good preparation and I know we are going to make positive steps every race. It’s a learning process in the WEC, but we have all eyes forward to make it on to the podium.”
Alex Lynn: “It was a strong showing for the whole crew in Sebring, and we’re all excited to now get our European adventures started. This will be the first time competing with this car in Europe, and we’ve put a lot of time into understanding what the car needs, making efforts across the simulator and now it’s about executing a clean race. There is this big buildup to Le Mans, where we can score some serious points beforehand. We’re really looking forward to continuing to learn and carrying on with this strong momentum that this car and team has provided.”
Richard Westbrook: "We had a lot of positives come out of our first WEC race -- reliability, good points and we got a ton of data. With how our car was running, it is disappointing not to have come away with a podium finish at Sebring. But we are a brand-new WEC team and are still learning about the car and the WEC rules. It will be a bit of going into the unknown at Portimao because it is unlike any track we've raced on or tested on in the U.S. Still, I'm looking forward to the challenge and confident we'll continue to score more solid points in the championship."
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