Le Mans 24 Hours: 3 Cadillac entries

WECHyperCar

Jun 5

Cadillac will return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June with three Cadillac V-Series.R hybrid racecars.

It is the second consecutive year that Cadillac Racing has received three invitations from event organizer Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) to compete in the classic endurance race.

The #2 Cadillac V-Series.R received an automatic entry based on its full-season participation in the WEC. Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and Alex Palou will be the drivers.
The #3 Cadillac V-Series.R is a full-season IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship entrant in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class, where it races as the #01. Sébastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande and Scott Dixon will be the drivers.
The #311 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R is a full-season IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship entrant in the GTP class, where it races as the #31. Reigning IMSA GTP champion Pipo Derani and Jack Aitken will be joined by Felipe Drugovich.

Thanks to their podium in Detroit last weekend, Bourdais and van der Zande moved to second in the championship standings, while Derani and Aitken are fourth (eight points out of third). Cadillac Racing GTP entries have registered one victory, four runners-up and the third-place finish.

A podium in 2023

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Le Mans 2023

In 2023, the #2 Cadillac V-Series.R, co-driven by Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and Richard Westbrook, did run a relatively clean race last year earning third place in the iconic endurance race.
The #3 Cadillac V-Series.R finished fourth despite a rear-wing change after being clipped by another car, a front assembly change after spin on a drenched racetrack and a one-minute hold penalty for a technical infraction. The #311 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R ended 10th in class after crashing in Lap 1 at the exit of the Daytona Chicane.

#2 Cadillac V-Series.R

The #2 Cadillac V-Series.R received an automatic entry based on its full-season participation in the WEC. Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and Alex Palou will be the drivers.

Earl Bamber: "I'm looking forward to going back to Le Mans. We want to improve on where we were last year, which was on the podium. I think we have all the potential to do it with Cadillac and Chip Ganassi Racing. I'm also looking forward to having Alex join our crew. He's been quite formidable in INDYCAR and he'll be a great addition to our team in one of the biggest races in the world."

Alex Lynn: “Last year was a great result for the team. We were on the podium last year overall and led laps for the first time with Cadillac. We're very proud of that fact, but with that being said, we're determined to do even better. The competition is really strong, so we have to stay humble, do our job and really see what we can do.”

Alex Palou: “Going to Le Mans is an amazing opportunity and a big challenge, as well. We have a chance to win it overall and that is our biggest goal. I’m excited to be back in the Cadillac and join Earl Bamber and Alex Lynn. They had success there last year and the cars were quite fast, so with our recent pace at Daytona I can’t wait to go there and win. It’s going to be a tight calendar and it’s my first time there. This feels super close to a home race, being just a few hours from where I used to live with my parents. It’s a big race, I’ve always wanted to be a part of it, and I think we have a good shot with Cadillac. I’ve been fortunate enough to have tested and raced the Cadillac V.Series-R in Daytona, where we couldn’t get the result we wanted, but we were fast, and it was super fun. I can’t wait for Le Mans.”

#3 Cadillac V-Series.R

Renger van der Zande: "It’s a classic, it’s heroic, it’s long and it’s amazing. Once you get to racing it’s the most fun you can get. If you look at last year, I think we performed very well. But, at the same time, you have to keep an eye on the competition. I think we were better prepared that everybody else, but this year everybody else will be better prepared than they were last year. I think the competition will be strong than last year because of reliability, not because of speed. Teams have their cars and systems better sorted, so from that perspective it will be more interesting. I think we’re going to see a lot of high-level duels on track where you need to be on top of your game from the moment you start racing to when you see the checkered flag. That’s what we come for – to race against the best in the world and to win the race. We’re ready for that challenge. I think it's amazing what we did this past year with the Cadillac program finishing third and fourth. That was a testament to the development and everyone's hard work in the first year of the program. We have really strong teammates, really strong teams and partners to make this all work to go for the win.”

Sebastien Bourdais: " Obviously, it's a huge challenge but we've had some very promising findings and learnings from last year. I think we definitely have a very competitive car with our Cadillac V-Series.R to be able to contend. Hopefully, we can give it a shot to get that win that is missing on my resume. It's obviously one that means a ton to me and I'm looking forward to going back there to give it another go."

Scott Dixon: “I love this race; it's one of the biggest and the toughest in the world. We all know it is definitely a privilege to even be invited, so I'm excited to go back with Sebastien, Renger, Cadillac and everybody involved. I feel like the team did a tremendous job last year. We had some issues here and there but to go third and fourth was pretty spectacular. Hopefully, we can have a closer fight this year but it's one I love to do. I'm very fortunate to be able to do this with the team and to be a part of it. It’s never easy to fit into a schedule, but everyone being on the same team makes that more possible.”

#311 Cadillac V-Series.R

Pipo Derani: “We’re happy to go back to Le Mans, and winning the IMSA championship in a way cemented our way back to Le Mans, which is a nice way to go back. The fact that we were there, made a full event of experience and now we’re able to go back with all that knowledge is exciting. Last year we had an incident right at the beginning but there was a lot of promise shown during the race. We had good pace despite being laps down. If we can use all that knowledge that we accumulated last year and make a few things better, then we should have a good weekend. There are so many details that you don’t know when you haven’t been there; it was the first for the team. So, to have that experience and put it to use will be fantastic.”

Jack Aitken: “I think it’s always a privilege to go to Le Mans. We’re going to go back into an even more competitive field than last year. For one, I’m keen on going back and try to show that we can compete for the overall win. It is a special race and everyone is excited to go back and compete.” Source: Cadillac Racing

Formula 2 FIA 2022 champion, reserve driver of the Aston Martin team in Formula 1 for the past two seasons and LMP2 driver in the European Le Mans Series with Vector Sport, Felipe Drugovich, has been chosen by Action Express Racing to drive Cadillac v-series.r #311 with Pipo Derani and Jack Aitken during the 92nd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

"I am only 23 years old and I got so far the most important opportunity of my career thanks to Action Express and Cadillac," says Drugovich, “The 24 Hours of Le Mans are impossible to define with words, as this test is important for the automobile in general and for racing in particular. I have the opportunity to live these 100 years of history for the first time with Action Express Racing and Cadillac. I barely touched the magic of this event by winning the 24 hours of virtual Le Mans twice. Now, I'm going to immerse myself for real with Cadillac #311, with my Brazilian compatriots Pipo Derani and Jack Aitken. What a privilege to be able to make another dream true.» Source: 24H Le Mans