Promising Prologue for Cadillac Racing

WECHyperCar

Feb 27

Following a promising Prologue, Cadillac Racing enters its second season of FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) Hypercar competition looking to consistently challenge for victories.

The Prologue on Monday and Tuesday supplied additional motivation and confirmation for the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R team in the season-opening Qatar Airways Qatar 1812 Km on March 2 at Lusail International Circuit.

📷 © Courtesy of Cadillac Racing. #2 Cadillac V-Series.R at Lusail International Circuit.

Only Hypercar in the top five in each of the three sessions

Test sessions totaling 11 hours and 249 laps provided drivers Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and Sebastien Bourdais and the team insights about the circuit and racecar that features the purpose-built 5.5-liter DOHC V8 engine developed by GM’s Performance and Racing propulsion team paired with the spec hybrid system.

The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R recorded the second-best lap time (1 minute, 40.458 seconds) and was the only Hypercar entry to place in the top five based on lap time in each of the three sessions.

The team will continue to acquire knowledge and data about the 5.148-kilometer (3.37-mile), 16-turn road course that is new to the WEC calendar during three free practice sessions Thursday and Friday leading into qualifications for the 19-car Hypercar field.

Two-stage qualifying

Also new for the full season is two-stage qualifying for the Hypercar and LMGT3 classes – an initial 12 minutes of on-track running followed by a 10-minute Hyperpole for the top 10 qualifiers. Previously, each class featured a 15-minute qualifying, with the Hyperpole format reserved for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“We’ll have a competitive package,” team manager Stephen Mitas said. “We made some adjustments to strengthen some areas. We have a new strategy engineer (Elise Moury) that comes to the team with a lot of experience. The core of the team is the same and for good reason because the team did a fantastic job last year. That continuity helps. The more you learn each other the easier it is to operate together.”

Highlighting Cadillac Racing’s inaugural WEC season was the third-place finish in the centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans. The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R, driven by Bamber, Lynn and Richard Westbrook, started the season with top-five finishes at Sebring, Portimão and Spa-Francorchamps.

Bourdais, co-driver of the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class, adds another layer of experience to the program for the season-opening round. Bourdais, a four-time CART champion among other motorsport accolades, co-drove the No. 3 Cadillac V-Series.R to fourth place overall in the centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans, where he’ll return in June with teammates Renger van der Zande and Scott Dixon.

Mostly recently, Bourdais qualified second for the 62nd Rolex 24 At Daytona that secured a front row lockout for Cadillac Racing.

Working through delays

The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R was among several racecars and equipment delayed more than 72 hours from arriving at Lusail International Circuit. A dedicated ship transport was diverted to the Port of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia because of the closure of the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait due to the geopolitical situation in the region. After clearing customs, trucks carrying the containers made the 16-hour drive to the racecourse and the preparation begun in earnest.

What the drivers said

Earl Bamber: “I think we’re definitely getting better operationally and procedurally, and it seems like we’re already more competitive than we were last year. Right in the mix, so hopefully we transfer that to race week. Here I’m just getting back in a rhythm because I haven’t driven the car since early December. (about starting season at new track) “It’s difficult to start the season off, but I think on the team side and Cadillac side we’re well prepared. The guys have done some good work through Sebring test and Daytona test and race that we’re using from our sister cars. A lot of our competition has already tested here many times so we’re playing catch-up. But it’s good to have these Prologue days to find our footing and get toward the front.”

Alex Lynn: "On a whole, we’re pretty happy with how we’ve done in the Prologue. The car is working really well here in Qatar and I think in both (day and night) conditions we seem to be there. Obviously, there’s a big difference between night and day. But whatever the conditions we seem to be really strong. I think the car is in a really nice place at the moment. The car has had a great start to its life; Daytona in January was a strong showing as well. There is a bit more competition this year, but in general we’re pretty happy and look forward to the race weekend.”

Sebastien Bourdais: “Difference between driving at night and day: “With all the lights they have, it’s like daylight. Usually, you feel a bit of a speed perception difference, but here it’s completely the same night and day. The difference is the grip – slightly higher at night with cooler track temps. I think we have decent grip. We’ve done some long runs and got some good wear measures. Now we can confidently start pushing on getting a bit more aggressive with the setup and see if it yields results. (difference between the GTP car and Hypercar) “The setups have evolved to something significantly different because the tracks are quite different, and you have to double stint a lot more. Overall, what Cadillac and the Ganassi team has done in the offseason and what has been shared from (IMSA) testing and the 24-hour Daytona race I think we’re in a good place.” Source: Cadillac Racing