No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R aims for first victory at penultimate race of WEC season
DETROIT (Sept. 4, 2023) – The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R team’s goals for the sixth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship at Fuji International Speedway carry over from the last outing: minimize mistakes, remain focused and finish on the podium again — or better.
Cadillac Racing’s Hypercar will make its initial visit to the racetrack nestled in the foothills of iconic Mount Fuji and compete against 11 others in the classification over the six-hour duration.
Fuji International Superspeedway, which opened in 1965, has been a staple on the WEC calendar since 2012. No race was contested in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic.
The 16-turn, 2.84-mile road course in Sizouka Prefecture has a blend of technical and high-speed sections, including one of the longest straights in motorsports (0.92 of a mile).
The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R will aim for its second podium finish of the season. The reliability of the racecar with the distinctive sound of its 5.5-liter V8 naturally aspirated engine has led to four top-five finishes in the five races. It is one of only five Hypercars to be running at the finish of each race.
Race and qualifying pace – the No. 2 Cadillac entry was only 0.231 of a second off the pole-winning lap time at Spa and 0.362 of a second arrears at Monza – have also been positives. Continued improvements for the first-year WEC program will be realized through experience on the various racing circuits and learning the nuances of the hybrid car that made its testing debut in July 2022.
“Our previous race, at Monza, we made another good step forward from Le Mans but we didn’t get the results to show for it,” said Earl Bamber, who co-drives the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R with Alex Lynn and Richard Westbrook. “We’re looking for a bit of redemption and to be back in the top five where we know where we can be. Toyota and Ferrari are super quick, but we are close on the edge to be in front of them.”
Cadillac Racing is third in the Hypercar Manufacturer Championship standings.
The Six Hours of Fuji for the FIA World Endurance Championship is scheduled for 11 a.m. JST Sunday /10 p.m. ET Saturday. The race will air live in the U.S. on MotorTrend with live streaming coverage of the race and qualifying on the MotorTrend Plus app. Radio Le Mans will broadcast qualifying and the race.
Cadillac Racing Six Hours of Fuji notes
- Alex Lynn made his FIA WEC debut in 2016 at Fuji in an LMP2 entry. He also co-dove an LMP2 entry in 2022 and contested LMGTE Pro entries in 2018 and ’19 at the circuit.
- Alex Lynn celebrates his 30th birthday Sept. 17.
- Earl Bamber co-drove an LMP1 entry in the FIA WEC race at Fuji in 2017 and co-drove an LMGTE Am entry in 2015.
- Stephen Mitas, FIA WEC team manager and strategist, was Earl Bamber’s race engineer for the 2015 and ’17 24 Hours of Le Mans overall victories.
- The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R has qualified in the top five in three of the five races, with a best starting position of fourth at Spa-Francorchamps.
- The Cadillac Hypercar was only 0.231 of a second off the pole-winning lap time at Spa and 0.362 of a second arrears at Monza.
- The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R has finished in the top five in four of the five races.
- The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R is one of only five Hypercars to be running at the finish in all five races.
- In the four races leading into Monza, the Cadillac Racing Hypercar advanced a total of seven positions.
- The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R has a best finish of third in the centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans.
- Like most of the other circuits on the WEC calendar, Cadillac Racing is making its first visit to Fuji.
- Cadillac Racing, which is third in the Manufacturer Championship, is contesting its first full season of FIA WEC competition.
No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R crew principals
Team manager-Stephen Mitas Strategy engineer-Jonathan Moury
Race engineer-Carlo Vermeulen Performance engineer-Carlo Miano
Crew chief-Dane Beamsley
2023 FIA WEC results
Sebring (8 hours): Qualified fifth; finished fourth
Portugal (6 hours): Qualified eighth; finished fourth
Spa (6 hours): Qualified fourth; finished fifth
Le Mans (24 hours): Qualified sixth; finished third
Monza (6 hours): Qualified fifth; finished 10th
Championships: Cadillac is third in the Manufacturer Championship
The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R is fifth in the Drivers ChampionshipWhat they’re saying
Earl Bamber: “Looking forward to Fuji. Our previous race, at Monza, we made another good step forward from Le Mans but we didn’t get the results to show for it. We’re looking for a bit of redemption and to be back in the top five where we know where we can be. Fuji is one of the bright tracks on the calendar and I think it will also be interesting for us as it’s a circuit where none of our competitors regularly test, which is something we’ve gone up against through the regular season. So we’re curious to see how that plays out against our competitors. It’s going to be hot and humid as well, which is going to be a big challenge as the race is normally run later in the year. It will be a lot of new things for everyone. I think everyone at Cadillac Racing is up for the challenge.”
Alex Lynn: “I always look forward to racing at Fuji, which holds a special place in my memory. It’s a great race circuit with a beautiful backdrop. On the competition side, I think we have at least another podium in us this season. The car deserves that and this team deserves another result this year and we’ll be going to Fuji with a lot of motivation to achieve that.”
Richard Westbrook: “Really looking forward to my first time in Japan. We’ll look to keep progressing like we have done. It has been a little frustrating with some of the results, which really haven’t reflected where we are. The highlight is obviously the podium at Le Mans, but we feel like there’s more than that in our performance. We’ve done a lot of prep for Fuji, particularly in the simulator. We feel like it could be a good track for our car, but again it is going into a bit of the unknown. We want to collect as many points as we can and finish in the top three in the championship, which is where we deserve to be.”
