WEC Hypercar contender to be joined by IMSA GTP cars for second consecutive year
DETROIT (Feb.19, 2024) – Cadillac Racing will return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June to challenge for the overall victory with three Cadillac V-Series.R hybrid racecars supported by experienced and championship-winning drivers and teams.
It is the second consecutive year that Cadillac Racing has received three invitations from event organizer Automobile Club de l’Ouest to compete in the classic endurance race. In 2023 — Cadillac Racing’s first year of FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) Hypercar competition — the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R earned a podium finish and the No. 3 Cadillac V-Series.R finished fourth at Circuit de la Sarthe. The No. 311 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R placed 10th in class.
“We’re thrilled for Cadillac Racing to return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with three cars competing for the overall win in the Hypercar class,” said John Roth, vice president, global Cadillac. “After scoring our first podium finish at this iconic endurance race in 2023, we look to build on that success and showcase the Cadillac V-Series.R’s technology, innovation and durability, while demonstrating the remarkable capabilities and determination of our race teams.”
Cadillac Racing’s stout roster features drivers who have secured overall and class victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, IndyCar championships and IMSA prototype titles among other motorsport accolades. The 92nd running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is June 15-16.
- The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R received an automatic entry based on its full-season participation in the WEC. Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and reigning IndyCar champion Alex Palou will be the drivers.
- The No. 3 Cadillac V-Series.R is a full-season IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship entry in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class, where it races as the No. 01. Sébastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande and six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon will be the drivers.
- The No. 311 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R is a full-season IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship entry in the GTP class, where it races as the No. 31. Reigning IMSA GTP champion Pipo Derani and Jack Aitken will be joined by a co-driver to be named in the future. “We were excited to race in the 100th anniversary of Le Mans in 2023. To be on the podium in 2023 with a brand-new car, new team and new rules, was amazing,” said GM sports car racing program manager Laura Wontrop Klauser. “In 2024, we’ll keep pushing forward, use the lessons from 2023 to make us stronger on the program and be ready to go against the best in the world at Le Mans.”
The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R placed third in the centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans among its four top-five finishes in its WEC debut season with Bamber, Lynn and Richard Westbrook sharing the driving duties.
“We are all looking forward to Cadillac returning to Le Mans and challenging for the overall victory. It has been decades since an American manufacturer has achieved this and we will be strongly pushing to achieve our goal,” said Bamber, overall winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2015 and 2017.
Cadillac claimed every IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP trophy in 2023. Cadillac won its fourth Manufacturer Championship and fifth IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Manufacturer Championship since entering prototype competition in 2017, while the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R earned driver/team season and IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup titles.
The No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R kicked off 2024 IMSA GTP competition with a pole start and runner-up finish in the 62nd Rolex 24 At Daytona in January. The No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R qualified second. The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R opens FIA WEC Hypercar competition March 2 with the Qatar Airways Qatar 1812 Km.
Second year of global competition
The Cadillac V-Series.R design — codeveloped by Cadillac Design, Cadillac Racing and chassis constructor Dallara — was informed by the Project GTP Hypercar that was unveiled in June 2022. The racecar incorporates distinctive Cadillac design elements, such as vertical lighting and floating blades.
The Cadillac V-Series.R features a purpose-built Cadillac 5.5L DOHC V-8 engine developed by GM’s Performance and Racing Propulsion team based in Pontiac, Michigan.
