No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R running fourth when involved in incident on road course
STAVELOT, Belgium (May 11, 2024) – A run for the podium came to an abrupt end with 1 hour, 47 minutes left in the TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps as an on-track incident eliminated the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R from contention.
Earl Bamber was attempting to overtake the No. 99 Proton Competition Porsche 963 on the Kemmell Straight for third in the Hypercar running order when contact was made with the No. 31 WRT BMW M4 GT3. The race was immediately red-flagged.
“Most importantly, we are glad that Earl was not injured in the incident and has been evaluated and released from the care center,” GM director of motorsports engineering Mark Stielow said. “The construction of the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R and its safety systems did their job. Earl and Alex Lynn, plus the entire No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R team, were looking strong to challenge for a podium spot. They will do the same next month at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.”
The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R started second on the 7.004-kilometer (4.35-mile), 20-turn Spa-Francorchamps road course – its highest starting position in the 10 races of the Cadillac Racing FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) program. It was the second time in three races that the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R advanced to the Hyperpole session as Lynn qualified seventh at the season-opening 10-hour race in Qatar.
“Disappointing end to the weekend. The car was in P4, definitely fighting for podium and I think P2 was in reach,” team manager Stpehen Mitas said. “Earl was driving fantastic and it was an unfortunate racing incident and we had a DNF. The team performed marvelously well all weekend. Free practice 1 and 2 were tough, but I think it was a phenomenal team effort from the engineers and mechanics to turn the car around for free practice 3 and then a sensational qualifying performance that put us P2 on the grid.”
The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R will look to secure a second consecutive podium in the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 16. Bamber and Lynn will be joined by two-time INDYCAR champion Alex Palou. The Cadillac Racing program will also include the No. 3 Cadillac V-Series.R driven by Sebastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande and Scott Dixon that placed fourth overall in 2023 and the No. 311 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R driven by reigning and two-time IMSA driver champion Pipo Derani, Jack Aitken and Felipe Drugovich.
Earl Bamber: “Great that Caddy built strong chassis, so it’s nice to walk away from that one. It’s a real shame for the result because I think we on to something real good today. We showed really good speed today. I think we had good strategy, good speed, so again we showed like in Qatar that if we have things go the right way that we can definitely challenge for podiums in this championship. It’s good to realize that. Imola was just a bump on the radar performance-wise. And now we look forward to Le Mans.”
Alex Lynn: “First things first, I’m glad my partner is totally fine. Secondly, I’ve obviously sorry for the result because I think we were on for a really strong one. Strategically, I think we played the right cards and it was coming to us very nicely. Proud of how we performed and just sorry we couldn’t finish it today.”
