No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R leads contingent with fifth place
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 26, 2025) – Cadillac Racing Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) cars led laps in the 63rd Rolex 24 At Daytona, though they unfortunately weren’t in the closing rush to the checkered flag.
The No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R, with drivers Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque, Will Stevens and Brendon Hartley, led the three-car contingent with a sixth-place finish among the 12 GTP entries. The No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R and No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R were eliminated from contention in the first half of the twice-around-the-clock race.
Cadillac Racing has recorded four overall victories and 12 podium finishes since 2017 in the annual IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener at Daytona International Speedway.
Combined, the Cadillac GTPs, powered by the 5.5-liter DOHC V8 engine, led 99 laps.
The fortunes for Action Express Racing’s second overall victory in the Rolex 24 were dashed just before midnight ET when the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R with Frederik Vesti behind the wheel shot up the banking of the oval Turn 4 and made heavy contact with the SAFER Barrier. Vesti was uninjured.
The team received the car in the garage at 12:15 a.m. and immediately set to work on repairs and replacements. The car, driven by Vesti, Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber and Felipe Drugovich, rejoined the race 78 minutes later and soldiered on to ninth place in class.
Three hours earlier, cold tires were the culprit as the No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R was involved in a multiple-car incident in Turn 2 off a restart with Louis Deletraz behind the wheel. Deletraz was checked and released from the infield care center and the car was retired.
The No. 7 Porsche 963 won the race.
The Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Cadillac is next on the IMSA calendar March 15 on the 3.74-mile, 17-turn Sebring International Raceway course. Cadillac Racing swept the front row for the 2024 race and the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R finished as runner-up.
Cadillac Racing Rolex 24 At Daytona overall victories
2020 (Renger van der Zande, Ryan Briscoe, Scott Dixon, Kamui Kobayashi)
2019 (Renger van der Zande, Fernando Alonso; Jordan Taylor, Kamui Kobayashi)
2018 (Christian Fittipaldi, Filipe Albuquerque, Joao Barbosa)
2017 (Jeff Gordon, Jordan Taylor, Ricky Taylor, Max Angelelli)
Of note: Sebastien Bourdais, full-season driver for Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA in the FIA World Endurance Championship, co-drove to the LMP2 class victory for his 14th career IMSA win.
What they’re saying
No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R
Ricky Taylor: “Hard week but I think we came away with a good result. The team maximized the performance, and we go to Sebring with some points and start the season working toward the championship with Cadillac.”
Filipe Albuquerque: “What a tough day in the office. A long race. During the night actually the car was pretty decent, pretty nice and competitive, but we missed something. I mean, it’s our first race with Cadillac, learning the car. We seemed to miss the setup for the daytime; it was hard to drive, very hard to drive. We did what we could. I don’t think it’s that bad to finish P5 with what we had, so it’s what it is. So, we’ll learn and move on.”
Will Stevens: “Overall, we came in with expectations to be higher up, but we did the best we could. At points in the race we seemed strong, especially in the night. I thought we could mix it up with the others and the car came to life in the night for sure. I think we just struggled a bit more in the heat, especially this being the hottest day of the week. Overall, I think it’s been a good first race for Cadillac and me back with Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing. I think we can build on this and I look forward to Sebring.”
Brendon Hartley: “I had another great experience with WTR. You have to learn the car at the Roar, all my teammates did a great job getting me up to speed. I loved working with everyone again, I think that’s one of the real strong points, every year I have with WTR. It’s been a great group of people, great atmosphere, team spirit. I mainly drove in the night and the car came alive; at some points we were flying. All the guys behind the scenes did a great job in fine tuning all the settings to get the balance that we wanted because we didn’t start the race with the ideal balance. Unfortunately, in the day, when the sun came out, we didn’t have the pace to challenge the top four. Overall, I think it was a really positive experience. First race for Cadillac with WTR, lots to learn and I really enjoyed it, and I hope I can come back at some point.”
No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R
Earl Bamber: “I think we were very competitive and had something to fight at the front. We led laps. It’s a shame. I guess we all just have to come back next year. It’s good that Fred got some laps again, it’s good for a Cadillac to finish a race and you have two cars finish. But we came here to win, so I think we’re all pretty gutted. But looking forward to the season we know we’ve got a great package, the drivers are on fire. So, I guess we’ll roll on and see what we can do at Sebring.”
Jack Aitken: “Repairing the car) shows the passion for this race. Just to finish is a massive achievement. In my time here we’ve been to this race three times with this car and we’ve had the pace every single time. But it just hasn’t quite come together for us, so it’s a bit of a sad one. But we put in a really good showing. I think it’s going to motivate us to come back next year and make sure that we put it all together. I’m really proud of the whole Whelen Cadillac team for getting back out there and finishing the job.”
Frederik Vesti: “I can’t believe the team put an almost brand-new car together in 78 minutes. That’s incredible. When I saw the car in the garage, I was pretty confident it was over. But to see the teamwork to get the car back out, it was impressive. I think today it is more like practice for me and for everyone. We are so far down, but still good practice for the races ahead, learning the car, continuing to work on tires and everything. So, I’m really happy to get out on track, also just to get out in the car after a big crash like that. It’s nice to shake it out.”
Felipe Drugovich: (after the incident) “I think more time in the car is good, especially for me and Fred that we are still getting used to everything. But it’s a great experience. It’s not as we wish it was. I think what I did at the day to still push and have a look how it is and improve for the next ones. (getting the car back on track after incident) “I think it was an amazing effort. I think they all stand out for this team. They did it with me in Le Mans last year as well. In a few minutes the car was back together so it was really cool.”
No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R
Louis Deletraz: “Very cold tires, especially when you race at night. I’m fine. Luckily, we have a very strong car. Cadillac has a very safe car. I think I just didn’t have enough grip in the tire and lost it straight away and after that got hit by an LPM2. I feel very bad for the team and it’s a shame that it happened so early in the race. A sad way to end the 24.”
Jordan Taylor: “Obviously, a tough day. The car showed a lot of speed when the sun went down and the cooler temps came in. Kamui was a rock star getting the car to lead a couple of times. We were just clicking off the laps as you have to do at Daytona just the get to the end and go fight from there. It looked like just a tiny touch of cold tires or maybe a touch from another car sent Louis off. He’s OK, so that’s the main thing. Unfortunately, we got collected by another car after the spin and that basically took away our chances to repair the car. Tough one for the team.”
Kamui Kobayashi: “Unfortunately, we had the crash after the restart. Louis is OK, so that’s the most important part. I think we had a strong car, led laps and were working on making the car better for the morning. Everybody did a lot of hard work. I was missing experience in the Cadillac, but the team did an excellent job getting everything in order. It’s a shame we couldn’t take the checkered flag.”
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