Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA two-car Hypercar program prepares for Qatar
DETROIT (Feb. 17, 2025) – Three months removed from the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season-ending race as competitors, a new adventure is on the horizon for Cadillac Racing and JOTA Sport.
JOTA Sport enters its first season as a WEC Hypercar works team with Cadillac Racing following two decades of success as a privateer, while Cadillac Racing expands to a two-car program (Nos. 12, 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA) moving into its third season of WEC competition.
While there’s much to learn – about each other, the circuits, the Dallara LMDh platform powered by the purpose-built 5.5-liter DOHC V8 engine – the prospects are bright for the Anglo-American alliance entering the February 28 opener at Lusail International Circuit in Qatar.
First up is the February 21-22 Prologue on the 5.38-kilometer, 16-turn course.
“We can’t wait to see what we can do together this year,” said David Clark, co-founder and director of JOTA Sport, which is celebrating its 25th year.
An experienced and championship-winning roster will lead the charge during the eight-race schedule through November that includes the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Third-year Cadillac Racing WEC driver Alex Lynn, who drove to the pole at Fuji Speedway last season, will team with Norman Nato and Will Stevens, who co-drove to victory at Spa-Francorchamps in 2024, in the No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA entry.
Cadillac Racing veterans Earl Bamber and Sebastien Bourdais are paired with 2009 Formula One champion Jenson Button in the No. 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R.
Qatar interview opportunities
A different view
Watch the February 28 race via the Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA in-car camera livestream. Tune in at 6 am. ET/2 p.m. AST HERE.
“During pre-season testing, we’ve seen an incredible team spirit already build between our drivers and their crews and this is extremely encouraging but we don’t take anything for granted,” Clark added.
Last year in the 10-hour race in Qatar, the No. 12 Hypercar led the team with a runner-up finish after qualifying third. Bamber, Bourdais and Lynn co-drove to fourth place in the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R, but the result was voided because of a technical infraction.
Season highlights included the victory at Spa and Hertz Team JOTA earning its second successive Hypercar World Championship. In addition to its maiden WEC pole in Japan and advancing to Hyperpole in six of the eight races, Cadillac Racing recorded a best finish of fourth at Circuit of The Americas.
Now the successful programs will tackle the challenging courses and Hypercar competition together.
What they’re saying
No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R
Alex Lynn: “I’m excited to get the season started. It’s hasn’t been that long of an off-season, but I think we’ve made some good progress. JOTA is settling in really well. I’ve got two new teammates in Norman and Will, who are really good guys. I think as a trio we make a really strong lineup. I’m excited to feel the sun on my face; it’s been a long British winter. It’s a fresh start but with the same car. That’s a cool one to still be driving the same car but with a different team. I think we can have good expectations. Qatar is a track that suited our car last year and everyone is starting from zero, which is always fun.”
Norman Nato: “I’m really looking forward to kicking off the season in Qatar, our first time as a team with Cadillac. The Prologue is always a good opportunity to get to grips with the package, test our limits a little and it will give us a further opportunity to work together as a team — both old and new. We know we won’t be at our best yet due to the relatively short amount of time we’ve had to prepare but we are all really motivated to make steps forward every time we hit the track. I really can’t wait to this new chapter started.”
Will Stevens: “Qatar is a track that’s actually quite different from all from all the others because it’s so smooth. It’s very high speed. I’d say it’s a very different characteristic to a lot of other places. I think also for us as a team going into our first race with Cadillac there’s going to be a lot of new things and processes to learn as quickly as we can. But obviously, that’s what we’ve been working on over the past few months — to try and make sure we’re as best prepared as we can. I can’t wait to get the Prologue started. It’ll be nice to have a few days under our belt with our full car crew, working with both cars and a team. I just started to build a big picture of what we want to work on ahead of the race week, so I think for us it’s an extremely important few days. I think going to a circuit that we will be racing on means we can be much more focused on track-specific things, so a lot of work to get for in the Prologue for sure, but we’re ready for that.”
No. 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R
Earl Bamber: “I think our off-season tests were productive. I think what JOTA brings to the project is really exciting. They’ve got great knowledge of the WEC in general, a great team, so I think everyone’s really excited and eager to get out on track again. After our Abu Dhabi test and then going to Qatar, everyone is eyes forward with a lot of excitement and enthusiasm and a lot of expectation to do well as well. We know the car is quick there and it’s one of the tracks that suits it. We’re hoping that with the injection of knowledge of JOTA we can raise our game on the tracks where we’ve got a little bit of low hanging fruit and overall we have a have a strong season. I think it is a stouter effort, and I think everyone’s got a lot of high expectations.”
Sebastien Bourdais: “Quite excited to get the season started. I’m happy to join Earl and Jenson in the 38. I think it’s two great crews and we all get along really well. We have a lot of potential to extract out of the system. It’s a new organization and a lot to learn. Thankfully, there is the Prologue prior to the race and we’ll use it to dial ourselves in and get race ready. Looking forward to the challenge with JOTA and hopefully we can put the Cadillac V-Series.R to the front and get the season underway in the best way possible.”
Jenson Button: “I can’t wait. Looking forward to getting on the circuit that I have fond memories of from last year. We have to build on that with the Cadillac. Their performance last year seemed to be very good. This is such a great team, bringing two different families together being Cadillac and JOTA. Already, you can see how well everyone is working together including drivers. We bring a lot of experience, a lot of excitement and a lot of experience working with JOTA and with Cadillac. I think we can do something very special this year. We want to start on a high; we don’t want to build up to it. We should be hitting the ground running in Qatar and racing for the win.”
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