No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R finishes fourth after starting 13th in GTP class
SEBRING, Fla. (March 15, 2025) – After 12 hours of hard-fought, entertaining and occasionally chaotic racing, Cadillac Racing finished 7.6 seconds short of a podium finish in the 73rd edition of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.
The No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R, which started 13th on the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) grid because of a software issue in qualifications Friday, nonetheless battled its way to the front early in the race and contended for the victory until the final 40 minutes and finished fourth.
Drivers Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber and Frederik Vesti, making his competitive debut on the 3.74-mile course, combined to lead 155 of the 353 laps.
Starting 13th, Aitken quickly made up six spots in the first hour and moved to the front for the first time with 10 hours, 21 minutes left. From there, Vesti and Bamber inherited the lead on their first stints and the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R remained in or near the lead through no unforced errors, penalties or contact necessitating repair.
The No. 6 Porsche 963, which overtook Vesti for the point for the final time with 2 hours, 7 minutes left, went on to claim the victory.
The Nos. 10 and 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.Rs effectively fell out of contention in the first five hours because of various on-track issues.
The No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R, which qualified eighth in the 13-car GTP roster, was handed a stop and hold penalty by IMSA Race Control for incident responsibility in the second hour that dropped it two laps down and mired in 12th place in the running order. Drivers Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque and Will Stevens clawed back to finish a solid seventh.
The No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R that qualified seventh slid into the Turn 17 tire barrier with 7 hours, 43 minutes left, necessitating a swap of the nose assembly and front tire change. But the GTP entry incurred a stop and hold penalty for more than emergency service in a closed pit, which dropped the hybrid racecar to 13th in class. Drivers Jordan Taylor, Louis Deletraz and Brendon Hartley recovered to finish 11th.
After two endurance races totaling 36 hours to start the season, Cadillac Racing teams will be in action next April 12 for the 100-minute race on the 1.968-mile Long Beach (California) street circuit.
Cadillac Racing swept the top two spots in 2024, with the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R leading the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R across the finish line by 0.564 of a second. The No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R earned the pole – its third in a row to start the season. Cadillac has won six of the IMSA races in Long Beach since joining prototype competition in 2017.
What they’re saying
No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R
Jack Aitken: “The race started really well for us today and we managed to stay in those top positions for the majority of the race. Unfortunately, we were just a little bit off sequence to the leading Porsches and it just caught us out a bit at the end when we had to take a splash. I think when they night came around, we didn’t have that extra gear that the others did. We missed out on the podium; it’s tough to take. But there are positives from this – coming from the back to the field is still not a bad result.”
Earl Bamber: “We had to come in for a splash with about 40 minutes left and we tried to take the alternate tire strategy, but we thought it might work but the dirty air was just too much. We just didn’t make our way forward. The car was good, so it is bittersweet that we didn’t get a podium. We’ll just have to roll into Long Beach.”
Frederik Vesti: “IMSA just keeps impressing me with how chaotic and crazy it is to race this year. I really enjoyed my time in the car today. I left everything out on the track and it’s painful not to get the podium. I really felt like we had the car to win or be on the podium today. Really proud of Cadillac Whelen. Having the issue in quali starting out, I think Jack did a great job in stint one to get us in the lead. I enjoyed lots of laps in the lead today and I had a lot of restarts from the lead, which is fun and I learned a lot. We’ll be back. I’m already looking forward to Laguna.”
No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R
Ricky Taylor: “Another tough day. It started off really bad and we were hopeful that it was a long day and that we would get back in it. The yellows just didn’t come our way. I think know if we had the winning car, we had a car maybe for the podium, the Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing team did a great job and never gave up. We will go to Long Beach and hopefully get some success there.”
No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R
Louis Delétraz: “A difficult race, obviously not the race we wanted. We had to retire the car early at the end due to an issue that will have to be investigated. A little bit disappointed bit I think we had a rough first day then improved the car a lot for the race, but still not enough to fight for the win. But we were there for good points and running at the front then had a couple of issues in a row which put us at the back and ultimately retiring. So, not much positive but we definitely learned a lot and will be back stronger in Long Beach.”
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