Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA looks to complete WEC season with program bests
DETROIT (November 3, 2025) – Cadillac Racing enters the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season finale with objectives that stretch beyond this weekend’s Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain.
A second race victory in its first year with two Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA Hypercar entries, the season’s fourth pole and the Cadillac Racing program’s best finish in the Manufacturers’ and Drivers’ Championships are at the forefront. Carrying momentum from any or all those results into the ewith programight-race 2026 campaign is the bonus.
“I think we’ve established some strong bases for next year and looking forward to closing on a high on a difficult track in Bahrain,” said Sebastien Bourdais, who will sharing driving duties with Earl Bamber and Jenson Button.
Three free practice sessions totaling 240 minutes preceding qualifications for the 18-car Hypercar field representing eight manufacturers will be conducted on the 5.412 km (3.363-mile), 15-turn Bahrain International Circuit in preparation for the November 8 race.
With a single point scored at Fuji, Ferrari holds a 39-point advantage over Porsche and 61-point lead over Cadillac in the Manufacturers’ Championship with 66 points available in the finale.
Similarly, the front-running No. 51 Ferrari AF Corse has recorded only 10 points over the past three races, which places the charging No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R of Alex Lynn, Norman Nato and Will Stevens 13 points out of third and 21 points behind second in the Drivers’ Championship.
The No. 12 entry is the only Hypercar to score points in all seven races, highlighted by the program’s maiden WEC victory in July at Interlagos.
Along with the No. 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R, the Cadillac Racing entries have also qualified 1-2 in three of the past four races.
Last year, the lone Cadillac Racing Hypercar entry driven by Bamber, Bourdais and Lynn finished sixth after starting 13th. Hertz Team JOTA placed seventh and 13th with another manufacturer.
The race is scheduled for 2 p.m. AST / 6 a.m. ET Saturday. Full streaming coverage is available on the MotorTrend and the MAX app in the United States in addition to the FIA WEC app. Worldwide streaming via the in-car cameras on the Nos. 12 and 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.Rs is available HERE. Streaming of Free Practice 3 and qualifying will be available on the FIA WEC app.
What they’re saying
No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R
Alex Lynn: “Looking forward to going to Bahrain. It’s a great circuit and I’m expecting to fight for a great result. We’ve been on extremely good form, especially when it comes to qualifying with three pole positions in the last four races and four poles in the last nine races. I think we have good pace in our car and looking to end the year on a high. If we can pick up a trophy, that would be a lovely way to end the year, which has on the whole been a fantastic 2025 with so many milestones reached. It’s been a landmark year with so many amazing memories. And I’m looking forward to 2026; it comes around so fast.”
Norman Nato: “Especially in the position we are in, we’re going to fight for some good position in the manufacturer championship and driver championship, where we can do top three with both, if not better. So, it’s exciting. It’s crazy already to say that it’s the last race of the season. It’s been so fast. All the work that has been done like from a year ago now because this is when, basically, last year we started to drive the car for the first time and to try to develop everything. Still a long way to go to achieve the goals we want to achieve, but we can be quite proud of what everyone has done this season. We want to finish on a high and we will push to win the race, if possible, and if not, to finish as high as possible in both championships.”
Will Stevens: “There’s a lot for grabs for us in both the drivers and constructors’ championships. We’re fighting for P2 in the constructors and can get in the top three and the Drivers Championship. So, there’s a lot in play for us and a race we have confidence as a team going into because we’re generally quite strong there as a team. It’s quite a different track to a lot of others, very high degradation on tires. It requires quite a different philosophy to be strong there, but something we know what we need to do to achieve a good result. We’ve been strong at all the races this year. I think we have a good understanding now of where we need to be and what we need to do with the car to be competitive. So just excited for it, a longer race, more at play, and let’s hope we can finish this season on a high.”
No. 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R
Earl Bamber: “JOTA and Cadillac have done a fantastic job. We had the goal of getting one podium this year and got the win and second. And we’ve smashed it out of the park with all the front row lockouts. The 38 side of the garage is really strong. I felt we had one of the strongest cars in Fuji as well. Just a little bit of bad luck. Going to Bahrain, I said to the JOTA guys, ‘we need some of your Bahrain magic sauce.’ So, hopefully, they can sprinkle a bit on and we’ll be a jet.”
Sebastien Bourdais: “It’s been an interesting one. Lots of speed at times, especially in qualifying, not always transforming into results but a very valuable first season in the collaboration between JOTA and Cadillac. I think we’ve established some strong bases for next year and looking forward to closing on a high on a difficult track in Bahrain. It’s critical to manage tire degradation and the track has been challenging to Cadillac in the past. We were also concerned about tire deg in Interlagos and it ended up being our strongest weekend, so we’ll approach the weekend with an open mind and hopefully we can hit the ground running and have a great weekend.”
Jenson Button: “I think when you look at this year and what Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA have achieved in such a short time, it’s impressive. When we first had the Cadillac, it’s obviously a big transitional period going from one car to another. It takes time. The way that we’ve improved the car through the season with obviously the 1-2 in Brazil, we have to be positive coming here and looking for a great result. Working with JOTA, it’s been a real lovely atmosphere within the team, a real family atmosphere even though we’re a works team it still has that family vibe. And this is such a competitive championship. The cars look cool, they sound amazing and there are some bloody amazing drivers racing in this championship, so it always makes for good racing.”
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