Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA seeks to take next step following positives at Le Mans
DETROIT (July 7, 2025) – Capitalizing on precision and performance is the objective for Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA’s factory Hypercars this weekend in the Rolex 6 Hours of São Paulo.
The contest on the 4.409 km (2.677-mile), 15-turn Autódromo José Carlos Pace – commonly known as Interlagos – is the fifth of eight rounds on the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) calendar and eagerly awaited by the team and drivers of the Nos. 12 and 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R.
Following the pole start and fourth-place finish last month in the 93rd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, drivers Alex Lynn, Norman Nato and Will Stevens look forward to building on momentum.
Their No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R is the only Hypercar to compete in Hyperpole (Hyperpole2 at Le Mans) in each of the four races and has qualified three times in the top five. CHART The No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R has crossed the finish line fifth and fourth in the past two races and the drivers have sat at the points table in every race.
“We’re improving a lot, which we showed at Le Mans. The car has a lot of strong points, and we aim to utilize them on the Interlagos circuit,” Lynn said of the first-year Hypercar works team.
The No. 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R has also displayed performance gains as drivers Earl Bamber, Sebastien Bourdais and Jenson Button continue to learn and extract more out of the car. Bamber qualified second at Le Mans and the trio have combined to place sixth and seventh the past two races.
Also, in the 21-car Hypercar field at Circuit de la Sarthe, Bourdais recorded the fastest race lap, and Jack Aitken set the qualifying pace in Hyperpole1 in the sister No. 311 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R campaigned by Action Express Racing.
Following a decade-long absence, the historic Autódromo José Carlos Pace rejoined the WEC schedule in 2024, with more than 73,000 spectators cheering the action. Cadillac Racing’s lone Hypercar entry, with Bamber and Lynn sharing the duties, qualified fourth and placed 13th (routine service stop issue required a return trip down pit lane to make corrections). The Hertz Team JOTA entries finished seventh and 18th with another manufacturer.
Drivers and teams will attempt to quickly find their car’s balance on the demanding circuit. A pair of 90-minute free practice sessions Friday will be followed by a 60-minute free practice Saturday that precedes qualifications and the 10-minute Hyperpole.
What they’re saying
No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R
Alex Lynn: “I think the progress we’ve made since last year in Brazil and understanding the importance of tire management on the circuit puts us in a better position to challenge for the podium. We’ve done sim work and other things to prepare, and hopefully data collected at Le Mans and Spa will be put to good use.”
Norman Nato: “After a quite good effort in Le Mans, another challenge of us in Brazil with different track conditions. A lot of tire degradation at the rear, which makes the tire strategy and driving different than the other races in term of management. We will focus on being efficient in the race, where we need to find the best car setup compromise to be smooth on tires. Such an iconic track I discovered last year, very passionate fans, looking forward to driving the Cadillac V-Series.R.”
Will Stevens: “Brazil, it’s actually kind of my home race because I’m married to a Brazilian. So, looking forward to it and it’s great we have a race so soon after Le Mans. I think we learned a lot at Le Mans because there’s a lot of track time to learn what we want from the car, things we can still improve. At the end of the day, (Le Mans) is only just the beginning of what we’re doing. We’re six months into this program, we’re going to keep improving, we’re going to keep getting better. Let’s go to Brazil and full attack and hopefully come away with the great result.”
No. 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R
Earl Bamber: “I’m looking forward to returning to Interlagos and taking what we’ve learned, what we’ve developed over the past few months to this historic circuit. Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA had overall great results in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and though Interlagos is a different track we believe the strengths of the Cadillac V-Series.R will come through there. Aside from a pit miscue in 2024 that cost us two laps, we were competitive in Brazil, so I expect us to be in the mix again.”
Sebastien Bourdais: “Interlagos is a very different animal than Le Mans. It tends to be quite high tire deg. The altitude makes it that you lose downforce as well, so it’s not an easy track. I wasn’t there last year, so it’s difficult to know what to expect. Overall, looking forward to it. It feels like we’re building on from the last couple of events. We’re starting to catch some references. The team is working and gelling. We’ll have a tough task ahead of us there and will give it our best shot.”
Jenson Button: “We have some work to do for the races to come but I left Le Mans very proud of the entire team. Interlagos is a demanding circuit with a pair of alternating downward left and right turns at the start to a long uphill left turn toward the end of the lap. The unpredictability of the weather adds to the mix, too. We’ll keep pushing forward with the goal of reaching the top step of the podium.”
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