April 18th, 2026 – The Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA qualified P5 and P13 for the opening round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola.
The No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R, driven by Norman Nato, advanced to the Hyperpole session after setting the 10th fastest time (01:30:644) in the initial qualifying session. In Hyperpole Nato improved further on this time, posting a lap time of 1:30:419. The No.12 car, driven by Will Stevens and Norman Nato, will line up in fifth position on the grid for tomorrow’s race.
Earl Bamber qualified the No.38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R in P13 with a lap of 1:30:867. Sebastian Bourdais will share driving duties in the No.38 car for the 6 Hours of Imola.
The race will take place on the historic 4.909-kilometre (3.050-mile), 21-turn Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari. It is scheduled for 1 p.m. local/7 a.m. ET Sunday April 19th.
What they’re saying
No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R
Norman Nato: “Of course we were aiming for more, but taking everything into consideration, the limited testing, this being our first race weekend back together, and adapting to working without Alex for this race, there was a lot to manage. For me personally, it was my first Hypercar qualifying session in 18 months, so there was a lot to relearn.
I was a little concerned before qualifying, so to come away with a top-five result is very positive and I’m very happy with that. It was a lot of fun as well, so a big thank you to the team for the trust in putting me in the car for qualifying this weekend. It gives us a good position to start from, and from here we can focus on making progress in the race.”
No. 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R
Earl Bamber: “ It was okay, it’s always disappointing not to make it through to Hyperpole but at least we know why. We struggled a little with one corner on the track and just couldn’t quite fix it, which cost us some time and made qualifying a bit of a challenge. Apart from that, the car has been behaving well and I think there are still positives to take from the session.
It’s a long race tomorrow and the focus now is on making sure we maximise what we have during the race. We’ll look through the data tonight, see what we can improve, and come back ready to fight for the opening race of the season.”
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