Front overhead view of three Cadillac V-Series.R hybrid racecars on the track at Le Mans.
Cadillac will return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June with three Cadillac V-Series.R hybrid racecars supported by experienced championship-winning drivers and teams to challenge for the overall victory.
It is the second consecutive year that Cadillac Racing has received three invitations from event organizer Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) to compete in the classic endurance race. In 2023 — Cadillac Racing’s first year of FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) Hypercar competition — the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R earned a podium finish, with the No. 3 Cadillac V-Series.R finishing fourth at Circuit de la Sarthe. The No. 311 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R placed 10th in class.
“We’re thrilled for Cadillac Racing to return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with three cars competing for the overall win in the Hypercar class,” said John Roth, vice president, global Cadillac. “After scoring our first podium finish at this iconic endurance race in 2023, we look to build on that success and showcase the Cadillac V-Series.R’s technology, innovation and durability, while demonstrating the remarkable capabilities and determination of our race teams.”
Cadillac Racing’s stout roster features drivers who have secured five overall and class victories at Circuit de la Sarthe, 12 IndyCar championships and two IMSA prototype titles, among other motorsport accolades.
- The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R received an automatic entry based on its full-season participation in the WEC. Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and Alex Palou will be the drivers.
- The No. 3 Cadillac V-Series.R is a full-season IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship entrant in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class, where it races as the No. 01. Sébastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande and Scott Dixon will be the drivers.
- The No. 311 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R is a full-season IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship entrant in the GTP class, where it races as the No. 31. Reigning IMSA GTP champion Pipo Derani and Jack Aitken will be joined by a co-driver to be named in the future.
“We were excited to race in the 100th anniversary of Le Mans in 2023. To be on the podium in 2023 with a brand-new car, new team and new rules, was amazing,” said GM sports car racing program manager Laura Wontrop Klauser. “In 2024, we’ll keep pushing forward, use the lessons from 2023 to make us stronger on the program and be ready to go against the best in the world at Le Mans.”
The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R placed third in the centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans on its way to four top-five finishes in its debut WEC season.
“We are all looking forward to Cadillac returning to Le Mans and challenging for the overall victory. It has been decades since an American manufacturer has achieved this and we will be strongly pushing to achieve our goal,” said Bamber, overall winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2015 and 2017.
Cadillac claimed every IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP trophy in 2023, with the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R earning driver/team season and IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup titles. Cadillac won its fourth Manufacturer Championship and fifth IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Manufacturer Championship since entering prototype competition in 2017.
The No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R, with Derani, Aitken and Blomqvist sharing driving duties, kicked off 2024 IMSA GTP competition with a runner-up finish in the 62nd Rolex 24 At Daytona in January. In March, the Action Express Racing-run car will aim to successfully defend its Twelve Hours of Sebring victory.
Second year of global competition
The Cadillac V-Series.R design — codeveloped by Cadillac Design, Cadillac Racing and chassis constructor Dallara — was informed by the Project GTP Hypercar that was unveiled in June 2022. The racecar incorporates distinctive Cadillac design elements, such as vertical lighting and floating blades.
The Cadillac V-Series.R features a purpose-built Cadillac 5.5L DOHC V-8 engine developed by GM’s Performance and Racing Propulsion team based in Pontiac, Michigan.
Cadillac history at Le Mans
The first Cadillacs raced at Le Mans were entered by privateers Briggs Cunningham and Miles and Sam Collier in 1950. Both Series 61 coupes were powered by the Cadillac 5.4-liter OHV V-8 engine.
Miles and Sam Collier co-drove the No. 3 “Petit Pataud” to a 10th-place overall finish. Briggs Cunningham shared the wheel of the No. 2 “Le Monstre” with Phil Walters and finished 11th overall despite an early off-course incident.
That same year, Sydney Allard and Tom Cole Jr. finished third overall in the Cadillac-powered Allard J2.
Cadillac returned to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2000, 2001 and 2002 with its 4.0-liter turbocharged V-8-powered Northstar LMP. In 2000, Franck Lagorce, Butch Leitzinger and Andy Wallace drove the Team Cadillac No. 1 Cadillac Northstar LMP to a 21st-place overall finish, while Wayne Taylor, Max Angelelli and Eric van de Poele finished 22nd in the No. 2 sister car.
In 2001, Taylor, Angelelli and Christophe Tinseau co-drove the Cadillac Northstar LMP01 to a 15th-place finish. A second LMP01, co-driven by Eric Bernard, Emmanuel Collard and Marc Goossens, retired from the race with a mechanical issue.
In 2002, two Cadillac LMP02 cars were entered. Angelelli, Tinseau and Taylor co-drove to a ninth-place overall finish. A second Cadillac LMP02, co-driven by Bernard, Collard and JJ Lehto, finished 12th.