Written by Aaron Carroll, Edited by Marit Everett
With the opening rounds of the Hypercar/GTP season behind us, one manufacturer stands out as being behind expectations. So is this really a crisis for Cadillac and parent company General Motors, or is it just a slump of bad luck for the American manufacturer?
With two seasons of running in both the World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the IMSA Sportscar Championship under their belts, Cadillac and the V Series R were expected to be challenging the top of both series after a mixed 2024 season. In WEC they were coming off the back of a pair of seasons, where the single-entry V Series R from Whelen Cadillac managed a best result of third twice— at Le Mans in 2023 and COTA in 2024.
Whelen also ran a single car in IMSA both seasons, alongside a factory run car, with help from Chip Ganassi. Both crews found success stateside, with Whelen winning both the overall, and endurance cup championships in 2023, coming fourth in 2024. However, the factory car only managed seventh overall in 2023, but third in 2024 due to more consistent results.
All of the noise coming from the Cadillac camp heading into 2025 was positive. With a shake-up of the teams running the entries - JOTA running two cars in WEC, with Wayne Taylor Racing (WTR) running a pair in IMSA alongside a single entry from Whelen - everything looked set for a championship-challenging season. But it hasn’t exactly gone to plan for the American marque.
At the IMSA season opener in Daytona, things would begin positively, with all three cars showing good pace, and the No.31 Whelen car and No.40 WTR car contending for first in the early hours of the race, with the No.10 WTR car not too far behind.
Things would then take a turn for the worst. First, the No.40 machine would be involved in a massive multi-class crash, sustaining heavy damage and taking it out of the race.
Later, during the early hours of the morning, a suspension failure would strike the No.31 Whelen car, taking them out of the race as well. While the No.10 finished the race in fifth, it was a what could have been story for Cadillac leaving Daytona.
The same could be said for Qatar. The two Hertz Team JOTA cars were running very well, seemingly being the only manufacturer able to challenge the trio of Ferrari’s.
However, the two cars collided with each other causing extensive damage to both cars, putting them out of contention for the win. This not only ruined what could have been a good result, but also potentially damaged relationships within the JOTA Cadillac camp.
For the second round of the IMSA championship in Sebring, one of the WTR cars had an early setback. The No.10 car received a 60 second stop-go penalty for a collision that sent the No.023 GTD car into the barriers. Despite this, the Whelen car (No.31) led after the ensuing safety car, after reliability problems in qualifying meant they started from 13th, the back of the GTP field.
The No.31 car would stay in contention for the entire race, losing out to the dominant pace of the Porsche Penske cars after the final safety car, and coming home in fourth. The No.40 car didn’t show quite as much pace, but still finished in seventh, the first car off the lead lap.
In comparison to Qatar and Daytona, the Sebring 12 Hours was quite a positive race. , Although it didn’t quite deliver any silverware, with the No.31 losing out to the No.93 Acura for third in the dying laps of the race.
However it is almost impossible to ignore the clear pace shown in all three events. Had certain events played out differently, the conversation would be about Cadillac winning all three events, rather than the disappointments they faced.
When asked about the team's goals for the season in an exclusive interview with DIVEBOMB Motorsport, Whelen driver Jack Aitken said “We want to be fighting for the championship and fighting for wins. It’s super clear.” Even despite the results, there is still confidence in the package that it can deliver a championship.
The concerning results can be placed down to growing pains with new teams and pure bad luck. Even so, Cadillac will be expected to make the jump back to consistent form, and begin winning races and putting themselves into contention for championships, especially with the current competitive climate in top class endurance racing.
Whatever the case, crisis or not, Cadillac will be ready to go with the motivation to win as the season continues with IMSA heading to Long Beach on 12th of April and WEC touching down in Italy for the 6 Hours of Imola a week later on the 20th.
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