Cadillac is no stranger to international motorsports, even in sports prototype racing, which is typically dominated by European brands outside North America. Cadillac last raced a prototype at the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2002, when it ran a program to highlight the performance of its Northstar V-8. Now it's set to return to Le Mans with its latest sports prototype, the V-Series.R LMDh.
Cadillac on Monday confirmed it will enter three V-Series.R LMDh race cars in the premier Hypercar class of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The race cars made their competition debut in January during the 24 Hours of Daytona, and the car fielded by Cadillac Racing and Chip Ganassi finished in third place, behind a pair of Acura ARX-06 LMDh cars.
The Le Mans race is the highlight of the World Endurance Championship, whose premier Hypercar class is open to both LMDh and LMH race cars. Cadillac has entered one V-Series.R in the full FIA World Endurance Championship season. Two of the cars are also racing in the full season of the IMSA SportsCar Championship, whose own premier GTP class is also open to both LMDh and LMH race cars.
Set to drive the three V-Series.R cars at Le Mans will be Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn, and Richard Westbrook in one car; Sébastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande, and Scott Dixon in another; and Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims, and Jack Aitken in the third and final car.
The V-Series.R uses a Dallara chassis and a hybrid powertrain with a dual-overhead cam 5.5-liter V-8 for the internal-combustion component. Under LMDh rules, combined output for the gasoline engine and any electric assist is capped at 670 hp.
The Le Mans race is scheduled for the weekend of June 10.
The World Endurance Championship isn't the only international arena Cadillac is looking to dominate. The automaker also aims to enter Formula 1 with a new team established in partnership with Andretti Global, parent company of Andretti Autosport. However, timing for the proposed entry is uncertain.
