Cadillac Announces Hypercar Lineup; Daytona Outing Set

Richard Westbrook, Alex Lynn and Earl Bamber will drive for LMDh manufacturer Cadillac in the FIA World Endurance Championship’s Hypercar class next season.

The General Motors brand on Monday announced the full-season crew for its Chip Ganassi Racing-run factory Cadillac V-LMDh that will contest the full seven-round campaign including the 24 Hours of Le Mans

It has also confirmed that the WEC lineup will additionally contest the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January, signifying an extra third Cadillac for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season-opener which kicks off the new prototype racing era.

All three WEC drivers are familiar with Cadillac prototype machinery, having raced the manufacturer’s outgoing DPi car in the WeatherTech Championship this year.

Bamber and Lynn shared the No. 02 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R., finishing fourth in the points and winning the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring with Neel Jani.

Westbrook, meanwhile, was in the JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac with Tristan Vautier and placed sixth in the championship.

“We look forward to new challenges by entering the V-LMDh in the World Endurance Championship,” said Global Vice President of Cadillac Rory Harvey.

“Bringing together a world-class team of drivers is paramount to our success next year and Cadillac Racing has accomplished that.”

Two-time Le Mans winner Bamber is set for his first season in the WEC’s top class since he won the 2017 world championship with Porsche in the LMP1 hybrid era.

“I’m really happy to continue at Chip Ganassi Racing and Cadillac,” said the New Zealander.

“I’ve loved my first season in DPi and now to continue over into the LMDh era and WEC is super exciting. Looking forward to fighting for world championship and another Le Mans victory.

“It’s been great to have Alex as a teammate in 2022. We’ve been able to learn and grow together in the DPi and we have a really good partnership going into WEC.

“We know each other really well and believe adding Richard will be a seamless transition. Hopefully, we can kickstart the 2023 season with success.”

Lynn, meanwhile, moves up to Hypercar after representing LMP2 squad United Autosports in the WEC this year, alongside his IMSA DPi commitments with Ganassi.

The British driver also previously drove for Aston Martin Racing in WEC GTE-Pro for two seasons, taking a class win at Le Mans in 2020.

“I think Earl and I work well together because we’re very close but also because we challenge each other,” Lynn said.

“Whether it’s on our driving, on the setup of the car, we push and ask a lot of each other, but at the same time, there’s a lot of respect.

“In a way, there’s a little bit of brotherly love which is great, and I think it’s needed in a successful sports car team. We’ve thrilled to have Richard come on board and to continue growing a winning program.”

Westbrook is set for a reunion with Chip Ganassi Racing, having previously driven for the team when it ran the factory Ford GT program in IMSA for four seasons, in which he won eight races including the 2018 Rolex 24 at Daytona in the GT Le Mans class.

The British driver has already made four Hypercar outings, including two at Le Mans, as a driver of the non-hybrid Glickenhaus 007 Pipo LMH.

“After four really good years at Chip Ganassi Racing, I’ve got so many friends there and I’ve always dreamt to come back one day,” he said.

“It just worked so well between 2016 and 2019, and I’m delighted we found a route to come together again. I can’t wait, it’s an exciting era in sports car racing right now.

“It’s a really exciting time to be a sports car driver when you have all of the top manufacturers throwing everything at it. I personally enjoy helping develop cars and I’m excited for the beginning of Cadillac’s V-LMDh program.”

Cadillac named the full-season drivers for its two-car WeatherTech Championship GTP program, which utilizes the same car as the WEC, last week.

Alexander Sims will join Pipo Derani at Action Express Racing, while the DPi duo of Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande will continue for another season with Ganassi into the new LMDh era.

Cadillac plans to announce their additional co-drivers for the Michelin Endurance Cup rounds at a later date.