Lynn Feels “Better Than Ever” Ahead of Cadillac Return

Alex Lynn says he feels “better than ever” as he prepares to make his FIA World Endurance Championship return at Barcelona this weekend after a neck injury forced him onto the sidelines.

Lynn had been unable to drive for the Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA squad all year amid on-going treatment for the neck injury, but he made his racing comeback with Algarve Pro Racing in an Oreca 07 Gibson in the European Le Mans Series finale at Portimao last weekend.

The Briton said he felt no ill-effects of the injury upon his return and is now determined to score a victory for the Cadillac V-Series.R at the final two WEC rounds.

Lynn described the ELMS outing as “useful” preparation for his WEC comeback, adding: “I was selfishly using it as a warm-up before the world championship and Stu [Cox, APR team boss] was very kind to give me the chance.

“It was the perfect warm-up — I qualified second so I thought that was a strong comeback and we didn’t have the best race but it was a good weekend.

“I’m very happy to be back, I feel better than ever, I feel faster than ever and that for me is the main thing.”

He said he is now determined to help maintain JOTA’s record of scoring a victory in each year it has competed in the WEC.

“I’m so excited, I think the car has been going super well,” Lynn said. “If I can leave the championship this year with a win with JOTA knowing they’ve won a race every single year, that’s the target for me to win a race.”

It was also announced on Thursday that Lynn will move to the new McLaren Hypercar operation next year, having long been linked with the project.

However, he insists he is fully committed to the Cadillac program until the end of the season, adding: “I’ve made it my mission to stay fully focused on Cadillac until the end. And after that, I will move on.

“I’m someone who wants to give 110 percent on one project until it’s finished, I’m an all-in or nothing kind of guy. So I’m all-in on this to win until the end and then we move on.

“I’m just buzzing to be here to be back racing at the highest level of sports car racing with a team I love so much, I just want to end on a high.”

Despite knowing that he would be departing the squad, Lynn was confident that he still would be welcomed back into the JOTA fold once given the green light to return to action.

“When you’re team, if it’s a footballer and they’re out for a certain amount of time and they’re one of your key players, you want them back,” he said. “That’s where we’re at.

“I would like to think with the performances I’ve put in during my time at Cadillac, if the chance is there to put me in — even if there’s only two rounds — we take it.

“That was my ambition as well — I wanted to finish correctly. I knew for some time that I was going to go, but the ambition was always to finish in the right way with the right result.”

Lynn “Feels So Proud” to Represent “Most Iconic Team” in Great Britain 

As for his move to McLaren, Lynn felt the chance to race for a British brand was too good an opportunity to miss out on.

“I think it’s so iconic to drive for a brand like McLaren,” he said. “From the country where I’m from, Great Britain, I feel so proud to represent the most iconic team in our country.

“One of the most successful Formula 1 teams ever, Le Mans winners themselves with the F1 GTR, there are so many adjectives you can use but for me iconic is the one that comes to mind with McLaren.”

Lynn is yet to drive the MCL-HY but expects to get behind the wheel of his new steed for the first time shortly after the Monza WEC finale in early November.

He said he was “buzzing” for the new challenge but acknowledged how much work will still be required to get the McLaren to the front of the competitive Hypercar grid.

“Every time a program starts — I’ve had a few of them in my career, whether it’s the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 or the Cadillac V-Series.R, two ground-ups — there’s always so much work, so many sleepless nights, so many long days in the sim,” said Lynn.

“It’s only when you win a race that you look back on all the hours it took to get a car to that point. I’m fully aware of what it’s going to take to get the car to win, but ultimately I think a team like that will win.”