This is the Cadillac Hypercar's first title after its debut in competition just this past January at the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Whelen Engineering's #31 V-Series secured the North American championship crown by finishing sixth at Petit Le Mans, final round of the 2023 season.
GM Sports Car Racing Program Manager Laura Wontrop Klauser: "You can’t ask for better than straight As. This programme has been a challenge of resilience, and everyone has stepped up -- all of the partners that are involved from GM, Dallara, our race teams, our hybrid-supplier partners. We delivered excellent results. It was not an easy year. We had our ups and we had our downs. Ultimately our eyes were on the prize, and we were ready to seize any opportunity that was thrown at us."
Less than 16 months since its first testing sessions, and 37 weeks after the opening round on the 2023 IMSA calendar, the Cadillac V-Series.R has definitively proven its reliability and performance level at North American road and city circuits, as well as at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with third and fourth places for Cadillac Racing's #2 and #3.
Luis Felipe Derani: “It’s amazing, what a season. It was up and down, but up when it mattered for the overall championship, the endurance championship and the manufacturer championships. I’m proud of all the work behind the scenes by so many people to get to this point in the first year of GTP. There are so many things out of your control in a race like this. The end of the race was very tense. I overtook both of the BMWs and came away victorious."
The 24 Hours of Le Mans Centenary in June was even more challenging for the newly-crowned champion #31 Cadillac. The car driven by Jack Aitken left the track in the Daytona chicane in the first lap of the race, but technical staff were able to work quickly to get the car underway again, and it finished 17th overall.