Cadillac Racing has confirmed its GTP driver roster for the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.
The Ganassi-run GTP team has opted for stability next season, as Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande will return in the #01 V-Series.R for their third season as teammates, joined by six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon for the Endurance Cup rounds.
“We had some success racing the Cadillac V-Series.R across the 2023 IMSA season but we are expecting even more in 2024. We are happy that Sebastien, Renger and Scott will again be in the 01 next year and that we can build on our learnings together,” said Mike O’Gara, director of operations for Chip Ganassi Racing which fields the #01 Cadillac V-Series.R in IMSA and the #2 Cadillac V-Series.R in the FIA World Endurance Championship.
“We have proven that the car has reliability, as both of our Cadillacs finished every lap of the 2023 Rolex 24 at Daytona. We led a lot of laps in many races last year, but not always the ones that counted. We are using the off-season to regroup and hit the reset button, so we can attack 2024 together.”
Alongside the #01 from Ganassi, the #31 Action-Express-run V-Series.R will compete with its previously-announced tweaked crew for its GTP Championship title defence. Pipo Derani and Jack Aitken will return as full-season drivers and will share the #31 car with 2022 IMSA DPi champion Tom Blomqvist in the endurance races.
“We are expecting the 2024 Rolex 24 to be the most competitive 24-hour race ever run in Daytona,” said Gary Nelson, team manager for Action Express Racing which fields the car. “After a steep learning curve in 2023, all teams now have a year under their belts with the hybrid GTP class. We know everybody is working hard to find small gains. We celebrated our 2023 championship for about one day, then it was back to work for Action Express.
“When they wave the checkered flag after 24 hours of racing in Daytona, we will get our report card. We believe the ‘homework’ we are doing during this off-season will get us a great chance to end up at the head of the class.”
Cadillac swept top honours for the 2023 IMSA season, earning its fourth Manufacturer Championship and fifth IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup title in the prototype classification since 2017.
The GM brand will hope for more success in 2024 in year two of its V-Series.R LMDh programme, starting with the 2024 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona in January.
“The Rolex 24 in 2023 for Cadillac Racing was an incredible event,” said Laura Wontrop Klauser, GM sports car racing programme manager.
“It proved the reliability of our vehicles and how strong they could be. Since then, we’ve been figuring out how to take that solid package and get the most possible performance out of it. We are excited to come back to Daytona in January 2024 and see how much of a leap we’ve made over a year in improving the vehicle.”
