Two-time IndyCar Series champion Alex Palou being named at Cadillac is one of a number of pleasant surprises to come from yesterday’s Le Mans entry list reveal.
The Spaniard, who made his IMSA GTP debut last month at the Rolex 24 Hours, will now take his talents to the FIA WEC Hypercars area for a chance at winning the world’s most famous endurance race, the Le Mans 24 Hours.
At La Sarthe, he is one of two IndyCar champions in Cadillac’s line-up (the other being Scott Dixon) and will race alongside Cadillac’s full-season WEC drivers Alex Lynn and Earl Bamber in the #2 V-Series.R. The third seat is open this year after Richard Westbrook departed the Ganassi stable at the end of the 2023 season.
Instead of signing up a full-time third driver, Bamber and Lynn will share the #2 as a pair at multiple races this season. This is a strategic decision by the team, which has opened the door to guest appearances from other Ganassi drivers, such as Palou, for the longer races on the calendar.
“Going to Le Mans is an amazing opportunity and a big challenge,” Palou said after being confirmed on the entry. “It’s only a couple of hours from my home and obviously it is one of the biggest races alongside the Indianapolis 500 and Daytona where you want to participate but also win.
“We have a chance to win it overall and that is our biggest goal. I’m excited to be back in the Cadillac and join Earl Bamber and Alex Lynn. They had success there last year and the cars were quite fast, so with our recent pace at Daytona, I can’t wait to go there and win.”
While Palou is undoubtedly one of the best single-seater drivers on the planet, his prototype experience is relatively limited (though he does have two Rolex 24 starts to his name). That begs the question: will he get any more significant seat time in the build-up to the Le Mans 24 Hours?
For starters, he is unable to take part in any of the early season FIA WEC races. The six-hour WEC events at Imola and Spa in April and May clash with IndyCar races at Long Beach and Indianapolis, and the upcoming 1812km season opener at Qatar will see Sebastien Bourdais take the third seat.
With the 2024 Indy schedule being so intense, featuring six races before Le Mans, even fitting in testing time in may prove tricky…
Nevertheless, GM was thrilled with how quickly he adapted at Daytona and is confident he will be able to get up to speed at Le Mans just as fast.
It’s a big year for the American manufacturer at the race. Of the nine factories represented on the 23-car Hypercar entry for Le Mans, only Cadillac and Porsche have three works cars in the fight. Its commitment to the 24 Hours is something to celebrate.
Cadillac’s goal is clear: build on last year’s impressive third and fourth-place finishes and challenge for victory.
“Obviously, it’s a huge challenge but we’ve had some very promising findings and learnings from last year,” Bourdais, who will share the second Ganassi car with Renger van der Zande and Scott Dixon at Le Mans, said.
“I think we definitely have a very competitive car with our Cadillac V-Series.R to be able to contend. Hopefully, we can give it a shot to get that win that is missing on my resume. It’s obviously one that means a ton to me and I’m looking forward to going back there to give it another go.”
