Cadillac ready to take on the challenge at Le Mans in 2023

Just a few days after the curtain fell on the 89th edition of the Le Mans classic, Cadillac confirms its presence in the Sarthe in 2023.

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Rédigé par Par

General Motors is trying again 21 years later.

The last time we saw a Cadillac vying for victory in Le Mans was in 2002. The beautiful American cars were then open prototypes, a still very popular architecture at the time, and could not block the road to the Audi giant, who achieved a triple victory that year. With a chassis that could not compete with European productions, the best representative of Team Cadillac crossed the finish line in 9th position.

Even if we haven’t seen a Cadillac at Le Mans for more than 20 years, American racing cars have continued to improve across the Atlantic. While the GM group was represented by Chevrolet/Corvette in Daytona Prototypes (DP) until 2016, Cadillac made its comeback in the top category of North American endurance racing (IMSA championship) in 2017 with the introduction of the Daytona Prototype International (DPi) category. And success was immediate: facing competition from Nissan and Mazda prototypes with less advanced development, the Cadillac DPi-V.R cars racked up victories. This is evidenced by their consecutive IMSA titles (2017, 2018) and their four consecutive wins at the 24 Hours of Daytona (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020). While their dominance fades over time due to increasingly sharpened competition, notably with the arrival of Acura in DPi, the beautiful American cars continue to compete at the front of the field until today.

An American car with Italian accents

As its name indicates, the new Cadillac prototype called « LMDh-V.R » will be designed in compliance with the technical regulations of the LMDh, the new top category of North American endurance racing from 2023. While the excellent work done by the ACO and IMSA will allow the LMDh cars to compete in the WEC from 2022 (and Hypercars to race in IMSA from 2023) thanks to the Balance of Performance (BoP), the design of such a car is different from that of a Hypercar. Indeed, just like it was the case for DPi cars from 2017 onwards, LMDh cars are based on an LMP2 chassis, while the hybrid system is standardized and common to all cars in the category.

Already this season, the Cadillac DPi-V.R #1 from Chip Ganassi Racing sports an almost official livery.

©Cadillac / Already this season, the Chip Ganassi Racing’s Cadillac DPi-V.R #1 sports an almost official livery.
In the case of Cadillac, the chosen chassis partner is Dallara. This is not surprising since the DPi-V.R was already based on the Dallara P217 from LMP2. In light of the results achieved by the partnership in IMSA in recent years, we can expect top-tier results in LMDh as well. The operation of the cars will be entrusted to the two teams that already proudly bear the colors of the Detroit-based manufacturer in DPi: Action Express Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing.

Can’t wait for 2023

With the official announcement of Cadillac’s arrival at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2023, the expected lineup of competitors in the top category is already making fans dream. In addition to Toyota and Glickenhaus, who are already committed this year in the WEC, Peugeot and By Kolles are expected to join the championship as early as 2022. For 2023, it seems that the manufacturers have coordinated as no fewer than 4 new brands will take on the greatest endurance race in the world: Porsche, Audi, Ferrari, and Cadillac. Acura and BMW may also decide to join the party with their LMDh prototype. The centenary edition is shaping up to be truly epic.

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