Earl Bamber, Sebastien Bourdais, Alex Lynn and Renger van der Zande Each Completed Laps in the Brand’s LMDh Prototype
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Cadillac Racing drivers and officials came away from last week’s test at Sebring International Raceway pleased with the progress of the LMDh car that will compete in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship starting next season.
Earl Bamber, Sebastien Bourdais, Alex Lynn and Renger van der Zande – four Cadillac drivers from Chip Ganassi Racing who compete in the current Daytona Prototype international (DPi) class that will be succeeded by GTP after this year – participated in the five-day Cadillac and Porsche LMDh test that wrapped up Saturday in Sebring, Florida.
“It was a fantastic feeling driving the car down in Sebring,” said Lynn, who co-drove with Bamber and Neel Jani to the overall and DPi victory in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts in March. “We learned a lot over the course of the five-day test. The Cadillac V-8 sounds incredible, and it pulls extremely well.
“Looking forward to learning some more, but it was quite fun to drive, and we’ve got nothing but terrific signs at this point.”
Cadillac’s LMDh was codeveloped by Cadillac Design, Cadillac Racing and chassis constructor Dallara. It features styling elements of the brand’s heritage such as vertical lighting and floating blades that preview Cadillac’s future portfolio. The all-new Cadillac 5.5-liter, DOHC V-8 engine developed by GM’s Performance and Racing propulsion team based in Pontiac, Michigan, is paired to the hybrid powertrain system common for all LMDh entrants.
Kalvin Parker, Cadillac Racing assistant program manager, credited significant work by the team of engineers and the on-site support of energy recovery system suppliers Bosch and Williams for making the test a success.
“As we’re growing this complex system, we were able to lean on their expertise as well as our team’s expertise,” Parker said. “Getting the full support of our suppliers was key in getting in good miles.”
Bourdais, who along with van der Zande has won three DPi races this season, was thrilled to get behind the wheel of the new GTP car at Sebring as well.
“Discovering the new Cadillac LMDh at Sebring was a very exciting experience,” he said. “The car is not only beautiful but also a ton of fun to drive. It is still early days and we have not focused on the setup work, but the base is already very solid and I can’t wait to get behind the wheel again soon.”
“You can feel the energy in the team,” echoed co-driver van der Zande. “Everybody is very motivated to make this successful.”
Cadillac, Porsche, Acura and BMW are slated to enter the WeatherTech Championship GTP class in 2023, with Lamborghini joining a year later. The Rolex 24 At Daytona opens the ’23 season on Jan. 28-29.
