The 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans started with Cadillac Racing on the front row and full of promise, but Circuit de la Sarthe had other plans for the luxury marque’s motorsports arm. Battling plenty of adversity and a general lack of race pace, the Cadillac V-Series.R teams just couldn’t match Ferrari as its rival charged to the victory.
Both Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA teammates led the field to green for the day-long endurance race. The No. 12 V-Series.R, which was driven by Alex Lynn, Will Stevens, and Norman Nato. Stevens quickly fell victim to a Porsche competitor, who claimed the lead and began to gap the Caddy.
Earl Bamber, Sebastien Bourdais, and Jenson Button tag-teamed the No. 38 Cadillac Racing machine, and despite starting on the front row alongside their teammates, also struggled to pace the Porsche. The Team JOTA duo managed to hold onto second and third for a little while, but quickly began to fade. At one point, both entries were outside of the top 10.
In the closing hours, though, at least one Cadillac Racing team rallied back. The No. 12 V-Series.R managed to slice into fifth place at the very end of the race after a hard-fought 24 hours. Its sister, the No. 38 Caddy, wasn’t so lucky – a tire issue (and a handful of questionable on-track decisions by Bourdais) relegated the team to an eighth-place result.
Meanwhile, two Cadillac Racing teams didn’t even make it to the checkers. The No. 101 V-Series.R, fielded by Wayne Taylor Racing and driven by Ricky Taylor, Jordan Taylor, and Filipe Albuquerque, suffered an apparent blown engine. The incident forced the team’s early retirement. The No. 311 Cadillac Whelen entry, driven by Jack Aitken, Felipe Drugovich, and Frederik Vesti, also suffered a debilitating mechanical failure that also ended their race. They finished 20th and 21st in the Hypercar class, respectively.
The Hypercar class victory went to the No. 83 AF Course Ferrari.
Comments
It doesn’t have the top speed you absolutely need in endurance racing, you may have better cornering speeds but that becomes irrelevant as soon as traffic increases in the corners. You just can’t take advantage of that with so many cars in Le Mans. I hope Caddy fixes the top speed issue as soon as possible.
Sébastien Bourdais voiced sharp criticism of the Balance of Performance (BoP) at this year’s Le Mans, despite Cadillac securing pole position. He expressed deep skepticism about their chances of victory, citing a significant straight-line speed deficit as a critical obstacle. Bourdais suggested other teams might be sandbagging—concealing their true pace during qualifying—further complicating Cadillac’s prospects.
He argued that the BoP adjustments unfairly handicapped Cadillac, making a top-five finish their most realistic goal. This highlights a recurring issue with BoP: while intended to ensure fair competition, it can sometimes leave teams feeling constrained and disadvantaged.
Cadillac’s naturally aspirated GM V8 engines don’t need turbos to compete for a win. With low-end torque rivaling electric motors and the potential to produce over 1,000 horsepower with rock-solid reliability—proven by the monstrous Chevrolet GT1 engines—these powerplants are formidable. However, when Ferraris are hitting speeds 9 mph higher than Cadillac and Peugeot on the Mulsanne Straight while matching them in corners, it’s clear the BoP system is flawed. The FIA WEC must address these disparities to create a truly level playing field.
Add turbos and you might have a chance. I think there is a bit of sandbagging by others as well.
GM demonstrates that 100 years of making V8 engines can create one that lasts. Elephant 🐘 party Capitalism creates V8 engines that are designed to fail. GM always chooses the latter for fun, and in the belief that it leads to repeat business. Gone are the days that an Elephant 🐘 party product lasts. It’s kinda sad.
put down the joint dude. It seems you do not understand how BOP works
Are you dumb as a box of rocks, a filthy DemocRAT, or back on CRACK, Again?
Pontiac could have done better than Cadillac and Chevrolet at Lemans
gonna be a hard battle when they go to F1 Best get their sh3t together
As usual at LeMans ( happens almost every year) the Euros SANDBAG tremendously during qualifying so they keep getting away with their BOP advantage. Proven again this year !