Cadillac unveiled the paint schemes for the trio of V-LMDh cars that will make their the 61st Rolex 24 at Daytona debut in the new premier prototype class.
Each of Cadillac’s liveries in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener will represent a different primary color from the manufacturer’s V-Series emblem.
The No. 01 of Chip Ganassi Racing is gold, the No. 02 of Ganassi (which also will be running full time in the FIA World Endurance Championship as the No. 2) is blue, and the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Action Express car is red.
“Cadillac is ready to compete against the very best in North America and internationally, including one of the world’s toughest races, the 24 Hours of Le Mans,” global vice president of Cadillac Rory Harvey said in a release. “As Cadillac builds toward an all-electric future, the all-new V-LMDh furthers our dedication to exploring new advanced performance technologies.”
ROLEX 24 ENTRY LIST: Driver lineups for the 61st running of the sports car classic
The Cadillac V-LMDh design was co-developed by Cadillac Racing, Cadillac Design and Dallara through the Project GTP Hypercar.
“From an aesthetic point of view, the LMDh regulations allowed us to create a vision for the car that is clearly Cadillac,” Chris Mikalauskas, lead exterior creative designer for Cadillac, said in a release. “And that’s really exciting for fans and for people who are true enthusiasts, every car is unique.”
Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande will share Chip Ganassi Racing’s No. 01 Cadillac in IMSA’s new Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) category for the 2023 season. They will be joined at Daytona by six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon (who also has four victories in the Rolex 24).
The No. 31 Action Express Cadillac will be driven full time in IMSA by Pipo Derani and Alexander Sims, and the pair will be joined at endurance races by Jack Aitken.
After competing in the No. 02 at Daytona for Chip Ganassi Racing, the No. 2 will be driven by Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and Richard Westbrook in the FIA World Endurance Championship Series (including the 24 Hours of Le Mans).
Cadillac’s international racing presence eventually could grow beyond sports cars. In joining Michael Andretti’s Formula One ownership bid last week, General Motors announced intentions to race Cadillac in F1 if granted the opportunity.
During an IMSA news conference Wednesday with other GTP manufacturer execs, Harvey was asked whether the F1 project with Andretti would have an impact on Cadillac’s LMDh program.
“We’re super excited about that opportunity as well,” Harvey said. “The process is in the very early stages; we’re looking to submit an Expression of Interest (to the FIA, the governing body of F1). From our perspective, it will complement what we do in this series. We don’t see it impacting this series in any way.”
The 61st Rolex 24 at Daytona will take place Jan. 28-29 across NBC, USA Network and Peacock (which will carry flag-to-flag streaming of the event). Click here for how to watch the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 2023 IMSA season.
Courtesy of Cadillac Racing, here’s another look at each Cadillac livery for 2023:
