The 24 Hours of Le Mans entry list for 2023 will feature eight cars with American ties that will compete for the overall victory as the “Ford vs. Ferrari” era returns to the world’s biggest sports car race June 10-11.
Cadillac will have three Le Mans entries with its V-Series.R cars, two of which race full time in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s Grand Touring Prototype class. They will compete for the overall victory in the Hypercar class, along with the Porsche 963s of Porsche Penske Motorsport.
Iconic team owner Roger Penske, whose teams have won 18 Indy 500s and three Daytona 500s, is trying to win the Le Mans overall for the first time. This year will be the 100th running of the marquee event at Circuit de la Sarthe.
Glickenhaus Racing, a U.S.-based high-performance automotive company that has competed in the World Endurance Championship and raced Le Mans in 2021, also has two prototype entries in the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year.
IMSA’s premier prototype division was been overhauled this season with the introduction of the rebranded GTP class of Le Mans Daytona hybrid (LMDh) cars that can cross over to the premier Hypercar category of the World Endurance Championship (the sports car series that includes the 24 Hours of Le Mans).
LE MANS ENTRY LIST: Click here for the cars racing in France this June
For the first time in a few decades (and harkening back to the 1960s heyday chronicled in the “Ford vs. Ferrari” movie), the GTP category’s LMDh cars will allow the same team and car to win the overall crowns at Daytona and Le Mans (though Meyer Shank Racing’s Acura, the 2023 Rolex 24 overall winner, won’t be racing at Le Mans this year).
The Cadillac Racing lineup will include Chip Ganassi Racing’s No. 2 (drivers Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and Richard Westbrook) and No. 3 (drivers Sébastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande and Scott Dixon for an entry that’s No. 01 in IMSA). The Whelen Engineering Action Express No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R, which also competes full time in IMSA, will be driven by Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims and Jack Aitken.
“Cadillac is excited to build on its racing legacy by competing against the very best internationally and at one of the world’s toughest races,” GM sports car racing program manager Laura Wontrop Klauser said in a release. “We’re proud to be representing the United States and the Cadillac V-Series.R is a great continuation of our racing heritage.”
Cadillac made its Le Mans debut in 1950 with privateers Briggs Cunningham and Miles and Sam Collier driving Series 61 coupes cars powered by the Cadillac 5.4-liter OHV V-8 engine. Cadillac competed in the LMP division of Le Mans in 2000-02 with a 4.0-liter turbocharged V8-powered Northstar.
Penske Porsche Motorsport will be represented by the No. 5 (drivers Dane Cameron, Michael Christensen and Frédéric Makowiecki), the No. 6 (Kévin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor and André Lotterer) and the No. 75 (Felipe Nasr and two TBA teammates).
There also are two more entries from IMSA for winners of contingency awards -- the No. 13 of John Farano and Tower Motorsports in LMP2 (for the Jim Trueman Award) and the No. 16 of Ryan Hardwick and Proton Competition (for the Bob Akin Award) in LMGTE Am.
The Le Mans entry list also confirmed the Garage 56 slot for the Next Gen Camaro being prepared by Hendrick Motorsports and NASCAR.
A legendary number for a legendary event.
— NASCARG56 (@nascarg56) February 27, 2023
The #NextGenG56 will be running the No. 24 at this year’s @24hoursoflemans! pic.twitter.com/ZIZqIoduIF