Entry list shows it’s a Caddy duo
Cadillac is pushing ahead with plans to run just two drivers in its solo Hypercar entry in the six-hour World Endurance Championship races this year. Earl Bamber and Alex Lynn will drive the Ganassi-run #2 Cadillac V-series.r LMDH as a duo in this month’s Imola 6 Hours.
Final confirmation of an arrangement that bucks the trend of running three drivers in all races in Hypercar, as well as in LMP1 before it, came on Tuesday with the publication of the entry list for the Italian WEC round on 21 April.
Team founder Chip Ganassi outlined at the Daytona 24 Hours IMSA Sportscar Championship season-opener in January an intent to run just two drivers in the Cadillac Racing WEC entry in the shorter races. He stated a desire on the part of the team to “keep it simple”.
Stephen Mitas, team principal of the German-based Ganassi WEC operation, later elaborated on the plan. “Over a sixhour race there are some performance benefits to be had,” he explained. “It’s more prep time through free practice, and then over the course of the race, two drivers is a performance gain.”
Cadillac has, however, remained non-committal. When Sebastien Bourdais was announced in the car for last month’s Qatar 1812Km WEC curtain-raiser, it said that he and full-season IMSA partner Renger van der Zande, as well as “select Chip Ganassi Racing team-mates”, would “complement” Bamber and Lynn through the season. It added that the team would “confirm the third driver ahead of certain endurance races”.
Cadillac subsequently announced that Indycar champion Alex Palou would be joining Bamber and Lynn in the vacant seat in the #2 car for the Le Mans 24 Hours WEC round in June.