WEC | Cadillac, another half-good weekend at Fuji

Another half-good weekend for Cadillac, who also ran into a series of incidents at the 6 Hours of Fuji that denied them a good result.

Yet the situation for the V-Series.R #2 had started very well in this penultimate event of the FIA ​​World Endurance Championship, with a good pace both on the flying lap and in race pace which was immediately exploited to the full by Alex Lynn, going on to score the first, historic, Hyperpole for the General Motors LMDh.

“It’s a great feeling. Honestly, we’ve been working really hard all year and I have to say this car is incredible on a single lap. We’ve been close so many times and I’m really proud to have finally done it. I still have nightmares about that night in Le Mans, missing out by a tenth, but nobody gives you anything here and if you can start at the front in these races, it’s a big advantage,” commented the Briton.

“The tyre preparation was crucial to get the most out of a single lap, while we are still trying to understand how to make it equally fast over several consecutive hours.”

At the start of the race, the blue LMDh with Dallara chassis got off to a very good start and in the first hours it fought for the lead against the #6 Porsche with Earl Bamber at the wheel, then it was up to Lynn to try to keep a slower pace to preserve the tyres for the finale.

But in the third hour, during Bamber’s second stint, contact with the #15 BMW caused the front right tyre to puncture and the Cadillac slipped to the rear, eventually even hitting the #91 Porsche during a hectic lapping phase, causing it to suffer a puncture.

The finale was even more disastrous, with Bamber trying to make up ground but going too wide at the ‘100R’ corner, hitting the dirt and ending up with a pendulum effect against the outside barriers, destroying the entire front end and the left wheel.

“The first stint went well and we were in the lead after a great start,” said Bamber. “I felt comfortable, but it’s a shame that at the end I lost grip and was a bit unlucky with the traffic.”

Lynn said after her first stint: “It went well. Unfortunately we got passed at the stops by the #6 Porsche so we spent the whole time behind it, trying to keep up with the other cars that stopped for new tyres under the Safety Car, which we managed to do as well.”

#2 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R: Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn

Photo credit: JEP / Motorsport Images

In the end, the positive note is that Bamber’s pace was around +0″3 from the winning Porsche and therefore deserving of a completely different result, but mistakes are paid dearly and this time the New Zealander is the architect of the team’s negative destiny in this unfortunate Japanese trip.

The good thing is still the Hyperpole and from there we can start again in the last stage in Bahrain, with the ‘Caddy’ that will have to try to at least climb back onto the podium.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the team and drivers for all the hard work they put into getting us to Hyperpole,” said Laura Wontrop Klauser, GM sportscar program manager.

Team Manager Stephen Mitas said: “Saturday was a wonderful result for the team, a long-awaited one. It’s been an interesting couple of years in which we’ve done everything we can to build on it and get it. Alex was exceptional, as was the team.”