Indianapolis win lays the groundwork for Whelen Cadillac rebound

Sunday’s win at Indianapolis for the Cadillac Whelen team was a much-needed boost near the end of what had been a very difficult season in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, one that could set the tempo for a stronger 2026 season.

Jack Aitken, Frederik Vesti, and Earl Bamber combined to lead 210 out of 243 laps run in the six-hour endurance race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, rewarding them after some near-misses with victory at Sebring and Watkins Glen earlier this year.

Aitken, who started and finished the race in the red No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R, said after a tiring race: “It’s a bit of a relief to get the first one under the belt for the year. I think we had a really awesome car today that was working well, also, in qualifying. We were a little bit fortunate that the No. 60 (Acura) had trouble in quali to take the pole, but I think with the number of laps that we led today, it shows how well we were working as a team.

“It was nice having the flexibility of three drivers,” he added, as one of only two teams using three drivers for the race – the other being the No. 93 Meyer Shank Racing Acura, which coincidentally, was the No. 31 Cadillac’s toughest challenger during the first half of the race. “It was quite a hard day out, with some extended runs of green.

“I think it was a really fun race at the end. Really tough, but a lot of fun, trying to hit the number and hold the track position at the same time.”

Aitken’s last IMSA win, and the last win for Action Express Racing, came at the 2023 Twelve Hours of Sebring, two and a half years ago.

Since then, he’s had to step up and become a team leader after Pipo Derani left Cadillac to pursue new challenges at Genesis for their upcoming top-class prototype effort, though two-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner and tenured Cadillac Racing driver Earl Bamber has stepped in for additional veteran expertise.

Just a week after Aitken endured a disastrous weekend in the DTM round at the Red Bull Ring, which included a last-lap accident in the first race of the Austrian double-header, he bounced back in a roller-coaster final hour at Indy which also included a two-lap sprint finish following an accident with 15 minutes left.

“The race had changed quite a bit in the last 15-20 minutes because of the No. 10 (Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac) coming through and offering a bit of support,” Aitken explained. “They changed through very quickly, and up to that time, I was in quite an intense battle both to hit a fuel number and also to keep first a BMW (No. 25) and then the (No. 60) Acura behind. That was taking a lot of energy and focus. And then to have another Caddy up there was quite a relief.

“But then it did turn into a bit of a shootout at the end, and fuel, then, was good to go for the end. We were going to make it, but it changed the dynamic into a bit of a last-lap shootout. And thankfully, everything went smoothly for the last two laps.

“Safety car restarts are something that we’ve done a lot of, so on that side, it wasn’t anything different,” he continued. “It was more about getting into the rhythm of full push and just trying to bring the car home. We were in a great position with Caddies 1-2, and we did just that, brought it home, and got a great result for Cadillac.”

Credit is also due to Vesti, the 2023 FIA Formula 2 Championship runner-up who diverted his career focus towards sports car racing last year, and joined Cadillac Whelen primarily for the Michelin Endurance Cup races.

After a tough start to his IMSA GTP career, crashing at Daytona due to a suspension failure coming through the final high-banked corner, Vesti feels like he’s finally comfortable in the world of multi-class racing, as demonstrated when he held back the No. 93 MSR Acura, then broke away near the end of his stints behind the wheel on Sunday.

“It’s fair to say it’s quite a shift coming from the formula ladder back in Europe,” Vesti said after his first career IMSA win. “I’ve raced there my whole career, and switching to prototypes is definitely a challenge. Probably more of a challenge than I actually expected.

“The longest race I’d done before I went into endurance was one hour, and now we’re just going on and on and on, which is cool. And obviously the traffic is probably the main thing. The IMSA traffic is something else. But I’m starting to enjoy it more and more and getting the hang of it. It’s amazing to get the win together with the team.”

Bamber’s last IMSA win before Sunday came at Sebring in 2022, in a Chip Ganassi Racing-run Cadillac DPi-V.R. After helping Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA complete a 1-2 finish in the WEC 6 Hours of São Paulo in July, he’s happy to have led a Cadillac 1-2 at home, and bring the Cadillac Whelen team its first win after a long drought.

“We had really high hopes for the start of the season. We’ve had a lot of quick cars, but it just hasn’t really rolled our way,” Bamber remarked. “We’ve been working day in and day out to try and get this win, so it’s really nice to be back on the top step of the podium.”

“We’d talked in the week that we’ve put ourselves in positions a lot this season to try and get a first win – and eventually, one day, the floodgates are going to open and it’s going to work.”

Bamber watched from the pit stand after getting out of the car, letting Aitken handle the last stints of the race. “I think Jack did an amazing job to hit the fuel numbers he did. That was incredible.

“But it was a real team effort: There’s people on the timing stand, there’s people back in the truck working out numbers, working out time. At the end of the day, it’s a big team sport.

“I think it’s great for the team, and I just have to thank everyone for the hard work in the background. There’s been a massive amount of stuff from Cadillac – updates through winter, throughout the season.

“And now, looking towards Petit (Le Mans), the last race of the season – and then obviously Daytona – we feel like we’re building really good momentum and a great foundation right now.”