Hertz Team JOTA looking to put Cadillac's stamp on Spa

Last weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Laurin Heinrich’s late-race charge delivered JDC-Miller MotorSports an upset victory in the fourth round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, marking just the second-ever win for a customer Porsche 963 program.

The first came 722 days earlier, when Hertz Team JOTA claimed victory at the 2024 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps with its No. 12 Porsche driven by Will Stevens and Callum Ilott. It was a landmark win for the team, which now operates Cadillac’s factory FIA WEC effort and is looking to repeat that feat in the Ardennes for a second time in three years.

“I think it was obviously big for us,” Stevens, who has raced for JOTA since 2019, told RACER. “Looking back at the time we had with Porsche as a privateer, as a team, it was a big step coming into Hypercar and trying to compete against the manufacturers.

“We knew we could put up a fight against the manufacturers. We always had a good history in LMP2 with JOTA as a team to make good strategy calls, and we knew when we had the opportunity, we would be there to hopefully take it.

“I think getting that race win was big for us to prove to everyone that we were ready to take that step as a team, which ultimately then led into this program and the journey we’re on now with Cadillac.

“I’ve been at JOTA now for a long time, transitioned with them from LMP2 into privateer Hypercar, into a full factory program. It’s still a lot of the same people on that journey with me, so it’s been cool to see everyone progress and how much bigger the operation now is with the team working in close collaboration with Cadillac to ultimately try and build the best race cars we can build.”

Even before its 2024 victory, Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps was regarded as a strong track for JOTA Sport, which has also claimed a pair of LMP2 wins at the Belgian venue.

Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, by contrast, has not traditionally been a happy hunting ground for the British operation, making the strong pace shown by the Cadillac V-Series.R at this year’s season opener all the more encouraging.

That was especially true considering it was JOTA’s first race since the Cadillac received a significant offseason update to its aero and brakes, while the team also endured a disrupted preseason testing program.

“Different tracks have different philosophies in terms of setup and how teams go about their philosophies with race cars,” Stevens explained.

“Spa has always suited us, but I think as a team we’ve adapted very well to learning what tracks need, the characteristics you try and chase with the car, and where we find it.

“Imola was always one of our not-so-good tracks, but a few weeks ago we were very strong there in the race, so I think we’ve learned a lot as a team.”

The No. 12 V-Series.R was running fourth early in the race at Imola when a drive-through penalty for a yellow-flag infringement cost the crew critical track position, leaving Stevens and co-driver Norman Nato unable to recover.

“Obviously, the penalty cost us a lot, but we had a very strong start,” Stevens said.

“We were competing at the sharp end, and I think we would have come away with a very good result. But looking at the positives, with our new package this year, it’s very encouraging that we can perform like we did at Imola.

“We’re still learning a lot as we go. This circuit requires very different things from the car, so it’s going to be an interesting weekend for us to try and get on top of things. It’s good learning before Le Mans to have two very different circuits that require two very different things.”

Hertz Team JOTA won at Spa as a privateer Porsche team in 2024 (above). This weekend, they're trying to repeat the feat with a factory Cadillac. Getty Images

Stevens and Nato will be joined this weekend by Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing GTP driver Louis Delétraz, who will make his Hypercar debut. The other car, meanwhile, has Action Express standout Jack Aitken joining Sebastien Bourdais and Earl Bamber for the first time.

Delétraz takes over the seat usually occupied by Alex Lynn, who is sidelined for the opening rounds of this year’s championship while recovering from a procedure to address a neck issue.

Having raced the Cadillac V-Series.R in IMSA for the last year and a half, Delétraz is a natural fit to complete the No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA lineup at Spa.

“I’ve always said, I love WEC, I love Le Mans and I want to be here,” the 29-year-old said. “Ultimately, if I could do a double program or drive more in Hypercar, I really want to do it, so I’m really looking forward to it.

“I know the Cadillac very well from IMSA, so it’s not a big surprise. Will and Norman, we’ve been friends for a long time, so it’s all a very easy adaptation, and I’m happy if I can help while Alex is getting better.”

Although this marks Delétraz’s first race start with JOTA, he is already familiar with the team from previous competition in FIA WEC’s LMP2 ranks and, more recently, through Cadillac’s “One Cadillac” policy, which has encouraged collaboration between the manufacturer’s three factory-supported prototype teams over the past year.

“I’ve been really excited to work with JOTA,” Delétraz said.

“We had time to go to the sim, I was there just before Laguna Seca, prep a bit, and meet the guys. I know quite a lot of people from JOTA. I’ve worked with or against many of them before. We prepped it as well as we could.”

Despite this being Delétraz’s first FIA WEC race appearance since the 2023 8 Hours of Bahrain, he has few concerns about readjusting to the championship format thanks to his ongoing European Le Mans Series campaign with AO by TF.

“Adapting will be easy,” he said. “I’ve raced in ELMS for the past five years. Same rules, same style of racing, a bit shorter races, but I’m not too worried about that.”

With no championship pressure as a substitute driver, Delétraz made it clear his focus this weekend is helping Hertz Team JOTA challenge for a second Spa victory.

One major asset he brings to the No. 12 crew is experience gained during the opening IMSA races of the season, where he has already competed with the updated aero package and brakes, as well as the new-for-2026 tires.

“I’m here to race,” he said. “I’m here to fight for wins, and so is Cadillac and JOTA, so we’re going to push.

“I’m really enjoying driving the car. I think we’ve been quite strong lately in IMSA. I’m quite warm, I was just in the car last weekend, which is for sure an advantage, as is having already driven four races with these new tires when WEC has done only one, so it’s great that we’re sharing all of this.”

This weekend currently stands as a one-off appearance for Delétraz, although he admitted he would welcome additional opportunities should they arise. Could he become a backup option for 24 Hours of Le Mans if it turns out that Lynn isn't declared fit to race?

“It hasn’t been talked about, and my role is only Spa,” he said. “Being able to spend Spa with JOTA, it would make sense if Alex is not available, but it has not been set yet.”