Cadillac has 'best shot' to claim first Le Mans win

A strong Test Day at the 24 Hours of Le Mans won’t tell the entire story of what’s to come in the 94th edition of the famous race, but Cadillac’s three Hypercar entries seem poised to build on last year’s pole position and perhaps take a step up from an incredible third-place finish in 2023.

It certainly validated the fearless optimism of Cadillac Racing program manager, Keely Bosn, who spoke with RACER ahead of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, the last stop before Le Mans.

“We very much are going into Le Mans ready to win the race,” said Bosn. “I think we have the best shot that we’ve had in a long time to be able to win it.

“We’re seeing the pace. We’re seeing the drivers are coming well-prepared. All of our people this year are very well-versed in what needs to happen to win that race. And we’ve made a lot of performance gains too, that we’re planning to take into Le Mans to really set us up for success.”

This year, Cadillac’s entry in Hypercar is bolstered by an at-large IMSA invitational entry from Cadillac WTR (Wayne Taylor Racing), to join the two Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA cars from WEC.

After a great first season that included three poles and a landmark 1-2 finish in Sao Paulo, Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA has so far struggled early in 2026. Neither of its two cars have finished better than eighth, the 6 Hours of Spa turned into a disappointment after both cars started inside the top five, and JOTA is still without 2025 Le Mans polesitter Alex Lynn who’s been sidelined with a neck injury.

Were it not for Detroit, WTR’s results may have looked as dire. Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque finished third to give the team its first podium of 2026. But WTR still hasn’t won with the V-Series.R since switching manufacturers from Acura to Cadillac, in the same time that JOTA switched from Porsche to Cadillac.

Jack Aitken and Earl Bamber are both contracted to Hertz Team JOTA, so bringing the band at Cadillac Whelen/Action Express Racing together for Le Mans would have been out of the question for 2026. But was there thought to a collaborative entry between WTR and Action Express for Le Mans?

“Definitely,” Bosn confirmed. “We kept all things on the table as potential.

“I think this year, showing up with the Wayne Taylor team, just having any third car in Le Mans is a benefit. So I think having their team there, having that continuous learning from last season and last Le Mans, they’re showing up even stronger this year.”

Wayne Taylor Racing grabbed a slice of glory with the fastest time during the first session during Sunday’s tests. By the end of the day, the No. 12 JOTA Cadillac was the third-fastest car between the two sessions, and the No. 101 WTR Cadillac’s best time in the morning was still fifth-fastest overall once the afternoon session had been completed. At least going into Wednesday’s on-track action, it asserts Cadillac as a favorite to contend at the front.

GM’s luxury marque can certainly hope improve upon last year’s somewhat disappointing results: A fourth and seventh-place finish for the two JOTA cars, and mechanical DNFs for both IMSA invitees, WTR and Action Express.

“I think the best part about Le Mans,” Bosn added, “it’s unpredictable, and it comes down to having the most reliable car, keeping that pace throughout the race, having no mistakes. And Le Mans, the most grueling and high-level of race that it can get to.

“There’s a lot that can go into that, a lot can go wrong – a lot can go very right. And so I think we all, as manufacturers, are looking for how do we show up best-prepared.”