Aitken mastering balancing act in GTP title chase

Back-to-back wins on the streets of Detroit and the Watkins Glen International circuit. Podium finishes in every race. Three pole positions. And with three races remaining, a mammoth GTP championship points lead which can’t be overturned no matter how Sunday’s race at Road America turns out, good or bad.

Each of these stats illustrates just how great Cadillac Whelen (or Action Express Racing as it’s otherwise known) has been in IMSA throughout 2026. And at the forefront of it all is fourth-year Cadillac works driver Jack Aitken, who finds himself closing in on his first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship title.

“It would obviously be fantastic,” Aitken said, in the build-up to the Motul Endurance SportsCar Grand Prix on Sunday. “Because to when any championship of that scale... IMSA is, I think, right up there in the racing world, not just in the endurance or sports car world. And it’s a championship that I enjoy racing with, that would mean a lot as well.

“I would be over the moon if we can do it, and very proud of what we’ve achieved. But I will still be very proud, even if we don’t do it!”

Led by Aitken, Earl Bamber, and Michelin Endurance Cup specialist Frederik Vesti, the No.31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R has been the class of the Cadillac Racing prototype fleet this year, constantly maximizing the potential of the improved V-Series.R with its 2026 Evo package.

“Obviously, we’re in a pretty good groove at the moment as a team,” Aitken continued. “I think we’ve had some good progress this year with the Evo update on the Cadillacs as well. It was a lot of hard work in the off-season to get that ready, and doing what we wanted it to do, and that’s helped.”

Along with co-drivers Bamber and Vesti (with a Rolex 24 assist from Connor Zilisch), the No.31 Cadillac has not only finished on the podium in every race this year, but the eight-race podium streak for the team and its drivers goes all the way back to last year’s Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the Cadillac Whelen team took its first of back-to-back wins to close out 2025.

Those wins pushed Aitken up from eighth to second in the IMSA GTP Drivers’ championship, and he’s well-positioned to do one better.

Throughout 2026, Aitken has performed brilliantly – both for Action Express in IMSA, and for Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Taking on a dual program for Cadillac this year, with the benefits of additional race and track time, have been a great benefit for him, as it’s been for Bamber since last year.

“It’s been massively helpful, because at the end of the day, it gives me and Earl something that you can’t really get these days, which is more track time,” Aitken said. 

“I feel like it’s taken my driving to another level this year. I saw the same with Earl when he partnered with us for the first time last year; he was driving extremely well. 

Aitken is reaping the benefits of the extra seat time that comes with doing double duty for Cadillac in IMSA and the WEC (above). James Moy/Getty Images

“And he brings a lot of knowledge outside the car that was very helpful and helped to align a lot of the teams. Helping everyone on the Cadillac program to centralize all of that and pick the best of the bunch is really important for the progression of the program, I think. More track time is never a bad thing, and I do feel like I’ve benefited from it."

With time and experience, Aitken has also gained a new perspective on how to personally evaluate success.

“You can only do what’s in your control, and I’m taking more and more pleasure these days from doing those things well,” he said.

“That means that you don’t take the DNFs or the bad results quite as hard, when you feel like you’ve done your job. But it also means that when you win, you’re a bit more circumspect about it.”

If there were any doubts or reservations about whether Aitken could step up his game after Pipo Derani left Cadillac Whelen for Genesis after 2024 – that somehow weren’t resolved after he and the team had their great run to end 2025 – Aitken has answered them all as the year has gone on. 

He drove brilliantly at Le Mans this year, and along with the crew of the No.38 JOTA Cadillac, were bitterly unlucky not to challenge for the victory late in the race due to a mechanical failure. 

On the IMSA side, Aitken is at peace knowing that this weekend’s race could be the one which ends the streak, so long as at the end of it all, he and the Action Express team will put together the results needed to take the title from Porsche Penske Motorsport after a two-year reign. 

“I don’t think we are in a position where we’re really desperately trying to hold on to a streak,” he said. “It’s a great thing to have, but the reality is, we’re coming into every weekend trying to do the best job we can.

“Part of that (streak) is down to fortune and a bit of good luck here and there. There are definitely times where we probably shouldn’t have finished on the podium or been on the top step, and we somehow managed it. I believe in balancing, that the stuff all balances out in the long run…so I’ll probably have some bad luck at some point!”

“The streak will end at some point. I don’t know if it’ll be this weekend, with a hat trick of fourth places, or if we can keep it going even longer. But we feel good – and just want to keep enjoying it. 

“We’re working well – why would we change anything at the moment?”