Cadillac Racing left Circuit of the Americas (COTA) satisfied but slightly bitter after a fourth-place finish in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) Hypercar class on September 1st, 2024.
The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R of Alex Lynn and Earl Bamber qualified third for the six-hour run in Austin, Texas, marking the fourth straight race for which the Caddy team earned a top-four starting position. Bamber took control of the race car for the first stint when near disaster struck.
Contact with the No. 35 Acura almost threw a wrench in Caddy’s day, dropping the No. 2 V-Series.R to seventh place in the Hypercar field. However, the team muscled its way back forward and became a contender for the lead in short order. Bamber and Lynn swapped places after every pit stop. It’s worth noting that they were the only dual-driver Hypercar team; the other 17 competitors in the division had at least three drivers sharing the seat.
With under an hour left, Lynn was at the controls of the No. 2 Cadillac Racing machine. He attempted to track down the No. 50 Ferrari AF Corse, the third-place car, but a late-race restart with just over a half hour of racing left neutralized the field and stalled Lynn’s bid for P3. Understandably, the team was a little disappointed in finishing fourth.
“Our goal was a podium at home,” Lynn said after the race. “That would have been our A-plus result. I think we came home with a solid A result. We finished only behind Ferrari and Toyota and we know they are very strong. To be P4 is a rally good day and we should be proud. It’s something to build upon 100 percent. We learn a lot and it was our first race where we could really work on the detail and dig into when we’re fighting for one-tenth every single lap what do I need in the car, etcetera. Just a solid day.”
Bamber agreed, saying, “I think it was a really good day. We managed to execute the race well and did the most we could. It would have been great to get P3, but we came home with a solid result. [Lap 1 incident] It wasn’t a huge bearing on the whole race. We were quite lucky. It could have been worse. We managed to survive, get a good, clean first stint and get through the rest. A solid result and I’m proud of everyone.”
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