Wayne Taylor “Grateful” for Cadillac Le Mans Entry

Photo: Mike Levitt/IMSA

Wayne Taylor said he feels “grateful” for his team to have secured an invite to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, as part of Cadillac’s expanded four-car Hypercar class effort in this year’s French endurance classic.

Confirmed with Monday’s release of the entry list for the 93rd edition of the race, Wayne Taylor Racing will field a Cadillac V-Series.R for Ricky and Jordan Taylor plus Filipe Albuquerque.

It will mark the team’s long-awaited debut in the race, although the elder Taylor, a previous class winner at Le Mans, last competed in the enduro as a driver in 2002, at the wheel of a Cadillac Northstar LMP02.

“It has always been our plan to go to Le Mans with a shot at the overall win,” said Taylor. “When I was there with Cadillac in 2002, I was driving and both my kids were with me as spectators.

“Now, 20 years later, they are driving for me with Cadillac. It is very exciting.

“Cadillac has built an amazing race car. This is such an important event and to be competitive you must arrive with everything in place.

“I believe we now have the car to beat.”

Taylor, who first revealed ambitions of contesting this year’s race in January, will do so with a single-car effort, compared to the team’s usual two-car IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship operation.

However, it will be part of a four-car Cadillac Hypercar effort that includes Hertz Team JOTA’s two full-season FIA World Endurance Championship entries as well as fellow WeatherTech Championship entrant Action Express Racing.

“With the combination of Cadillac and our team partners at JOTA and AXR, we have a really strong organization,” said Taylor. “We are grateful to gave a chance to compete at Le Mans.”

It will mark Cadillac’s largest effort at Le Mans since 2000, when it also fielded four cars in the top class.

Cadillac is the Hypercar manufacturer with the most confirmed entries in the race.

“We’re thrilled for Cadillac Racing to return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with four cars competing for the overall win in the Hypercar class,” said Cadillac global Vice President John Roth.

“After scoring our first podium finish at this iconic endurance race in 2023 and securing a top-ten finish last year, we look to build on that success and showcase the Cadillac V-Series.R’s technology, performance and innovation of our race teams once again.”