Cadillac Racing Achieves Key Development Goals with V-LMDh
All three competition V-LMDh race cars to be shown mid-January prior to the Rolex 24 at Daytona
2022-12-01
Cadillac Racing’s all-new V-LMDh — the brand’s first electrified race car — has passed crucial testing and development milestones ahead of its competition debut at the Rolex 24 at Daytona on Jan. 28.
Cadillac Racing has logged nearly 12,000 miles (19,000 km) in on-track testing since July 2022. That included a 24-hour test at Sebring International Raceway in a Chip Ganassi Racing-prepared car and a shorter prescribed endurance test with Action Express Racing.
It was an ideal testing environment for the grueling 24-hour races at Daytona and Le Mans, according to Cadillac Racing Program Manager Laura Wontrop Klauser. Data collection from race-equivalent stints, including night running, and validating durability on the bumpy 3.741-mile (6.020 km), 17-turn circuit were among the objectives.
“To complete that endurance test was extra motivation for our team and provided a sense of accomplishment,” said Klauser. “We still have a lot to do in a short time, but we are at the point where we are fine-tuning many things.”
The new V-LMDh will compete in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Both series’ schedules include dates at Sebring International Raceway, including the WEC season-opening 1000 Miles of Sebring on March 17 and the IMSA Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on March 18.
A Cadillac has won overall in IMSA at Sebring for the past four years, including a podium sweep in 2022.
Additional recent testing of the V-LMDh took place in October, immediately following the Petit Le Mans race at the 2.54-mile (4.09 km), 12-turn Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. Cadillac Racing Assistant Program Manager Kalvin Parker said testing on the same racetrack under similar ambient and track temperatures, and within 36 hours of the event’s checkered flag, was very beneficial.
“For the drivers to go directly from the DPi to the V-LMDh on the same track was very helpful for understanding the limits with the new race car,” Parker said. “They’ve been at a few tracks, where they can compare the differences in weight and differences in power. The growth the teams have made from the first couple of tests, in terms of their comfort level with the cars, has been dramatic, as they push the systems and their understanding of the car further.”
On Dec. 6-7, development will continue with a final test on Daytona’s 3.56-mile (5.7 km), 12-turn road course, during IMSA-sanctioned mandatory tests for all manufacturers participating in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s new Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class for 2023.
The final competition Cadillac V-LMDh race cars, including their liveries, will be revealed online at Cadillac.com in mid-January 2023, ahead of the Roar Before The Rolex 24 at Daytona.