Le Mans is an evolving story. Quiet moments of contemplation and dreams of glory. Exhilaration powered by teamwork and execution. Emotion fueled by speed and competition.

Each will play out over 10 engaging days with the crescendo June 15. For 12 experienced and championship-winning drivers representing three Cadillac Racing teams and four Hypercars, the journey begins anew this weekend in western France.

Test Day on June 8 is the initial opportunity for drivers to stretch their legs on the 13.626-kilometer (8.467-mile) Circuit de la Sarthe. A pair of three-hour sessions is the allotment for the 21-car Hypercar field until they return three days later for the 90-minute qualifying practice.

The top 15 by lap time in that session advance to the June 12 dual Hyperpole – new for 2025 – in which the top 10 in the 20-minute first stage moves on to compete for the pole in the 15-minute second stage. Cadillac Racing qualified second and third in 2024.

“Test Day is important for us to make sure we understand what the Cadillac wants and doesn’t want for that track,” said Will Stevens, who will team with Alex Lynn and Norman Nato to drive the No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R. “We’re coming from a good foundation of what they’ve been using for the last few years. It’s just about us learning the car as quickly as we can and building going into race week because once you get to race week there’s only one session before qualifying. I feel we have good momentum on the team coming from Spa and looking to build on that with a good Test Day.”

Earl Bamber, Sebastien Bourdais and Jenson Button will share seat time in the No. 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R, which is the second full-season Cadillac Racing representative in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). The 93rd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is the fourth round of the campaign, offering double points to the top 10-finishing full-time competitors. The No. 12 entry finished fifth and the No. 38 car placed sixth in the most recent race at Spa-Francorchamps.

The No. 101 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R driven by Jordan Taylor, Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque and the No. 311 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R driven by Jack Aitken, Felipe Drugovich and Frederik Vesti are full-season IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship contenders entered to comprise the unprecedented four-car Cadillac Racing factory roster.

Bamber, who also is driving the Whelen Cadillac in eight of the nine IMSA races, will see seat time in the No. 311 as Aitken’s time will be limited to the morning session because of a DTM race commitment.

“With all the Cadillac teams working together, it is a real strength to us this year, and I think with that four-car attack it brings us that edge,” Bamber said.

What they’re saying

No. 101 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R

Ricky Taylor: “It's a big week for the whole team. We have a lot that we want to learn and get out of the team. Everybody on the team has so much to learn. It's so much to get accomplished in one short day. And if experience tells us anything, you always leave that day wanting more. The track is dirty and there's normally yellows and red flags, and the plan never works out like you think it will. But at least we kind of know that going into it. We'll accomplish as much as we can and learn before the big week comes around.”

Jordan Taylor: “For us, as a team going to Le Mans for the first time, getting a day before the race week starts is super valuable. Every lap is going to be important. We're going to be learning and gathering data. We’ll be trying to get as many laps as possible, just so in those days between Test Day and the race week the guys can kind of dig through data and understand what the car's doing and what the drivers are asking for. So, it's probably the most valuable data that we'll have because it's the most amount of track time. The track will be a little bit green because obviously no one's done any laps on it. But we’re going to be learning the car on that track and the team's going to be adjusting and learning what it's like to be there, so it's going to be an important day.”

Filipe Albuquerque: “Test Day is a relaxed day, but at the same time is a super important day. You need to straightaway do work, go through the drivers to get climatized to the track. I know Le Mans very well but, still, it's going to be with a different car. We have settings on the car to adjust through all the corners. It's 13 kilometers, so it's a lot of settings to be adjusting on these complex cars. I'm proud to be part of Cadillac Racing to be working with 11 other drivers and go forward and bring the fight to the other guys. Again, we don't want to be on a back foot on Test Day. We want to learn as much as we can and be more prepared as well for the race because, if you see the race week, you don't have so much time to drive because you have one session and then it’s straightaway working for Hyperpole. It's a long week, but it goes fast.”

No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R

Alex Lynn: “Test Day is a crucial day, but at the same time it’s the third year of the car and we have good knowledge of the car around this track. I have to say if there’s one track that is a benchmark for JOTA, it is Le Mans. I’ve raced against them many times in LMP2 and know how good they are there. I have a lot of faith that we’re going to hit the ground running. I know the car well. I know the track well, and I know both of them together as well. We’re going there with good experience and quietly confident and try to put it together. The atmosphere is going to be great and it’s always good fun.”

Norman Nato: “Most exciting week of the year for the 24 hours of Le Mans. First time in Le Mans as a Cadillac driver, we obviously have big expectations as we are a top team, and Le Mans is the main target. We’ve shown great pace on different occasions this season despite the fact we are a new team. Collaboration between JOTA Cadillac is going well but still early process. We’ve consistently improved first couple of races to be ready for Le Mans. Good preparation in the simulator before the test day where it will be important to take as much information as possible before the race week. We feel ready for this big challenge and can’t wait to hit the track.”

Will Stevens: “A lot of preparation has gone into the race already. Le Mans as a whole seems like there’s a lot of track time, but it always ends up being a lot less track time than you think. The Test Day is important for us to make sure we understand what the Cadillac wants and doesn’t want for that track. We’re coming from a good foundation of what they’ve been using for the last few years. It’s just about us learning the car as quickly as we can and building going into race week because once you get to race week there’s only one session before qualifying. I feel we have good momentum on the team coming from Spa and looking to build on that with a good Test Day.”

No. 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R

Earl Bamber: “I think we had a good Spa race and are going in the right direction. We scored our first points of the year as well, so to grab some points and fight back there was good to give us some momentum. Test Day is going to be a big one. It will be important to get Jenson a lot of laps in the Cadillac V-Series.R around there.”

Sebastien Bourdais: “I think Spa was a good rehearsal for the entire team with the 12 finishing fifth and the 38 finishing sixth. It was not straightforward; we dealt with the situations that were thrown at us. It felt like I raced and got in a bit of a groove. And I think we got some decent directions as well as far as setups are concerned with a car that I was a bit more used to last year. There will be an extensive test program on Test Day, so a lot of get done. If you manage to go through that day with a good rhythm, a good feel with the car and decent pace, then you set yourself up well for the big one. Looking forward to getting back on that awesome track and getting going with the program.”

Jenson Button: “I’m looking forward to returning to Le Mans with JOTA in the Cadillac Hypercar. The team has had great success at Le Mans in LMP2, and we’re quietly confident that the experience we collectively have at the track and with the car will benefit us. Test Day is important because of the limited track time before we move right into qualifying, so working through our program efficiently and effectively will go a long way in setting up the car for qualifying and the race. Le Mans always is a great atmosphere leading up to the race and then we get down to business.”

No. 311 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R

Jack Aitken: “Testing is very limited at Le Mans with the nature of it being a street circuit rather than a permanent track, so every lap really matters even if the track will be quite dirty. It's going to be very early in the week and there's going to be a lot of track evolution as the week goes on, so it's just to get our feet on the ground, hopefully have a strong start and get into improving the car early on. Laps are precious there and you want to build up a confidence as much as possible before you get to qualifying on Wednesday evening.”

Frederik Vesti: “First of all, Test Day is a really important day. It's a day where the driver is sort of starting to find that rhythm that you need to carry on into the race and through the race. Obviously, the track will be quite dirty. It's going to be just about track time and just to find the initial setup on the car as well. For me, obviously, I drove there last year in the LMP2 car, which is already a quick car, but the Cadillac is going to be a step up from there and there will be some track learning and car learning for sure. But I think the three races I've done with Cadillac so far has been really good preparation for Le Mans. It's a huge event, so excited to get started.”

Story courtesy of Cadillac Racing