Le Mans results “Disappointing” say Cadillac drivers
- Jack MacKenzie
- 1 hour ago
- 4 min read
Cadillac drivers from both Hertz Team JOTA and Wayne Taylor Racing have described their results at the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans as “disappointing” but recognised the American brand’s improved performance at the French endurance classic compared to previous years
The No.12 Hertz Team JOTA entry — driven by Will Stevens, Louis Delétraz, and Norman Nato — was the best-placed finisher among the Cadillac’s three-pronged assault at Circuit de la Sarthe in fourth position and had actually led the race at several points, but fell short of the brand’s second Le Mans podium by less than 12 seconds.
Meanwhile, the No.38 JOTA-run sister car — driven by Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber, and Sébastien Bourdais — retired following power steering issue while the No.101 Wayne Taylor Racing (WTR) entry — helmed by brothers Ricky and Jordan Taylor, and Filipe Albuquerque — came home in ninth.
Having had a realistic shot at victory in the No.12, both Stevens and Delétraz described the trophyless result as disappointing, but have each vowed to return stronger next year.
“It’s pretty disappointing to come away with fourth place. I think, honestly, we deserved more than that. With the pace we showed we should have been on the podium at least. But we were more in the mix than last year, which is a positive. But coming here we had higher hopes than the result we ended up with, so we can’t help but be disappointed. But we’ll come back again next year stronger,” said Stevens in a recent media release.
”First of all, a huge thank you to Cadillac Racing and JOTA, all the crew, mechanics, engineers, for the hard work these last ten days. Obviously, it's a great result, but after leading so much of the race and being up front the whole week, it's still disappointing for sure,” Delétraz said.
“But I think we did the maximum we could, the circumstances made it that way. We came here to fight for a win, we never gave up, and we'll be back for more because we are hungry to win this race.”
Norman Nato reflected on the team’s progress, pointing to the V-Series.R’s improved top speed, as well as the No.12’s battles against BMW, Toyota, and the No.38 sister car.
“We knew coming into this week that we were going to be in a good position. The team has worked very hard and made some big improvements to the car compared to last year.”
“We have the top speed we were missing before, and overall, the package is a step forward. I’ve really enjoyed these 24 Hours. We’ve had some great battles out there with the BMW, the sister car and the Toyota, and that’s what we like. For the team and for the fans, it’s amazing to be in this position with a chance to fight for the win.”
WTR driver Jordan Taylor also described the No.101’s finishing position as “disappointing” but pointed to the valuable learnings that the American squad has been able to draw from the event as a positive.
“I think the result is a little disappointing, but I think there's a lot of positives that we can take away from the whole week in Le Mans. I think, last year, our first year, we struggled a lot, just on pace, and obviously a lot to learn, and this year, we came back with a lot of knowledge, and I felt like we were really prepared for the event,” he said.
“We showed great speed the whole time, which was really exciting, you know, fighting at the front, and every practice, and every qualifying was exciting for the team, and for Cadillac. So, yeah, the race itself, we were kind of put on the back foot early with a poorly timed, full course yellow and then a couple of penalties in the morning, which took us off the lead lap for that safety car.”
“So, unfortunate, but, yeah, good experience for everyone. I think we learned a lot that we can take back to the IMSA side and, you know, hopefully close out the IMSA side with some good results for Cadillac.”
While the No.38 sister car failed to see the checkered flag – having also led the race prior to its technical issues – Sébastien Bourdais and Jack Aitken say the team’s pace was otherwise very strong.
“As we all know, Le Mans can be really cruel. We did everything we could and gave ourselves a chance. So big thanks to GM, JOTA and Cadillac and everybody involved. We had the car to win and the race decided otherwise so it’s a tough one to swallow, but that’s racing,” said Bourdais.
“A very sad way to end the weekend after such a strong event for us. It was looking really good. We led the race at various times and were quick. We were really in the fight with the rest of the field, but this is the race that brings out all the small weaknesses in a car and in the end, the power steering issue was not something you could really continue with,” Aitken said.
“We tried everything we could to get the car back out, but we eventually decided against running the car. Really gutting for everyone on the 38 side, but as a team I think we can still be very proud of what we’ve achieved this year.”
While the race results fell short of expectations in the eyes of some its driver roster, Cadillac Racing’s Chief Engineer Jeromy Moore was ultimately happy with how the brand performed.
“I think overall we were pretty happy with our performance. We brought a competitive car to the battle and certainly had a chance to win it,” he said.
“But as always you don't get selected to win Le Mans, Le Mans selects you. The guys performed well in the car, the crew and the staff, they did an amazing job.
“The competition was strong as always. I’m just happy that we could put up a fight for so long, almost down to the wire. So pretty happy, exhausted as always, but we'll look forward to coming back even stronger next year.”
Cadillac’s first and only Le Mans podium came in 2023 when the Chip Ganassai Racing-run No.2 – driven by Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn, and Richard Westbrook – finished third.
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