"We've built something special": Cadillac Whelen triumphs with Petit Le Mans Victory

The No.31 Action Express Racing crew celebrating their Petit Le Mans victory | Credit: Dominic Loyer

After winning the penultimate race, the Battle of the Bricks, a few weeks ago, Cadillac ended the 2025 IMSA SportsCar Championship in style with the No.31 Cadillac Whelen winning the Petit Le Mans thriller.

The pieces fell in line for the No.31 crew after they went fastest in both daylight free practice sessions. They lined up behind the No.60 Acura on the front row courtesy of Jack Aitken during qualifying.

During the opening of the race, Aitken had a close tab on Tom Blomqvist in the pole-sitting Acura through the first two stints. The 30-year-old successfully moved to the lead early in the third hour.

Earl Bamber took over the red V-Series.R from Aitken afterwards, but the New Zealander suffered a misfortune. A puncture halted the No.31's progress, but what happened next would be one for the history books.

The No.31 car angrily charged its way through the 12-car Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) field and regained the lead around the six-hour mark, with Frederik Vesti claiming the fastest lap of the race on Lap 258.

They managed to regain control of the situation from this point, save for a forced fuel stop that cut their comfortable lead to less than a second. This small lead, however, was secure because their main rivals still needed a late refuel.

Bamber took the chequered flag for Cadillac Whelen ahead of the No.23 Aston Martin Valkyrie from the Heart of Racing Team, and the GTP championship-winning No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport.

The victory was Cadillac's 33rd since joining IMSA's prototype class in 2017, its sixth win in the GTP class, and its fifth victory in Petit Le Mans.

Cadillac Whelen drivers react to Petit Le Mans win

Aitken, who finished second in the GTP Drivers' Championship, said the victory showcased the depth of the team and their collective confidence to win.

"The way Earl finished, the way Fred came in and held the lead, it shows the depth that we have in the team.

"We're really confident, and we all put in great stints today. All [team members] did a huge job to hold off the competition and manage the strategy, manage the fuel, and the Whelen Cadillac was on fire today.

"We were able to lead, and that was the game plan coming into today, to do it just like at Indy. So, I'm really pleased that we finished the year in such an awesome way and rolled into 2026."

The No.31 car during FP1 at Road Atlanta | Credit: Dominic Loyer

Bamber agreed with Aitken's statement, saying any of the Cadillac Whelen drivers can do it, night in and night out. The 35-year-old believed they could have won more races this season, but was pleased to take two from the prestigious races on the calendar, Indianapolis and Road Atlanta.

"Any one of us could have done it, [at] any stint of the day.

"It shows the strength of the team. It shows what we set out to do at the beginning of the year with Whelen Cadillac: to build something really special. And I think that we've done [that] this season. We could have won a couple more races, [we] came close, were in position, but we'll definitely take two [wins] of the biggest [races] of the season.

"The guys are fantastic in the pit lane, the cars are amazingly quick at Cadillac, so it makes our job easy on track. I think we're building up something special here, and now we're just looking forward to what comes next."

Vesti completed his debut IMSA season, and the Danish driver was extremely proud of the team. The 23-year-old said that they have grown a lot together from the start of the season and felt that it was incredible to win the Petit Le Mans.

"Just extremely proud of this team.

"We joined forces at the beginning of this year, and we didn't have the easiest start to the championship. But the way we've grown together, the way we've been working together really shows, and we deserve it so much.

"Winning Indy was big, but now winning Petit, one of the most historical races in the endurance world, that's incredible. Very proud of everyone."

With the 2025 IMSA SportsCar Championship officially concluded, the provisional result shows Cadillac finishing third in the GTP Manufacturers' Championship with 3069 points, and the No.31 car in second in the GTP Teams' Championship with 2720 points.