Cadillac delivered one of its strongest FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) weekends of the 2026 season at the Circuit of The Americas, combining a second-place finish for the #38 V-Series.R with several major off-track activations during its home Lone Star Le Mans event.
Jack Aitken, Sébastien Bourdais and Earl Bamber secured Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA’s best result of the season after remaining in contention throughout the six-hour race. Their runner-up finish followed a dramatic Hyperpole session in which Aitken matched Ferrari’s Antonio Giovinazzi to the thousandth of a second.
Away from the track, Cadillac also used its home WEC round to reveal the V-ONE Concept, a single-seat performance model drawing heavily from the V-Series.R race programme. Meanwhile, GM Motorsports delivered its ‘Driven to Explore’ STEM initiative for local high-school students, expanding the manufacturer’s presence beyond competition.
Bamber hails strong execution after COTA podium
Cadillac arrived in Texas with momentum after securing its first podium in 12 months at São Paulo before the summer break. The team maintained that form immediately at COTA, where Aitken put the #38 Cadillac on the front row during qualifying.
Aitken matched Giovinazzi’s pole time of 1m52.445s exactly, but the Ferrari driver secured the top position after setting the lap first. The result nevertheless placed Cadillac in a strong position for the race and underlined the progress the programme has made through the middle part of the season.
Bourdais, Bamber and Aitken remained in contention throughout the race, with Bamber producing a particularly strong defensive stint on older tyres. Despite losing ground through Virtual Safety Car timing, the trio repeatedly recovered before eventually finishing less than five seconds behind the winner.
“That was a really spectacular day, and it was great to get second place in our home race,” enthused Bamber. “I think the team executed perfectly; we were leading at one stage and we managed to fight back through a strategy disadvantage twice due to Virtual Safety Cars, so to come away with second, everyone is really happy.”
The result gave the #38 crew its best finish to date and strengthened Cadillac’s position in the championship standings as the American manufacturer continues building momentum during the second half of the season.
Cadillac praises team response after race setbacks
Cadillac Racing Programme Manager Keely Bosn also highlighted the team’s ability to remain competitive despite interruptions affecting the strategy.
The #38 had built an advantage at different stages of the race, but Safety Car and Virtual Safety Car periods repeatedly reduced those gains. Even so, the crew remained in the fight and eventually converted its pace into another podium.
“What a race and an incredible effort from the entire team,” echoed Bosn. “Our drivers fought hard to hold off the competition and maintain position throughout. An unfortunate bit of luck with the Safety Car erased the gap we had built, but the team stayed focused and recovered. I’m incredibly proud of everyone’s work. We never gave up, and the result is a great reminder to always fight until the very end.”
The result continued a clear improvement for Cadillac after a difficult opening part of the campaign. Following the podium in Brazil, another top-two finish at COTA gave the team consecutive strong results and consolidated Cadillac’s fourth position in the Manufacturers’ Championship.
Cadillac reveals V-ONE Concept at home WEC round
Cadillac also used the Lone Star Le Mans weekend to showcase a new performance concept inspired directly by its Hypercar programme.
The V-ONE Concept represents a collaboration between Cadillac Design, Cadillac Racing and Dallara and draws heavily from the engineering principles behind the V-Series.R. Cadillac designed the project to explore how racing technology could translate into a customer-focused, single-seat performance car.
The concept shares several technical foundations with the V-Series.R, including elements of its suspension, transmission, electronics and aerodynamics. Cadillac also equipped the V-ONE with a V8 hybrid powertrain producing a combined 830 horsepower.
While the concept does not simply replicate the race car, Cadillac has positioned it as a demonstration of how technology developed through endurance racing could influence future high-performance products.
“The Cadillac V-ONE Concept is the ultimate manifestation of a customer performance concept and is a clear sign of our ambition for the Cadillac V-Series brand in the future,” remarked Global Cadillac Executive Design Director, Dominic Najafi.
The unveiling therefore gave Cadillac another way to connect its WEC programme with its wider performance-car strategy during one of the manufacturer’s most important domestic motorsport weekends.
GM Motorsports expands STEM outreach at COTA
Cadillac’s off-track programme also extended into education through GM Motorsports’ ‘Driven to Explore’ initiative.
The two-day programme brought 78 ninth-grade students from nearby Del Valle High School into the WEC paddock through a partnership involving FIA WEC and the Austin Community College Make It Center.
Students completed several STEM-focused modules that connected classroom principles with motorsport applications. Activities covered areas including tyres, technical scrutineering, pit-stop execution, media and commercial planning.
Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA, Corvette Racing partner TF Sport and Michelin also contributed to the experience, while students gained access to garages and observed the race weekend from behind the scenes.
“At COTA, 78 local high school students stepped beyond the classroom to see first-hand how world-class engineers, technicians and business leaders apply STEM principles in a high-pressure racing environment,” commented Robert Binns, GM Motorsports K-12 STEM IMPACT Co-Lead.
The programme also challenged participants to apply what they had learned through practical motorsport scenarios rather than simply observing professionals at work.
“Working as a team, students were challenged to build a competitive car within a strict ruleset, execute a pit-stop and pitch a business and sponsorship plan to GM programme leadership. They also toured the garages to get an up-close look at the race cars and personnel before watching a live practice session.”
The activities gave students exposure not only to engineering but also to the operational and commercial roles required to run modern motorsport programmes.
Motorsport provides broader career pathway
GM Motorsports used the initiative to highlight the variety of careers available within racing beyond driving and traditional engineering roles.
For students attending from the local area, the programme offered direct access to personnel working across a world championship event while placing familiar academic subjects into a practical environment.
“It’s incredibly important for students to understand the role STEM can play in defining their future careers,” added fellow project Co-Lead, Kenna Edwards. “Motorsport presents a tremendous range of opportunities for young individuals, and ‘Driven to Explore’ allows them a window into what is possible.”
The initiative complemented Cadillac’s competitive and technical activities during the weekend and allowed the manufacturer to use its home WEC round as a platform for several different programmes.
Strong home weekend extends beyond race result
Cadillac ultimately left COTA with more than another podium.
The #38 V-Series.R confirmed the manufacturer’s improving competitiveness by fighting for victory and finishing second, while the V-ONE Concept demonstrated how Cadillac intends to connect its endurance-racing technology with future performance projects.
At the same time, the ‘Driven to Explore’ programme gave the manufacturer an opportunity to use the WEC paddock as an educational environment for students from the Austin area.
Together, those activities made Lone Star Le Mans one of Cadillac’s most significant weekends of the 2026 season so far, both competitively and away from the circuit.
