New Zealand endurance racer Earl Bamber has today been confirmed to partner Alex Lynn and Richard Westbrook for Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) in the 2023 World Endurance Championship (WEC).
The trio will compete in the Hypercar class in a Cadillac V-LMDh over the full seven-race season, including at the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The announcement marks CGR’s return to the WEC, this time, however, for their maiden full-time season in the LMDh class. It also brings about Cadillac’s return to the WEC for the first time since 2002.
The role will see Bamber and Lynn run a reduced IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship capacity, only confirmed thus far for the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January as the series switches to the new Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) Hypercar class, identical to what is used in the WEC.
This means the WEC Cadillac V-LMDh will be able to run in select IMSA events should the WEC calendar permit.
In a release shared by CGR, Bamber shared his excitement of the announcement of re-joining the series and having another shot at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which he has won twice.
“The World Endurance Championships gives us the opportunity to race at the world’s biggest race, which is Le Mans, the crown jewel of sports car racing,” said Bamber.
“I’ve been lucky enough to win it before and it’s obviously a huge goal for Cadillac and everyone at Chip Ganassi Racing. To have that goal in sight is really exciting.”
Lynn, who himself is an enduro expert, is also thrilled to be competing on the world stage, and partnered with Bamber in the DPi class in IMSA in 2022.
“I think Earl and I work well together because we’re very close but also because we challenge each other,” said Lynn.
“Whether it’s on our driving, on the setup of the car, we push and ask a lot of each other, but at the same time, there’s a lot of respect. In a way, there’s a little bit of brotherly love which is great, and I think it’s needed in a successful sports car team. We’re thrilled to have Richard come on board and to continue growing a winning program.”
The announcement also coincided with an announcement from the WEC confirming the 2023 calendar, which gets underway in March with the 1000 Miles of Sebring.
Following the opening round, the series will head to Portimao and Spa-Francorchamps for six hour events in April before the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans on 10-11 June.
Six hour events will follow at Monza and Fuji in July and September respectively before the season-concluding 8 Hours of Bahrain takes place on November 4.
For the challenge on the 2023 IMSA GTP class, Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande will return for the outfit in an extended field which includes the addition of the new BMW and Porsche Hypercars.
The 2023 WEC also brings about the return of Porsche and Ferrari to the LMDh category, whilst Lamborghini, BMW and Alpine are all in development stages for an assault on the 2024 title.
The extended field brings about an exciting 2023 campaign, Bamber and fellow Kiwi Brendon Hartley among those gunning for overall glory.
