Chip Ganassi Racing have today confirmed their lineup for this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans with New Zealander’s Scott Dixon and Earl Bamber among those named.
Bamber will take the helm of the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R with Alex Lynn and Richard Westbrook as the trio receive automatic entry as apart of their 2023 World Endurance Championship campaign.
Dixon will race No. 3 Cadillac V-Series.R with Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande.
Both drivers are competing in the same partnerships and in the same car as this year’s 24 at Daytona where Dixon finished third and Bamber fourth.
Cadillac will be competing in the Hypercar class for the first time and make their return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time since 2002 when they raced in the LMP class.
It’s Bamber’s seventh time having competed in the iconic race which has seen him claim outright honours in 2015 and 2017. He hasn’t raced in the Hypercar class since that last victory but has three GTE Pro outings with a highest result of third in class.
“We are all looking forward to Cadillac returning to Le Mans and challenging for the overall victory,” he said.
“It has been decades since an American manufacturer has achieved this and we will be strongly pushing to achieve our goal.”
Dixon has competed with CGR four times in the event when they were partnered with Ford. All four of these outings were in GTE Pro with a best result of third in class in 2016.
This will henceforth be Dixon’s first time racing in the Hypercar class in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The No.3 Cadillac is able to compete after IMSA and WEC made changes to their class structures over the summer. The North American championship changed from DPi class Hypercars to GTP which run similar specs to their European-based counterparts.
This meant the No.2 was able to compete in the 24 at Daytona before returning to Europe whilst the No.3 will make the trip to Le Mans before returning to the United States.
“It’s been special to be a part of this from the beginning,” Bamber said regarding Cadillac’s development of the new cars.
“We started this journey nearly two years ago testing in the simulator. It’s been an awesome journey and the adventure is only just beginning. It’s going to be incredible all the way up to Le Mans.”
The Hypercar class at this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans sees a massive 16 entrants, up from five last year. Cadillac are joined by Porsche, Toyota, Peugeot and Ferrari as manufacturers on the grid.
Action Express Racing have also confirmed entry of a Cadillac V-Series.R whilst Glickenhaus Racing will field two Glickenhaus 007 and Floyd Vanwall Racing Team will enter a Vanwall Vanderwell 680 (homologation and licensing depending).
Bamber will next be in action on March 17 in the 1000 Miles of Sebring which serves as the opening round of the World Endurance Championship.
Dixon has a lot less of a wait for his IndyCar season-opener which takes place this weekend on the Streets of St. Petersburg in Florida.
Header Image: Supplied
