Jota’s Cadillac contract was arguably the worst kept secret in recent years when it comes to sportscar racing. I mean we all knew months ahead of time that they were the favored choice to take over from Chip Ganassi Racing’s failed stint. That was a one car effort, but when JOTA debuted as Cadillac’s WEC service provider in 2025 it was looking to be brilliant.
Of course we’ve all seen Alex Lynn’s horrible moment as he ran into the back of the sister car, effectively taking both out of contention from a 1-2 position, that was certainly their lowest point last year.
But when you compare their debut campaign to that of Chip Ganassi’s two year stint, it becomes apparent how far up the field JOTA drove Cadillac last year. In 2024 Chip Ganassi’s Cadillac was comfortably down in seventh in the manufacturers standings, only beating the most half-hearted Lamborghini effort and the Isotta Fraschini.
In JOTA’s first year, Cadillac were fourth, and had crucially claimed their first win – and 1-2 finish at the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo.
All in all, I think their approach to this season should simply be – do it again.
And they have the drivers to do it. There is of course the loss of Jenson Button as the 2009 F1 Champ hangs up his racing gloves to spend time with his family. He was never really the fastest in the V-Series.R but was always a dependable driver, one you could count on for consistency. Button’s departure left a vacant slot filled by Jack Aitken – who will leave DTM as a result of his Cadillac commitments – to compete in both series full time this year. In WEC he’ll form part of an incredibly strong lineup in the #38, alongside Earl Bamber and Sebastian Bourdais, while he and Bamber will combine to contest another full IMSA campaign in the #31. Fred Vesti will also join them for select rounds stateside.
As for the rest of the lineups, the #12 remains unchanged, and while Alex Lynn, Norman Nato and Will Stevens may not attract the same attention to their names at first glance they were the crew to lead home that Cadillac 1-2, while Lynn also put the #12 on pole at Le Mans.
Over in IMSA it’s an unchanged lineup for the #10 and #40, with the former being comprised of Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque with Stevens joining for the three longest rounds at Daytona, Sebring and Petit Le Mans. The #40 meanwhile will see Ricky’s brother Jordan partner Louis Deletraz, while Colton Herta will also join them for Daytona, Sebring and Petit Le Mans as he spends 2026 attempting to gain his FIA Super License.
There’s also the intriguing case of one Connor Zilisch, who, at just 19 years old is set to compete at the 24 Hours of Daytona as the fourth driver of the #31 car. Whether or not a good showing here will lead to further opportunities, time will tell as he embarks on his debut season of the NASCAR Cup Series.
IMSA Manufacturers Championship Prediction:
2nd
While they’ll be strong, I don’t think they’ll be able to get it over the line despite their success so far in the series. Wins will be assured, but given how close IMSA can get it’s going to be difficult to bring the silverware home.
WEC Manufacturer’s Championship Prediction:
3rd
With Porsche gone, Cadillac can continue to assert themselves – though Toyota and Ferrari will still be ahead come seasons end. That’s not to say it won’t be close, this is a team that have a win or two up their sleeve as we’ve already seen. A strong second season beckons nonetheless.
thumbnail credit – Lukas Raich, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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