24 Hours At The Motorsport Olympics: The inside story of Cadillac’s heartbreaking 2024 Le Mans

Rain swirls in at Arnage. The shower is heavy, and it could last anywhere from two to 15 minutes — a short but interminable period of time in the course of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Whatever you decide is a gamble. Stay out, and you risk sliding into the gravel if the rain is heavier than expected; come in for wet tires, and you’ll lose valuable track position preparing for a variable that never comes. The No. 311 Whelen Cadillac team rolls the dice: It decides to pit for wets, and to swap out Pipo Derani for Jack Aitken. The rookie will run his first laps at the Circuit de la Sarthe in intermediate conditions.

Two laps later, and the No. 311 is back in the pits again. The rain that swept over the 8.467-mile race course came, went, and has already dried. The No. 311’s gamble did not work — but that is the nature of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Full disclosure: I begged and pleaded with Cadillac to let me know if any slots were to open up on its press excursion to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. One blessedly did, and Caddy treated me to an immense trackside experience at the greatest endurance race in the world.

In the grand scheme of endurance racing, the current Cadillac program is very new. This current iteration debuted in 2023 and secured a frankly impressive podium position in its Le Mans Hypercar debut — but for as great as a third-place finish can be, it’s not the goal.

“We’re here to win this race, and that’s all we’re here to do,” Laura Wontrop Klauser, General Motors’ racing program manager, told me in the build-up to the 2024 race. “Le Mans is like the Olympics of motorsports, and to be here representing the USA is an honor beyond an honor. We’re here to show the world what we can do.”

With 2024 being the team’s second year contesting Le Mans, I asked Wontrop Klauser just how integral it is to have experience at this race — and her answer surprised me.

“It’s all about the little things — like knowing where to go,” she said. “We’re more familiar with how things work at Le Mans. We’re also just that much more familiar with the car now that we’ve spent a year and a half with it and have put it through three 24-hour races.

“We know kind of what’s going to happen when. We know how the tires will degrade, and how to change them. We know how to make strategy calls. Learning those things helps you feel that much more comfortable and confident. We’ve found our rhythm.”

On its surface, the Cadillac V-Series.R racer is the same as the vehicle that turned up to the Circuit de la Sarthe in 2023. Rather than enact a series of time-consuming redesigns, the GM outfit refined an already impressive formula with a series of minor adjustments.

Ahead of the event, I spoke to two of Cadillac’s returning drivers — Alex Lynn and Renger van der Zande — about exactly what those minor tweaks had been. Everyone had a slightly different answer, perhaps based on the issue that had bothered them most the year before.

According to Alex Lynn, one of the primary concerns rested in the field of software, “mainly in braking and the way we control the brakes.

“With the hybrid, we have a lot of tools this year to manipulate the car, and [updating the software] was one main way we evolved.”

Van der Zande also mentioned the software.

“There are all kinds of different tools on my dashboard that I can change the balance of the car with, and we get updates from engineering during each session,” he explained. “So sometimes, one button is doing one thing, and then it’s doing another. The updates [to software] have made the car that way better to drive.

“Last year, we struggled a lot with locking tires, too, and that’s gotten a lot better just from changes in our setup — mechanically, on the sprints and geometry of the car.

“Blend that in with the software, and you have a car that is very driveable. A big change from last year.”

But before there could be a race, there first had to be qualifying, and practice, and three other rounds of the 2024 World Endurance Championship season.

The Cadillac garage during Saturday night’s safety car is a much different place than it was just hours earlier. With pit stops out of the question for the next few laps, the crews of the Nos. 2, 3, and 311 all unwind in different ways. Some grab a much needed snack — a fragrant boat of hot french fries with a generous helping of mayonnaise — while others recline their chairs and close their eyes. Still others fit in a quick round of a phone game. More than a few pace back and forth, fiddle with their gloves, keep an anxious eye on timing and scoring.

As we wait for the safety car to clear out, I have a chance to stand at the lip of the No. 311 garage, watching the spitting rain grow heavier by the minute. Crew members from the No. 2 and 3 wheel a set of wet compound tires to the front of the garage; for the next few minutes, they’ll stand stacked alongside the dry compound. Will the rain ease before the safety car procedure comes to an end? Will the rain grow heavier, turning the track surface into a slip-and-slide before anyone can change to a more effective compound?

The Nos. 2 and 3 seem to have decided that wets are the way to go, and the crews slowly don their protective gear as the safety car period wheels over to its third stage. The No. 311 crew, however, remains at ease in their seats. Their driver will brave the eventual restart on slicks, so there’s no reason to spring into action.

At the 24 Hours of Le Mans, safety car periods can be perilously slow as race organizers cycle through four stages. In the first stage, the safety car arrives on track to neutralize the race until conditions are deemed safe again. In the second stage, overtaking is allowed for cars experiencing any emergencies, or that need to pit. In the third stage, cars re-organize in their proper race order. Then, finally, all the classes merge together, and the race can restart.

Race leader Fred Makowiecki has opted to remain on slicks, but track conditions have worsened. He creeps through dampened corners with a light touch, but even then, his Porsche still wobbles as he lays down the power. He holds his position, but only because some of the competition has quickly darted into pit lane.

Cadillac’s Nos. 2 and 3 are two such cars. They dart into the pit lane in rapid succession, trading in warm slicks for cold wets and hoping the rain will last just long enough to afford them critical track position. The race may not even be halfway over, but maintaining a strong pace now will pay off later, when the sun begins to rise and the attrition grows higher.

On tires ill suited to the condition, Fred Makowiecki’s Porsche tumbles down the running order. The Cadillacs, shod in treaded rubber, are able to carve closer to the lead.

More from Cadillac in endurance racing:

? Why Cadillac’s Le Mans experience proves it’s absolutely ready for F1

? What Cadillac’s new endurance racing partnership could mean for its Formula 1 program

An entry in WEC makes sense for Cadillac. As part of our Le Mans excursion, we were also invited to Cadillac City Paris, the brand’s new dealership-cum-boutique in the City of Lights.

Located directly across from the Paris Opera house, Cadillac City Paris is ideally located to get as many eyes on it as possible. Cross through its looming doors, and you’re greeted by a compact modernist showroom where you’re invited to explore both the Lyriq and the Optiq. If you decide you like what you see, you can climb a sweeping staircase to spec out your ideal Caddy — and yes, you’ll have a chance to lay your fingertips on samples of all interior materials to help your decision. If you need a moment to make your choice, you can peer out a wall of ornate glass windows while you think.

To call the location gorgeous would be an understatement, but looking good is only one minor part of the plan. See, it’s from this location that Cadillac hopes to take over the world.

The American luxury manufacturer knows its homegrown audience, but to be a true factor in the global marketplace, you can’t just sell cars in the United States. The introduction of electric vehicles like the Lyriq and the Optiq gave Cadillac a perfect opportunity to begin exploring the international marketplace — so why not set up some gorgeous flagship stores in cities like Paris to make those cars feel absolutely irresistible?

It was fitting that we would start our Le Mans adventure sipping champagne and gazing first at the evolution of Cadillac’s logos in its Parisian store, then out the window at the sculpted baroque architecture. The hybrid machines racing for 24 hours, Cadillac told us, have helped funnel technology directly into the street cars that you can buy right from that store.

“What we’re building here in Europe revolves around GM’s vision of a world with zero emissions, zero crashes, and zero congestion,” Alex Smedley, director of customer care and aftersales, told us. “We introduced Cadillac City in order to bring our products to life in an interactive way and in very strategic locations.

“We’re taking a very measured and deliberate approach with how we grow within this market.”

And that’s what these Cadillac City locations — the one in Paris, yes, but also the ones in Germany and Switzerland — hope to achieve. To transform the car buying experience into a luxurious one. To make it part of your vacation. To appeal even to the tourists on a budget walking by; the goal is for buyers around the world to see that Cadillac logo and associate it with luxury, worldliness, and satisfaction.

With Cadillacs racing all across Europe courtesy of the World Endurance Championship, it’s a good time to start building those connections.

During the nighttime hours, rain neutralizes the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The safety cars passing the field run out of fuel and need to be replaced. Race cars pit, cycle through, and regain position. Nothing major changes.

Then, within the final six hours, attrition comes for the Cadillacs.

First, it comes for the No. 3. The car slows to a stop on the track, and Scott Dixon manages to revive the powertrain after a few challenging efforts. Though he manages to make it to the pit lane, the damage is considerable; engineers pour oil into the reserves, only for it to pour back onto the floor of the garage. It’s a problem that cannot be fixed. The No. 3 is done.

Then, attrition comes for the No. 311. Pipo Derani loses control and crashes. The physical damage can be repaired, and the car is able to return to the track — but it will never be able to make up for the deficit. The No. 311 will finish the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans 31 laps behind the leader.

The clock ticks ever closer to the checkered flag. Earl Bamber leads in the No. 2 Cadillac, but there are no guarantees that lead will last for long.

Allow me to turn your clocks back to 1950. For the first time in racing history, two Cadillacs are entered in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Entrepreneur and yachtsman Briggs Cunningham has been racing internationally with two brothers named Miles and Sam Collier since 1930, but this is their first outing at Le Mans. The first Americans to enter the iconic event in 21 years will be racing Cadillacs.

Cunningham’s love of speed and his ample fortune made him something of a motorsport benefactor-turned-innovator. He’s able to purchase two 5.4-liter Cadillac Series 61 sedans for the race. The first retains its standard body with a few modifications made by Frick-Tappett Motors. This car, driven by the Collier brothers, earns the nickname “le Petit Pataud” from the French — the small puppy.

Its name perhaps derives less from its own particular look than from the way it looked compared to the machine Cunningham was prepared to drive.

See, Cunningham wanted to try something new. He was beginning to understand the importance of aerodynamics, so he stripped his Cadillac of its body and instead built his own, slowly refining it with help from the Grumman Aircraft wind tunnel.

The result is a massive, shocking barge of a machine that, aside from its bulky tank-like body, is entirely stock. Officials pore over the rulebook looking for any possible way to disallow the car, but Cunningham was careful. He had pored over the rulebook, too, and when he turns up in France, he knows his machine is completely, entirely legal

It also turns out to be fast — some 13 miles per hour faster than le Petit Pataud.

So absurd is Cunningham’s machine that the French nickname it “Le Monstre.” The monster.

An unflattering name, yes. But the crowd of petrol-mad locals loves Le Monstre, whooping and cheering as the V8-equipped American monstrosity thunders around the Circuit de la Sarthe. They go so far as to give it a standing ovation when it crosses the finish line.

What could have been. In the early part of the race, Le Monstre had wedged itself in a sandbank and needed to be dug out by hand. It crosses the line in 11th, one position behind the Colliers’ le Petit Pataud. The puppy leads the monster home.

And yet, it is the start of something incredible. It is the start of Cadillac’s sports car racing program.

As we stand at the Mulsanne corner, the most southerly point of the Circuit de la Sarthe, Oliver Gavin walks us through what he feels the No. 2 Cadillac will do as the race winds down. Earl Bamber leads the race, but he’ll have to pit soon. Gavin — a former racer turned Race Specialist tour guide with TKTKT years of experience racing at Le Mans — muses aloud that the team will likely also swap drivers. Bamber is the most experienced of the three, so it would make sense to preserve his energy for a final sprint to the end. Alex Lynn, being the second most experienced on the team, would be a sensible choice to man these critical hours thanks to his familiarity with the track. Le Mans rookie Alex Palou is an option, of course, but there’s a greater risk associated with his level of knowledge.

The No. 2 Cadillac disappears from the lead. Ferrari moves into first place. A seemingly interminable time later, the blue Caddy returns.

Alex Palou is behind the wheel.

He emerges from the pits with a one-second gap over the next closest car. Within a few laps, that gap is closer to 15 seconds. Palou is quicker than expected — much quicker.

“Quicker,” though, is not enough.

For hours, Palou plays chicken with the rest of the field. When he pits, he emerges in 10th place on the track. When the cars in front of him pit — they’re on a different strategy, after all — then Palou re-inherits the lead.

But as the hours tick down, rain begins falling once again, after Palou hands the No. 2 over to Alex Lynn. The initial stop for a driver change should have kept the No. 2 Cadillac dogging for the lead, but the rain neutralized that strategy as everyone had to stop for tires. Lynn can’t carve away the gap to the leaders, not in the rain. Palou is popped back behind the wheel to bring the car home across the line. Even that isn’t enough.

The No. 2 Cadillac finishes in seventh place overall, two minutes behind the race-winning Ferrari of Nicklas Nielsen, Miguel Molina, and Antonio Fuoco.

It isn’t an outright win, nor is it the podium finish the Cadillac team secured in its debut with the V-Series.R back in 2023.

However, it is something of a victory. The 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans was one of the most competitive in history, with a record-setting nine cars finishing the race on the lead lap. Cadillac proved time and again throughout the race that it has the pace to compete with the best that the World Endurance Championship has to offer, that its V-Series.R is a force to be reckoned with.

The current FIA regulatory set that made the V-Series.R possible will remain in effect until at least 2029. If its first two outings could be so successful — imagine the next five.

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