WTR's Cadillac homecoming is a force to be reckoned with

Wayne Taylor Racing means business in 2025 with its new-look Cadillac program in IMSA’s GTP class.

One year after upping the ante with Acura and HRC by adding a second car to its program, WTR packed its bags and signed a deal to return to General Motors. It was a big move, which is at the heart of Cadillac’s renewed push for glory in North America.

After a four-year partnership with Acura, this move promises to inject fresh energy into the Indiana-based team. Following a successful stint with the ARX-05, the team amassed just two race wins in two seasons with the ARX-06. They began craving change, and when the opportunity arose following Chip Ganassi Racing’s split with GM, they pounced.

For the start of this new chapter, Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing is bringing two cars and a set of star drivers to the field. The No. 10 sees Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque pair up for the campaign. The sister No. 40, meanwhile, will be steered by Louis Deletraz and Jordan Taylor throughout the year. JOTA WEC drivers Will Stevens and Alex Lynn (who pulled out of the Rolex 24 with a virus) are in for the long races and Toyota Hypercar drivers Brendon Hartley and Kamui Kobayashi add further firepower for Daytona.

“The team has always had a reputation of hiring some great drivers, especially for the long races. We’re lucky we have that attractive nature,” Ricky Taylor told RACER.

“People want to drive with WTR and because of the relationship between the three Cadillac teams, we wanted to share drivers. That’s why we’ve got Alex and Will.”

How long will it take for the team to hit its stride again? History tells us it won’t be long. Back in 2021 when WTR transitioned from Cadillac to Acura it won the Rolex 24 on debut with the ARX-05.

Testing opportunities were limited over the short off-season, though, and the level in GTP is sky-high these days, with 12 cars in for Daytona and Aston Martin set to make it 13 for Sebring.

Good news is that, while the V-Series.R may be new to the team, the car is a known quantity. It was the same situation back ’21 when WTR paired with Acura after Penske campaigned the ARX-05 for three seasons.

Caddilac’s V-Series.R is a proven winner, claiming the 2023 IMSA GTP titles with Action Express and received its first “joker” update in the form of an electronics upgrade ahead of the new season.

There’s also plenty of track time for the team to make use of in the build-up to the Rolex for WTR’s staff to play around with setup options and familiarize themselves with the car’s finer details.

“It’s all quite new, and considering it’s the same rules package for everybody, the different manufacturers have definitely gone about attacking the hybrid approach differently,” Taylor continues.

“The approach from GM, Cadillac and Dallara has always been to keep things simple, and I think that jumped out to me when I first drove the car. The Acura was nimble and agile, and that was by design with the smallest, lightest engine.

“But the Cadillac is simple; it does all the little things right and that’s what you need for endurance racing. We can already see why this car is good at every race track because, with every change you make to the setup, you feel it. It’s very adaptable.”

The toughest task may come on the human side, as WTR’s crews develop a working relationship again with everyone at Cadillac and chassis supplier Dallara.

“For us, it’s drag and drop in terms of staff, but from the factory side, it’s all changed so much from the DPi era,” Taylor, who last drove a Cadillac way back in 2017, explained. “Back then you would get an engine guy from GM, a performance guy from Dallara and that was pretty much the relationship between the team and those partners.

“Now it’s a combination of 100-plus people across the different companies, so it’s still a learning curve and, in some ways, it doesn’t feel like a homecoming, you feel like a stranger. It’s interesting to see how everything has evolved, as GM is putting more resources into this than ever.”

If it does take time for WTR to get up to speed, then Cadillac can turn to Action Express. The loyal Gary Nelson-led team remains part of the family with a single car and a head-turning line-up. Full-season driver Jack Aitken expects the two teams to work closely throughout the season, which should, in turn, also help WTR hit the ground running in the early part of 2025.

“We’re trying to make it all even more cooperative at Cadillac than it was before,” Aitken says. “That’s not necessarily because of the swap of Ganassi and Wayne Taylor, that’s just what Cadillac is always trying to foster. We are trying to increase data sharing, communication and our general understanding.

“It’s difficult because there are so many people involved, and it’s not easy to act cooperatively on the race track, but that’s the aim going forward. We are Cadillac teams and Cadillac drivers and the goal is for Cadillac to be on the top step above all else.

“We will see how it plays out when we start racing for real, but right now it feels very positive.”