The racing arm of the Cadillac brand of Detroit’s General Motor Co. announced its IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship program will expand to three Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) factory cars beginning with the start of the 2025 season.
Indianapolis-based Wayne Taylor Racing joins the Cadillac stable along with reigning IMSA GTP champion Action Express Racing to run three Cadillac V-Series.R race cars powered by the purpose-built Cadillac 5.5L DOHC V8 engine. Drivers will be announced in the future.
“Cadillac Racing is thrilled to run an expanded three-car factory program in the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship,” says Mark Reuss, president of GM. “Wayne Taylor Racing and Action Express Racing bring decades of proven racing and technical expertise, and we look forward to continued success on the track.”
GM Motorsports’ history with Wayne Taylor dates to 1990 when the South African native turned his first laps in the U.S. as a General Motors factory driver in a Chevrolet-powered GTP race car. His success as a driver and team owner has included racing with multiple GM brands including Chevrolet and Cadillac.
During its previous relationship with Cadillac (2017-2020), Wayne Taylor Racing won three Rolex 24 At Daytona titles (2017, 2019, 2020), two Petit Le Mans races (2018, 2020) and the Twelve Hours of Sebring event (2017). In 2017, the team set an unprecedented five-race win streak with the Cadillac DPi and went on to win the IMSA WeatherTech Driver and Manufacturer’s Championships.
“I am so glad to return to the Cadillac family,” says Wayne Taylor, team principal, whose team last raced for Cadillac in the 2020 IMSA season. “Having teamed with GM for so many years, with so many wins and championships, and having enjoyed such a fantastic relationship with them, this global program we have put together could not be more thrilling. We have exciting things coming and I look forward to discussing our commercial relationships in the coming months.”
Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing will run two Cadillac V-Series.Rs in the 2025 IMSA season.
Action Express Racing, the 2023 GTP team/driver champion and IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup team/driver champion with Cadillac Racing, will race in 2025 as Cadillac Whelen and will continue to run the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R in IMSA’s premier class.
Action Express Racing has had an alliance with GM since 2012 in IMSA, initially with the Corvette DP and Chevrolet 5.5L V8 engine and since 2017 with Cadillac Racing’s DPi and GTP programs.
“All of us at Action Express Racing are thrilled that Cadillac has chosen us again to represent their iconic brand,” says Gary Nelson, team manager at Action Express Racing. “I have worked closely with GM for my entire career in motorsports. We have always been impressed with the people we work with at Cadillac. We are excited to compete for wins and championships at the highest level of sports car racing in America.”
Cadillac Racing has earned nine manufacturer championships in sports car racing since 2005 and five IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup manufacturer championships with 69 total sports car victories, including 30 in IMSA prototype competition since 2017.
The Cadillac V-Series.R marks the third generation Cadillac prototype race car and first with an electric motor component. The car — co-developed by Cadillac Design, Cadillac Racing, and chassis constructor Dallara — incorporates key Cadillac V-Series production car design elements, such as vertical lighting and floating blades.