When Cadillac’s new racecar is entered into the IMSA Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring event in March, it should be a cakewalk, because the team behind the car has already conducted a 24-hour test at the track in order to prepare the endurance racer for its first season of competition in 2023. The Cadillac V-LMDh is the brand’s entry into the top classes of both the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the FIA World Endurance Championship, and it revealed today that the car has logged nearly 12,000 miles (19,000 km) of on-track testing since July 2022. That includes the aforementioned 24-hour test at Sebring International Raceway in Florida with a Chip Ganassi Racing-prepared car, as well a shorter endurance test with an Action Express Racing-prepared car.
The point of both tests was to submit the
new racecar to the grueling conditions of the bumpy 3.741-mile (6.020 km) track
that has been a staple on the endurance racing calendar for decades. Data was
also collected from race-equivalent stints, which was important for the team.In
addition, the team was also able to test the V-LMDh at Michelin Raceway Road
Atlanta in October right after the Petit Le Mans race at the famed track.
According to the program’s assistant manager, Kalvin Parker, that test was very
helpful for the drivers, who had driven the competition event in Cadillac’s DPi
racecars.
Cadillac will finish its testing regimen
on December 6 and 7 at the Daytona International Speedway. That will be an
important test, because the Cadillac V-LMDh will make its competition debut at
the same track at the Rolex 24 at Daytona on January 28. The car’s final livery
will be revealed ahead of the event on the Cadillac V-Series Instagram account
in mid-January.
