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Cadillac confirms 2026 GTP drivers

Cadillac Racing has announced its drivers for the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the Michelin Endurance Cup. The manufacturer confirmed that all six of its full-time IMSA drivers will return for 2026, the Cadillac V-Series.R’s fourth season in the IMSA GTP class.

Jack Aitken and Earl Bamber remain at Cadillac Whelen (Action Express Racing) for the 2026 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, while Frederik Vesti will reprise his role as the team’s Endurance Cup driver, running in all five long-distance rounds.

Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing will also keep its two full-season line-ups together for 2026: Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque in the No. 10 car, and Jordan Taylor and Louis Delétraz in the No. 40. Will Stevens will also return as the No. 10 WTR Cadillac’s Endurance Cup driver for the three longest races of the season, at Daytona, Sebring and Petit Le Mans.

The only change is Cadillac Formula 1 test driver Colton Herta, who will return to WTR to run Daytona, Sebring and Petit Le Mans in the No. 40 Cadillac V-Series.R.

Herta is set to embark on his first season in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, driving for Hitech Grand Prix as part of a Formula 1 trajectory program for Cadillac. While pursuing the chance to race in Formula 1 in the near future, the 25-year-old nine-time IndyCar Series race winner will also return to the top class of IMSA, and drive the 5.5-liter, V8-powered Cadillac for the first time.

“Super excited to join Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing for the endurance rounds next year,” said Herta, who won the 2024 Sebring 12 Hours alongside the younger Taylor brother and Delétraz behind the wheel of an Acura ARX-06. “We had some success last time I was with the team, and I hope to continue that.

“Jordan and Louis are some of the best drivers in the business, and it’s a pleasure to join them on this adventure. I can’t wait to get behind the wheel of the Cadillac’s naturally aspirated engine. Daytona can’t come soon enough.”

Aitken, Bamber and Vesti closed out 2026 with back-to-back wins at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. These consecutive wins powered Aitken to second in the 2025 GTP drivers’ championship, and Cadillac Whelen to second in the GTP teams’ championship.

“It’s a really nice mix of personalities and roles,” Aitken said about his Cadillac Whelen colleagues. “It’s always important that when you have a lineup of two guys for the sprint and three for the endurance set that everyone has their place. Earl has such a wealth of experience that really goes beyond his seasons and the endurance paddock. You’d think he’d been around for decades with the amount of knowledge that he’s picked up. That’s very valuable to both of us (Aitken and Vesti) as drivers and to the program.

“And Fred, of course, he is bringing a lot of talent to that endurance role where he’s sort of following the same path that I was in building up an experience in this new discipline of racing for him and helping us to win races. So, it’s been a really good year. It’s fantastic that we’re going to carry on that into next year, and the team is comfortable with us. We’re comfortable with them. We all know what we’re doing and how to do it, and it’ll be much more about just going out and executing next year, which will be nice.”

Aitken, Bamber and Vesti did the “victory lift” at Indy as part of their fast finish to 2025. Geoff Miller/IMSA

Gary Nelson, general manager of Action Express Racing, added: “We are thrilled to have our drivers, Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber and Fredrick Vesti, returning for 2026. Over the past couple of years, we have enjoyed watching them drive at a very high level in every race. Unfortunately, many times, in the early events of 2025, we did not get the results they deserved.

“We saw all along how well Jack, Earl, and Fred were working together and how fast they were. We just seemed to not get the trophies they deserved. That all changed for the final two events, Indy and Atlanta. Everything came together and we brought home the trophies. With our team ending 2025 with wins at the final two events, in 2026, we expect to pick up where we left off.”

Meanwhile, after four podiums – but no trips to the top step between its two GTP cars – Wayne Taylor is hopeful for a turnaround in the team’s second year running the V-Series.R, using the lessons learned from their difficult 2025 season.

“I’m excited to get going for next year. It will be our second year with the Cadillac V-Series.R, and we have learned so much this year,” he said.

“Having the same drivers for the full season and Will Stevens in the No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing for the IMEC rounds brings great continuity to our program. We are delighted that Colton Herta can join Jordan and Louis in the No. 40 Cadillac WTR V-Series.R for the endurance events. The trio has been a great match and had great success working together in 2024. Our team has so much positivity going into 2026, and we are all looking forward to the November test in Daytona.”

Cadillac will roll out an updated version of the V-Series.R at next month’s IMSA sanctioned test at Daytona. The upgrades are believed to include a significant change to the car’s aerodynamic package, following the first Evo “joker” introduced in 2025 to improve the car’s electronic package. These changes will be on show at the test ahead of homologation at the WindShear wind tunnel over the off-season.