Cadillac Whelen Switches Up Full-Season Lineup; Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing Keeps Same Full-Season Quartet
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – For the third consecutive season, Cadillac Racing will again feature a three-car lineup of Cadillac V-Series.Rs across two teams. This year’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) champions Cadillac Whelen’s traditional No. 31 car and Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing’s Nos. 10 and 40 cars will again be part of the GTP field.
There is, however, one change to the full-season driver lineup across the board. Frederik Vesti will move into a full-season role in the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen car, sharing with this year’s GTP champion Jack Aitken, as Earl Bamber shifts to an IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup seat. The fourth Rolex 24 At Daytona seat will be named at a later date.
Meanwhile at Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing, it’s the status quo with Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque continuing for a seventh consecutive season since 2021 in the No. 10 Cadillac, and Jordan Taylor and Louis Deletraz for a fourth straight in the No. 40 car. Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor’s win at the six-hour Motul Endurance SportsCar Grand Prix at Road America snapped a two-plus year winless drought. Will Stevens (No. 10) and Norman Nato (No. 40) will fill out the Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing third seats in the three longest Michelin Endurance Cup races.
They’ll look to build on Cadillac’s record in 2027, as it hits 10 years since the previous generation Cadillac DPi-V.R premiered in the 2017 WeatherTech Championship season.
- Cadillac Racing has totaled 36 IMSA DPi/GTP victories since 2017, the most of any manufacturer.
- Cadillac Racing has 115 podiums (30 GTP, 85 DPi) since joining IMSA prototype competition in 2017.
“We are proud to carry the momentum of our championship-winning 2026 season into 2027 with a driver lineup that combines proven IMSA experience, championship-caliber performance and the depth required to compete across the full GTP schedule,” said Eric Warren, Vice President, Global Motorsports Competition for General Motors. “Our three Cadillac V-Series.R programs have demonstrated remarkable consistency and pace, and this roster gives each team a strong platform for the 2027 season. The goal is clear: defend our titles, continue building on Cadillac’s endurance racing legacy and pursue success at every round, beginning with the Rolex 24 At Daytona.”
Cadillac Whelen: Vesti Mirrors Aitken’s Path to Full-Time No. 31 Drive
Gary Nelson, general manager, Action Express Racing, explained the full-season driver change.
“We are very pleased with our driver lineup, and we kept it the same for 2027 with the only change being Fred moving to full time and Earl doing the endurance races,” Nelson said. “We think so highly of all three guys, and they delivered a championship for the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac. We are looking forward to defending our championships and I can’t think of a better way to do that than a great run in the 2027 Rolex 24 at Daytona.”
For Vesti, the Dane follows an almost identical career path to Aitken in his journey to full-time WeatherTech Championship competition.
Both were race-winning, championship-contending Formula 2 drivers targeting Formula 1 roles, but while Aitken’s reserve role with Williams Racing netted him one fill-in Grand Prix start at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain, Vesti’s similar reserve role with Mercedes-AMG F1 never panned out into a race opportunity.
Where both found more consistent race drives – and success – came with their switch to sports car racing. Both plied their trade globally in LMP2 and GT machinery. Vesti’s first IMSA start was actually in an LMP2 car at the 2024 Motul Petit Le Mans, racing with Tower Motorsport.
Aitken’s IMSA bow came in GTP, as Cadillac Whelen’s third driver. He was part of the team’s winning lineup at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring with Pipo Derani and Alexander Sims. A year later when Sims shifted back to his GT roots and rejoined Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports, Aitken was the natural to step up to a full-time role. That rise culminated with his championship achieved in 2026.
Aitken noted a key line from longtime Action Express Racing crew chief Bill Keuler during the WeatherTech Night of Champions’ year-end celebration. When referencing the famous expression and some people’s desire to move, “the grass is always greener on the other side,” Keuler countered to say, “make your own grass greener.” Aitken noted the grass in the No. 31 team is “pretty green.”
Alas, flash forward to 2027 and it’s Vesti, Cadillac Whelen’s third driver for the last two years, that will step up to a full-time role. Even in 2026, Vesti became more comfortable with most of the WeatherTech Championship as he’d had a run through the Michelin Endurance Cup venues, and also made selected sprint race starts as fill-in for Earl Bamber. Across his two part-time years, Vesti has raced at eight of the nine GTP venues, leaving only Detroit as his first “rookie” race in 2027.
“Very excited for the 2027 season,” Vesti said. “Obviously, 2026 was an incredible year altogether. I really enjoyed my time on the team. Just so proud of all of us and everyone, mechanics, engineers, drivers, we’ve done an amazing job. But looking into 2027, I’m very motivated and very excited to be back with Action Express, but in a full-time capacity doing all nine rounds of IMSA. That’s always been part of the plan with the Whelen Cadillac team, a few learning years and then finally stepping up to fight for the championship, which I can’t wait. We are keeping consistency in the team, which means a lot to me. I think we are by far the strongest driver line up on the grid and I’m looking forward to continuing that journey. So yeah, thank you to Gary Nelson, the whole Action Express team, and of course, GM and Whelen Cadillac for the extension and very excited for the future.”
Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing: Continuity Across the Board
Something’s been different in each of the last few years for Wayne Taylor Racing. From 2023 to 2024, they added a second car and staffed up for the addition. From 2024 to 2025, the team switched manufacturers from Acura to Cadillac. From 2025 to 2026, they took on a car with a major evo package update and sought to come to grips with Michelin’s new prototype tire.
That makes 2027 a welcome rarity: no major changes to prepare for across the driver, team, car or tire package and a chance to properly build on what’s been achieved in 2026.
“Continuity is key and I’m excited to be returning in 2027 with the same driver lineup,” Wayne Taylor said. “Delighted to welcome Norman Nato back in the No. 40 cockpit and will lean on the knowledge that he will bring to us from WEC. Given our win and double podium at Road America and additional podiums at Detroit and Petit, I feel confident that we have the right mix of drivers and am excited to go testing.”
Although the drivers fought confidence battles in going through a rough patch, the Road America win for the No. 10 car and podium for the No. 40 car was a needed tonic for all involved.
“The most important thing was keeping everybody positive and keeping the passion,” Wayne Taylor reflected. “To get a win and a third just shows to me that our work ethic, dedication, and focus as a team has paid off. This is really great and I’m very happy for everyone.”
“It was a full team effort,” Ricky Taylor added. “So proud of how the team has stuck with it and kept working towards this sort of result, and just very thankful to Cadillac for sticking with us through all of it. They’ve always had our back, and they’ve emphasized how it’s one team and that support goes a long way to keeping our confidence because our confidence has been challenged a lot with the lack of results. So, finally getting a win and not just a lucky one. It was a strong performance all day, so we feel like this is something we can build on.”