WEC Portimao
Bamber: Cadillac “a step closer” to Toyota in WEC after Portimao
Cadillac Racing ace Earl Bamber believes the second round of the WEC at Portimao revealed the Chip Ganassi Racing team has closed the gap to longtime series dominators Toyota Gazoo Racing.
David Malsher-Lopez
Published: Apr 16, 2023, 6:51 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The Cadillac V-Series.R driven by Earl Bamber, Richard Westbrook and Alex Lynn finished fourth in last month in WEC’s eight hour Sebring season-opener, and repeated this achievement in today’s six-hour race at Portimao, after climbing from eighth on the grid in the 11-entry Hypercar class.
The #8 Toyota won the race interrupted by a sole 13-minute safety car period.
The Cadillac was forced into an off-sequence strategy early in the race as Westbrook flat-spotted the front tires when held up by another Hypercar entering pit lane. Double-stinting the tires was planned, and the veteran sports car driver withstood the severe vibration for 25 minutes before returning to pitlane for a fresh set of Michelins.
Bamber climbed in the prototype with 3h38m left and climbed to third before handing off to Lynn with 1h43m left.
Said Bamber: “The car was really good. Obviously for us, the first time on a European circuit. We still have a lot to learn to be honest, but I think we can keep improving. We’ve made a good step forward and I think we’ve made a step closer toward the Toyotas.
“On pure pace and longevity, I’m really forward to Spa where we’ll keep improving and look forward to Le Mans.”
“I was able to move up a bit and stayed in the train,” commented Westbrook. “And then, as expected, the car really came alive toward the end of the stint. Just as we were making that first pit stop, I came in right underneath the Peugeot and I felt like he really over-slowed the car. I was right up his gearbox, lost a bit of front downforce and had a bad lockup.
“I had no idea if it was a flat spot or not, so they filled up and I went out and it was bad. I was really hanging on. We had to abort that second stint after halfway through, so we had to go off-strategy.
“We have some pace in the car.”
Lynn added: “We got unlucky with the safety car that took a podium away from us, but the car was really quick and we’re just learning more and more. Big thanks to my teammates Richard and Earl for some superstar driving, and I’m looking forward to the next one.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article WEC Portimao: Toyota beats Ferrari to continue winning run
Next article Toyota requests WEC procedure changes after FIA-mandated sensor fails
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
David Malsher-Lopez
Alex Zanardi: The man whose name is a synonym for “hero”
IndyCar
IndyCar
Alex Zanardi: The man whose name is a synonym for “hero”
Remembering Michele Alboreto: F1 ace, Le Mans winner and a good man
Formula 1
Formula 1
Remembering Michele Alboreto: F1 ace, Le Mans winner and a good man
IMSA Laguna Seca: Ganassi Cadillac holds off Porsche for victory
IMSA
IMSA
Laguna Seca
IMSA Laguna Seca: Ganassi Cadillac holds off Porsche for victory
More from
Earl Bamber
Frederik Vesti steps up to full-time role as Cadillac Racing details 2027 IMSA lineup
IMSA
IMSA
Frederik Vesti steps up to full-time role as Cadillac Racing details 2027 IMSA lineup
The unselfish anchor behind Jack Aitken’s first IMSA GTP title, Earl Bamber reflects on 2026 campaign
IMSA
IMSA
Petit Le Mans
The unselfish anchor behind Jack Aitken’s first IMSA GTP title, Earl Bamber reflects on 2026 campaign
'Team Cadillac' strategy delivers dual IMSA manufacturer titles for General Motors
IMSA
IMSA
Petit Le Mans
'Team Cadillac' strategy delivers dual IMSA manufacturer titles for General Motors
More from
Chip Ganassi Racing
Barnes: Why IndyCar’s updated licensing system fails its own integrity test
IndyCar
IndyCar
Barnes: Why IndyCar’s updated licensing system fails its own integrity test
Alex Palou to drive Indy NXT machinery in Chris Griffis Memorial Test at IMS
IndyCar
IndyCar
Alex Palou to drive Indy NXT machinery in Chris Griffis Memorial Test at IMS
Niels Koolen makes switch to Abel Motorsports ahead of 2027 Indy NXT campaign
Indy NXT
Indy NXT
Niels Koolen makes switch to Abel Motorsports ahead of 2027 Indy NXT campaign
Latest news
Kaden Honeycutt wins incident-free Phoenix NASCAR Truck race, extends points lead
NASCAR Truck
NSTR NASCAR Truck
Phoenix
27 min
Kaden Honeycutt wins incident-free Phoenix NASCAR Truck race, extends points lead
GTA VI 'Vice City' blimp to appear at NASCAR championship weekend
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
5 h
GTA VI 'Vice City' blimp to appear at NASCAR championship weekend
Verstappen Racing struggles to 15th as Porsche takes emotional Portimao pole
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
WCEE GT World Challenge Europe Endurance 6 h
Verstappen Racing struggles to 15th as Porsche takes emotional Portimao pole
Franco Colapinto urges fans to stop the abuse: “You’re not helping me or my future”
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
10 h
Franco Colapinto urges fans to stop the abuse: “You’re not helping me or my future”
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe