WEC – ITW Earl Bamber (Cadillac Racing): “The Real Test Will Be Spa”

Fourth at 1000 miles from Sebring then 6 hours Portimao, Cadillac Racing debuted in the World Endurance Championship. And even if the podium rejects the American formation for the time being, Earl Bamber has a grin.

” I can’t wait to be at the spa, Did he say It is one of my favorite European tropics and I spent a lot of time there. I think we are progressing as a team. We are learning from WEC and we will continue to improve. Placing two cars in Spa will be a challenge for Chip Ganassi Racing, but it’s a good preparation for the Le Mans race, where three Cadillacs will be fielding. For us, it’s all about Le Mans, mainly because it’s our first season. The real test will be spa. Spa is the track closest to Le Mans in terms of downforce generated in particular. »

Ten days ago, in Portugal, the winner of the 2015 and 2017 Le Mans races spoke to Endurance-Info.

How do you judge Cadillac Racing’s start to the season in the WEC?

To be honest, I think our pace (in Sebring. Editor’s note: It was very normal compared to what we saw.In the foreground and in free practice. Editor’s note). We were a little slower than the Toyotas, which we saw again at Portimao. Ferrari has taken a huge step forward. But I feel like we had the fifth best car. Proof of this is that we finished fourth. We had the potential to be third without a penalty (in Sebring. Editor’s note).

You missed the podium at Sebring by just 10 seconds…

exactly. The platform was a victory for us. I think we still have to work on some points. Full Course Yellow Management is an important topic for us, and we are working on it. This is part of the WEC membership. Cadillac has competed with IMSA for years, so we’re in the middle of the learning process. But the team is doing an excellent job and the car has good potential. We move forward, we learn, we make mistakes… Now it’s time for spa, and then, of course, the big meeting, which is the main goal of our first season in the WEC.

Where do you think you need improvement?

I think we were a little bit conservative in our first race. Then there’s the basic stuff: pit stops in particular. But it’s also about us, the drivers, coming back to the WEC. And we have to learn how to handle double tasks and things like that. Our car seems very efficient at dual duty. Toyota is kind of in its own world at the moment. But compared to others, we saw that we can fight with Ferrari and Porsche, so we are quite satisfied. We’ve taken a good step forward and I think we’ve come close to Toyotas (in Portimao. Editor’s note), especially with regard to pure rhythm and regularity on the relays.

Is it the same team you had last year?

No, they’re a completely new team. That’s why we also have to learn to work together and we still have a lot of things to improve.

Isn’t it difficult with one car when your direct competitor has both?

it was very hard (portimao, Editor’s note), but we used the Dallara simulator a lot which helped us get ready for this weekend. But obviously it’s much easier when you have two cars to test different things. You can do a lot of things faster. But that is the case and I think we managed to do a good job with one car.

Do you think the collaboration between Cadillac and Ganassi is an advantage for you?

By law, you cannot have more than 22 people per team. Which I think is a good thing. But Cadillac’s strength lies in putting together a very good racing team. Everyone at GM is in the same frame of mind to win these races and give it their all. With a smaller organization, it’s easier to be more flexible.

Will you also share the information with the Action Express Racing car at Le Mans?

We will all be together, as if it were one team and the same. At the end of the day, we’re here to take a Cadillac win, or to put the Cadillac crew on the podium. It doesn’t matter which one. And we will all have to help each other to achieve this.

Do you think the 24 Hours of Le Mans is right for your car?

Honestly, I have no idea.

Have you already started preparing for Le Mans on the simulator?

Not real. Let’s say yes, but a year ago, but not recently.

Did Cadillac give you the choice between IMSA and WEC?

no. They just picked me to come here, so it just happened, we were teammates and stuff. But I am very happy to be back in this field. I think it’s great to see the WEC progress with so many great teams. It’s really accelerated since 2017, so it’s really cool to see. We’re about to see a true golden age of motorsports in sports car racing with a lot of hypercars to come… I think we’ll see 20 next year… When we saw 17 GTE Pro cars at Le Mans a few years before that, we thought: “It’s incredibleAnd now we’ll have that at the factory level for the final win, so that’s going to be something really special.