By Jack Webster & Eddie LePine
American teams and drivers have a long and storied history at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Legendary American driver and World Champion Phil Hill was the first to win there (1958 – his first of three), and was followed by Carroll Shelby in 1959. Hill was driving a Ferrari, Shelby an Aston Martin. Since then, 9 other American drivers have reached the top step of the podium at Le Mans: Masten Gregory, Dan Gurney, AJ Foyt, Hurley Haywood, Bill and Don Whittington, Al Holbert, Price Cobb and Davy Jones. Only Gurney and Foyt were driving an American car (or at least an American powered car), the Ford Mk. IV in 1967. The last American team to win Le Mans was legendary Champion Racing with the Audi R8.
American iron dominated the late 1960s at Le Mans, where Ford powered cars won the French endurance classic in 1966, 1967, 1968 and 1969.
Perhaps 2025 will mark the first time since 1967 that an American powered car (Cadillac), will take the overall victory at Le Mans, for Hertz Team Jota has secured the two top starting positions on the grid for this weekend’s Le Mans 24 Hours. The switch for Hertz Team Jota, from Porsche to Cadillac in the Hypercar class for 2025 has proven to be the right move for, as they now find themselves among the favorites to win the most famous motor race in the world.
Alex Lynn put in a blistering lap of 3 minutes, 23.166 seconds in the #12 Jota Cadillac, just edging out his teammate Earl Bamber’s #38 Jota Cadillac by .167 seconds. The drivers of the Cadillacs on the front row of the grid may not be American and the team may be British, but the heart and soul of the car is all American – Cadillac.
The pole comes 75 years after Cadillac’s first appearance at Circuit de la Sarthe with two Cadillac Coupe DeVIlle Series 61s – one mostly stock and the other highly modified with an aerodynamic body and nicknamed ‘Le Monstre’.
Le Monstre. Jack Webster photo
It marked the first pole position at Le Mans ever for Cadillac, which in addition to the Hertz Team Jota entries, is represented by IMSA regulars Wayne Taylor Racing and Whelen Engineering with single car entries as well.
“I think every time you have the opportunity to drive this kind of car around Le Mans on low fuel and new tires is an honor,” Alex Lynn said. “Truly honored to be able to put in a performance and deliver this for Cadillac…It’s a magical circuit, a place I love to perform my best. Now just 24 hours left, what else? We’ll enjoy this tonight and reset.”
General Motor has a total of four strong entries at Le Mans, to go up against the best the world has to offer, including Porsche, Ferrari, Toyota, BMW, Peugeot, Aston Martin and Alpine.
It is going to be an historic 24 Hours of Le Mans. With a victory, Porsche could put together the ‘triple crown’ for its drivers (Daytona, Sebring, Le Mans), Ferrari could pull off the ‘hat trick’ of winning three times in a row, or Cadillac could make history by winning for the first time and being the first American manufacturer since 1967 to take overall honors.
It’s going to be one hell of a ride. Stay tuned to themotorsportdiaries.com for all the latest, and we hope to see you at the races!
