Wayne Taylor Racing Photo
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.”
Perennial IMSA GTD PRO Championship Contenders Back for 2027
The road to an IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship title often runs through Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports. Corvette by Pratt Miller is back once more to add to its sterling accolades and legacy achieved in IMSA and in Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO).
It’ll be an unchanged full-season lineup once again. Tommy Milner and Nicky Catsburg will share the No. 4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R while Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims will share the No. 3 Corvette. It’s the fourth consecutive season with these two full-season pairings, having first been assembled in 2024, and builds on the quartet’s legacy as part of Corvette Racing’s program.
“We are proud of all the accomplishments our teams have achieved since the start of Corvette Racing,” said Ben Bode, Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports team manager. “That history is built on a combination of great people and great Corvettes. To be able to continue that with the same core group of full-season drivers gives us a lot of excitement and obviously confidence for 2027. Winning GTD PRO championships each year is always at the top of our list of goals. With the returning team we have next year and the strength of the Corvette, there’s no reason we can’t achieve that again.”
On Saturday at Motul Petit Le Mans, Chevrolet added its latest achievement with its second straight GTD PRO manufacturer championship. It’s their 16th GT class manufacturer championship since Corvette Racing began in 1999. Chevrolet has now won six GTD PRO or GT Le Mans (GTLM) Manufacturer titles in IMSA since 2014 – more than any other automotive make. It also marked the fourth manufacturer championship with the eighth-generation mid-engine Corvette. This quartet of drivers has been a key cog in that success.
In 2027, Garcia will mark his 19th year with the team, and Milner his 17th. They started as part of the program in 2009 and 2011, respectively, as Corvette Racing factory drivers.
Sims is in his second stint as a Corvette Racing factory driver, having rejoined the program in 2024 after winning the IMSA Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) title in the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R in 2023. He raced sporadic IMSA and other endurance rounds in a previous era Corvette (the C8.R, Chevrolet’s last Corvette built to GTE specification) in 2021 and 2022.
Catsburg stepped up from a Corvette Racing endurance race role from 2020 through 2022 in IMSA, raced as part of the program’s FIA World Endurance Championship in 2023 (won 24 Hours of Le Mans and the last class title in LM GTE AM with the C8.R) and again with customer outfit TF Sport this year, while prioritizing his IMSA campaign in 2026 as part of the dual program.
The 2026 season was a bit of a roller coaster ride for Corvette Racing. The No. 4 car of Milner and Catsburg ascended to be championship contenders for the first time in a decade, since Milner and Oliver Gavin won the 2016 American Le Mans Series title. They sought consistency early and were regular podium finishers, but back-to-back tough endings at Detroit and Watkins Glen featuring contact with other GTD PRO cars brought others into the frame.
At Motul Petit Le Mans, Catsburg and Milner fell to third in the championship after a rough-and-tumble finale where the No. 4 Corvette ended up in the gravel trap following contact from another competitor. Nonetheless, Milner was typically reflective and insightful in looking back on their 2026 campaign.
“There certainly are positives,” Milner said. “We got first place in the manufacturer championship, which is great for the program. It’s great to have both cars all year long be very competitive all throughout the season. The 3 car was unlucky at times. But obviously it was great for them to get the win at Detroit. So that’s what you need to have… both cars being fast all year long and we had that. So that was great.
“I said a few weeks ago that we just wanted to have a chance to win a championship when we got here. There were three cars that had a good shot at it and today was not our day.
“Ultimately a championship is your full body of work for the whole season. It’s not just one race that loses you a championship. I’m super happy with all of our guys and the whole team from top to bottom. I’m excited for how strong we were all year long. We’ll tidy up little things on our end to be as good as we can be to be a bit better. And hopefully that’s enough to compete again for a championship.”
The Corvette Z06 GT3.R heads into its fourth season in 2027, which may be somewhat hard to believe. But it’s been a regular winner in IMSA competition each season.
In 2024, Garcia and Sims got the car on the board with its first IMSA win at the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The pairing won again at the all-GT IMSA Michelin GT Challenge at VIRginia International Raceway in 2025 en route to the championship, and then crucially, in front of the General Motors’ brass at the downtown Detroit Street Circuit encircling the Renaissance Center, next to the Detroit Riverwalk, in 2026. Add in a customer triumph by the team then called AWA (now 13 Autosport) in GTD at the 2025 Rolex 24 At Daytona, and the new Corvette has checked several key boxes.