Cadillac earns first WEC pole position at Fuji

The plush mallard duck perched on the roof of the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R in the garage at Fuji Speedway is an object lesson and team mantra – maintain a calm, businesslike approach while paddling furiously.

That is what Cadillac Racing has done in its 14-race FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) program spanning two seasons -- maintain focus and determination through ups and downs, highs and lows to extract the best from the racecar and individuals.

A milestone nearly as tall as nearby Mount Fuji was attained Saturday as Alex Lynn drove the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R to the team’s first WEC pole position.

“Congratulations to the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R on securing pole position in qualifying for the Six Hours of Fuji,” said John Roth, global vice president of Cadillac. “We are excited to get back on the track and compete for the overall win tomorrow.”

Lynn recorded a best lap of 1 minute, 28.901 seconds on the 2.835-mile, 12-turn circuit with 55 seconds left in the 10-minute Hyperpole session. He advanced to the 10-car shootout by topping the lap time chart in the 12-minute Hypercar qualifying of the assembly of 18 cars. The Hyperpole field was separated by .688 of a second.

"It feels so good. Honestly, we've tried so hard all year,” Lynn said. “I have to say this car is amazing on one lap. Massive congrats to Cadillac. I just wanted to give the team a pole position this year. We came so close so many times and I'm so proud to have finally done it.”

It is the fifth consecutive race that the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R powered by the purpose-built 5.5-liter V8 engine has qualified in the top four and third time this season that it has qualified on the front row, though second for the 24 Hours of Le Mans was met with a grid penalty. P3 at Bahrain was the highest qualifying effort in the inaugural season of the Cadillac LMDh platform.

Lynn and Earl Bamber are coming off a season-high fourth-place finish after qualifying third two weeks ago at Circuit of the Americas and will be aiming to match the qualifying spot in the race.

Alex Lynn: “It feels so good. Honestly, we've tried so hard all year. I have to say this car is amazing on one lap. Massive congrats to Cadillac. I just wanted to give the team a pole position this year. We came so close so many times and I'm so proud to have finally done it. I still have nightmares of that Le Mans night, missing it by a tenth. Nothing is given for free. If you can start up front in these races, it’s a big advantage. The tire preparation has been a big part of extracting the maximum over one lap. It’s a fantastic racecar that Cadillac has built us. We’re still trying to figure out how to make it just as fast over six hours or even 24. We know how to make it fast, it’s just getting it to do that for the whole time, being at that speed for the whole time. I feel confident that we should be finding some good points tomorrow. We haven’t changed our mentality. We know we’re quite good in qualifying, but 99 percent of our focus has been on the race. Hopefully, all that work we’ve put in will stand us in good stead tomorrow when the lights go out. The track is pretty good. It’s quite hot out here this year, so that’s always a challenge trying to set the car up for multiple temperatures throughout tomorrow’s race.”

Earl Bamber: “Alex has been doing a fantastic job the last 18 months in quali. He’s put us in the best possible position tomorrow. I’m going to take the start and hopefully we can get through Turn 1 and start a good race. It’s been building with this program. We’ve been working really hard, chipping away at the details and we’re slowly getting into the window. COTA was a great race for us, so hopefully we can continue that momentum. (about two drivers in six-hour races): We think it’s an advantage. We get a lot more track time during the weekend. COTA was really tough because of the heat but I think we both did a good job. Tomorrow will be a humid one, but I think we can manage it.”

Laura Wontrop Klauser, GM sports car racing program manager: “I could not be prouder of the team and drivers with all the effort they’ve put in to getting us to Hyperpole here at Fuji. We are so excited to take the green tomorrow and will be shooting to finish in the same position we started.”

Stephen Mitas, team manager: “Wonderful result today for the team. It’s been a long time coming. It’s been an interesting two years as we built up to this. Alex was mega, team was mega, so looking forward to a great race tomorrow.”