Brit Jack Aitken and Kiwi Earl Bamber (#31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R) have dominated the Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic, the 100-minute IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race through the streets of downtown Detroit as part of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix Presented by Lear.
Motul Pole Award winner Bamber started the race and comfortably led the first 33 minutes before handing over to Aitken, who built a 14-second lead until a full-course caution was called for debris on the track with 20 minutes remaining. That late-race reset offered a final glimmer of hope to the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class competition.
But it was unfulfilled hope, as Aitken aced a pair of late-race restarts and was able to pull away during the final stages while chaos broke out behind him. The No. 31 Cadillac built a 6.023-second gap before crossing the finish line ahead of the No. 25 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 shared by Philipp Eng and Marco Wittmann.
Compounding the joy for General Motors in its corporate hometown at an event it sponsors, Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque took a season-best third place in GTP in the No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V-Series.R., while Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports notched the Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) PRO class victory.
“It was pretty nervy with those last yellows, just watching,” Bamber added. “I’m just really happy for Cadillac, and happy for the Corvette guys also, to finally get the win here in our home race. We had a great Cadillac this weekend that was super quick from the moment it hit the track. That’s a pretty perfect weekend.”
With seven consecutive podium finishes dating to a win at the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in September 2025, the Cadillac Whelen team is on a hot streak unprecedented in the four years of the current IMSA GTP era. The victory was the fourth in IMSA competition for Aitken and the 11th for Bamber.
Cadillac has now won five times in Detroit, but the first four came at the old Belle Isle circuit (2017, 2018, 2021 and 2022).
The next round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, June 25-28 at Watkins Glen International. In the interim, nearly three dozen full-time IMSA drivers will compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans from June 10-14.
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