Alex Lynn says Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA will ‘go into every weekend thinking we can win’ in the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2026, after the Anglo-American alliance unveiled the updated V-Series.R Hypercar with which it will challenge for honours over the coming months.
The GM-owned marque and giant-killing British independent outfit joined forces over the winter of 2024-25, and in last season’s curtain-raising contest in Qatar, the new entity was immediately on the money, leading the race until an unfortunate collision between Lynn and stablemate Jenson Button ruled both cars out of victory contention.
Over the course of the campaign, however, Lynn secured three pole positions, twice spearheading a Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA front row lockout. An historic performance on the 75th anniversary of the Detroit-based brand’s debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans notably marked the first time an American manufacturer had topped qualifying at the Circuit de la Sarthe in nearly six decades.
“We knew the strength of the car was its one-lap pace,” remarked JOTA Co-Founder and Director, Sam Hignett, during a pre-season media brunch at London’s Royal Automobile Club. “That was where we could really maximise our opportunity, and we took advantage of it everywhere we could.”
The #12 entry piloted by Lynn, countryman Will Stevens and France’s Norman Nato was the sole car in the 36-strong FIA WEC field to score in all eight rounds last year on the crew’s way to fifth in the Drivers’ standings, with the trio dominating proceedings in São Paulo to register a famous breakthrough triumph. Former racer Hignett, however, acknowledges that greater consistency will be required if the team is to string together a serious title bid in 2026.
With that in mind, a major aerodynamic upgrade – ‘literally only the monocoque remains’, he reveals – has been carried out in an effort to enhance efficiency, driveability and raceability. While the V-Series.R retains signature Cadillac production design elements, visible changes include the removal of front dive planes and winglets and a re-shaping of the rear wing profile. Hignett also hints at another potential ace up the squad’s sleeve.
“There’s been a huge amount of work getting used to the new Michelin tyre that all Hypercars will run in 2026, and that’s where the cohesive relationship between us, Wayne Taylor Racing and Action Express Racing [in IMSA] is so valuable,” he explains. “Those guys will have done Daytona and Sebring before we even turn up in Qatar, so we can learn from what they’ve learnt with the tyre and their understanding of how to get the best out of it.”
Lynn was arguably Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA’s standout performer in 2025, and the British star says confidence is sky-high going into the forthcoming campaign – his fourth behind the wheel of the V-Series.R – when the aim is to be a contender at every circuit.
“It was such a good start to the programme with JOTA last year – more so than I had anticipated,” the 32-year-old reflected. “Genuinely, from the first event, the car was almost transformed, and what we could extract from it every single weekend was astonishing.
“From that starting-point to now, we can really begin to dream of it all. Before, to dream of winning just one race was quite a big thing. Now, we go into every weekend thinking we can win. That’s a very big mentality shift.
“Ultimately, the proof will be in the pudding, but that’s why we’re all here and why we all work so hard – to try to win Le Mans and try to win the World Championship. That’s the goal.”
