Whelen adds Bamber to returning Aitken
Former IMSA champion and 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Earl Bamber will return to full-time IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition alongside Jack Aitken in the Action Express Racing – running under the Cadillac Whelen banner – No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R, replacing the departing two-time champion, Pipo Derani. Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 reserve driver Frederik Vesti will join them for the Michelin Endurance Cup.
“We are all very excited to have such an amazing group of talented drivers lined up for the 2025 season,” said Team Manager Gary Nelson. “Everyone here at Action Express has been working very hard to bring together the very best people to create an ideal opportunity to compete for wins and championships for our great sponsors, Cadillac and Whelen. Jack Aitken and Earl Bamber bring a great combination and bringing in a young, talented Frederik Vesti for endurance races adds to what we’re trying to accomplish.
We will be sad to see Pipo Derani move on after sharing six years of success. Our fond memories and friendship with Pipo will continue.”
Aitken returns for his second full season and third overall in the No. 31, which recorded four pole starts and three runner-up finishes this past season. He was the endurance addition for the team as he, Derani and Alexander Sims claimed the Michelin Endurance Cup, as well as the overall championship for Derani and Sims. The 29-year old English driver earned the pole at this year’s Petit Le Mans, and has competed with the team in the two most recent 24 Hours of Le Mans. Formerly, he was the Williams F1 reserve driver in 2020-’22.
“On a personal note, I’m happy to be continuing with Cadillac and Action Express Racing,” Aitken said. “I’ve become pretty comfortable with Cadillac and everyone on the 31 crew and really happy to push on for the overall championship. Having Earl as a new teammate is going to be great because his experience is massive, he’s already a member of the Cadillac family so there’s no getting-up-to-speed process. I’m looking forward to learning from him and he’s going to be a fantastic teammate. I think it’s one of the strongest lineups on the grid and I think we have a very strong race car.”
Bamber, who has driven the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R the past two seasons in the WEC, is no stranger to IMSA competition. The 2019 IMSA GTLM champion co-drove a Cadillac DPi-V.R to victory in 2022 at Sebring, and this past season drove a Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R in GTD PRO class endurance races. The New Zealander is a two-time winner at Le Mans for Porsche and won the 2019 GTLM title and the 2017 FIA WEC driver championship.
“I’ve really missed IMSA, driving in America. Hopefully, I can bring experience from the WEC and IMSA and I think it will also bring a little bit of continuity,” Bamber said.
“We have that on the engineering side and hopefully on the driver side that shared information from both platforms brings us forward. Action Express have been one of those benchmark teams, and you only need to look at the side of the hauler to see their success with Cadillac over the years. I’m looking forward to working with the team and I think Jack is showing his speed this year and showing the potential to win races. I’m looking forward to getting down to Daytona and starting the work to start the new year off on the right foot. I think Fred [Vesti] is a really good talent and Action Express’s plans for the future of investing in young talent is a good outlook.”
Vesti, the 2023 FIA Formula 2 vice-champion, is the newcomer to both Cadillac and IMSA competition. The 22-year-old Danish driver made his IMSA debut in LMP2 at Petit Le Mans, but has amassed an impressive resume in single-seaters.
“Everything here will be new in America, but it will be a cool experience for me to join such a successful team,” said Vesti. “I’m dreaming about winning and being with a winning team is my goal, and that’s what we have here. That’s a good starting point and I’m ready to put in the work and hopefully we have success and a great time together. I hope I can join the group with a lot of knowledge from Formula 1, Formula 2, ELMS and LMP2 that can benefit everyone. I’m excited to work with the team.”
Competing in sports car racing since 2010, Action Express Racing is one of the most accomplished teams in IMSA competition. Aside from the 2023 GTP championship for team and drivers (along with the Endurance Cup for both and helping Cadillac to both overall and endurance manufacturer titles) the team also claimed the 2021 DPi title with Derani and Felipe Nasr. The team dominated in the early years of the United SportsCar Championship with multiple season and Endurance Cup titles.