| Aitken, Deletraz Impressed Early Before Becoming IMSA Full-Timers April 28, 2025By Tony DiZinnoIMSA Wire Service |
| DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – There’s something special about being “the starter.” Whether that’s the starting quarterback or starting point guard, you’re the facilitator of the offense. Sports car racing works slightly differently in that “the starter” can be any of two full-season IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers or, occasionally, the third driver who competes at IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup events. It’s become increasingly common in the series’ top class, Grand Touring Prototype (GTP), for drivers who’ve impressed in sporadic appearances as third driver to have the chance to become a more regular part of a team’s rotation. As the progression in GTP talent has seen an increase of younger drivers with primarily formula car backgrounds stepping into the spotlight, so too have the third drivers become potential to emerge as full-season talents. Two such drivers are a pair of Cadillac Racing’s aces, Jack Aitken in the No. 31 Action Express Racing-prepared Cadillac V-Series.R and Louis Deletraz in the No. 40 Wayne Taylor Racing-prepared entry. Both are ex-Formula 2 drivers, now in their second full-time season in GTP, after previous appearances as GTP third drivers in 2023. |
| Aitken has, quietly but quickly, ascended to the most senior driving member of the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac in his third year. Initially, he served as third driver alongside the championship-winning pair of Pipo Derani and Alexander Sims in 2023. In 2024 as Sims moved back to Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class action with Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports, Aitken naturally stepped up to the full-time seat. Then when Derani surprised the paddock with his departure from the team after six years – eventually joining the new Genesis Magma Racing program – Aitken slotted into the de facto lead role alongside new full-season co-driver Earl Bamber and new endurance extras Frederik Vesti and Felipe Drugovich. Vesti is set to fill in for Bamber next time out at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, since Bamber has a schedule conflict. It’ll run shortly after his first weekend doing a Formula 1 free practice session at Bahrain for Mercedes-AMG Petronas. For Aitken, a one-time F1 race starter himself at Bahrain in 2020, being part of the multi-time IMSA championship winning outfit gave him the confidence to expand his team role. “They’ve done it all before and they’re pretty steady in their approach and self-confidence,” Aitken explained. “We’re prepared as a team to win and that doesn’t mean the work stops. We do everything we can to improve year-on-year, which I’ve seen, and that means bringing in new techniques, people and ideas. That fosters a lot of success in the future.” Deletraz’s rise to a full-time seat came when Wayne Taylor Racing added a second car, initially an Acura ARX-06 in 2024 before the team’s return to Cadillac and General Motors for 2025. It was his qualifying run at Motul Petit Le Mans in 2023 that really established Deletraz on the GTP map, even as he’d had some prior IMSA success in Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2). With teammates Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque contending for the 2023 GTP title, WTR, Taylor and Albuquerque entrusted Deletraz to qualify the No. 10 car at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. He promptly qualified on pole. “It was awesome to get the pole on my first try and especially given the No. 10 was fighting for the championship,” Deletraz said. “I felt fast and the team came up with it I was like, ‘Well, I’ll do it because I like it, but it’s their championship!’ I got full support from everyone; the team wanted to do something different. I felt pressure but it helped build me up to what I am today.” Aitken reprised Deletraz in getting his first pole a year later at Petit Le Mans to cap off 2024. “It’s always good to get the first one,” Aitken laughed. “I’ve enjoyed qualifying in other series and IMSA is no difference, so I’m hoping I can bank a few more this year. You just try and get the preparation right and then see how it goes on the day.” |
| Ironically, Deletraz reprised Aitken in winning his first GTP race at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring earlier in 2024. Aitken was the third driver as part of Cadillac Whelen’s 2023 win, although he finished driving the car after Derani and Sims had been in earlier. Deletraz finished driving in 2024… very famously so. A bold pass on Sebastien Bourdais in the No. 01 Cadillac on the inside into Turn 7 netted Deletraz the win alongside Jordan Taylor and Colton Herta. It’s a move that stood as one of IMSA’s best of 2024. “That fight was insane,” Deletraz said. “It was probably the toughest fight I’ve ever had in a race car, especially because Seb was really good at defending. “We had some pace advantage, and I knew I could do it, but I also didn’t want to crash. I just wanted to go for the gap, and I saw a space, so I went for it. That’s IMSA racing. I think it’s important to say you need to have two drivers to make this happen. We did there. Sometimes, there are drivers in the field you can’t race like this because you both wound up in the wall.” Both Aitken and Deletraz want to fight more frequently at the front in 2025 after sporadic times doing so in the last couple years. They’ve had tough starts to the season through the first three races – Aitken and Bamber have a best finish of fourth and Deletraz and Jordan Taylor’s best is seventh, both achieved at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. In Aitken’s case, he’s doing so alongside a new full-season co-driver in Bamber (except at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca). In Deletraz’s case, he’s doing it with a new car, the Cadillac instead of the Acura. Despite the team newness, Aitken quickly found his new teammates were quick adapters. “I just have to drive fast and help out my teammates if they need it, but I don’t think they need that much to be honest,” he said. “They’re all talented. Earl’s obviously got a lot of success under his belt already, and Fred and Felipe are both fresh out of top-form programs. They don’t need a lot of direction, so I think we’re all working well together, already.” Deletraz spoke about what it meant to ascend not only from a third driver to a full-season driver, but also what it means to be a greater part of a team and manufacturer program. “It was great because I always wanted it to be full-time with a manufacturer, and obviously Wayne Taylor Racing gave me an opportunity,” Deletraz said. “It was the perfect place for me to be. Especially with Jordan, who has so much experience. “Honestly, it’s been very smooth, and I’ve been given an opportunity. They trust me, which I think as a driver can only help. When someone in a team trusts you, that helps a lot to build you up.” |
