For the upcoming FIA World Endurance Championship round in Sao Paulo, Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA will field the No. 12 entry with a two-driver lineup, with neither Alex Lynn nor his injury stand-in Louis Deletraz slated to race for the squad.
Will Stevens and Norman Nato are set to split driving duties in the No. 12 Cadillac V-Series.R as they chase a return to the winner’s circle at Interlagos, mirroring the triumph they secured there last year alongside Lynn, according to a 35-car entry list released on Monday.
Lynn has been out since the start of this season due to a persistent neck injury, which led Stevens and Nato to tackle the Imola opener as a duo before Cadillac IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship regular Deletraz joined the squad as a third driver for the 6 Hours of Spa and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Shortly after Le Mans, Lynn announced via social media that he had undergone surgery on his neck and shoulder to address the issue that has plagued him since the end of the 2024 season, and he expressed a desire to return to racing “sooner rather than later.”
However, speaking to Sportscar365 at Le Mans, JOTA co-founder Sam Hignett would not be drawn on when he expects Lynn to come back to the No. 12 car.
Lynn’s ongoing absence from the WEC grid comes amid speculation that the British driver is heading toward the new-for-2027 McLaren Hypercar project.
The No. 12 Cadillac will be one of three Hypercar entries to run with two drivers, alongside the two Heart of Racing Team-operated Aston Martin Valkyries, which revert to their standard two-driver lineups as they did at Imola and Spa.
Tom Gamble and Harry Tincknell will share the No. 007 Valkyrie, while Alex Riberas and Marco Sorensen rotate behind the wheel of the No. 009 car.
In the LMGT3 class, Eduardo Barrichello will miss his home race due to a clash with the WeatherTech Championship’s Canadian Tire Motorsport Park event.
Kobe Pauwels has been drafted in to replace Barrichello in Heart of Racing’s No. 23 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo alongside Gray Newell and Jonny Adam.
Pauwels previously stood in for Barrichello for the season opener at Imola.
Also missing the Sao Paulo event is Nicky Catsburg, who is on duty at CTMP with Corvette Racing, with Nico Varrone drafted in to join Jonny Edgar and Ben Keating in the No. 33 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, as previously reported by Sportscar365.
Toyota junior Esteban Masson meanwhile returns to the wheel of the No. 78 Akkodis ASP Lexus RC F GT3 at Interlagos after temporarily switching to Forestier Racing by Panis for another attempt at LMP2 class honors at Le Mans.
