Documentary chronicles Cadillac’s return to 24 Hours of Le Mans
Cadillac and Samsung TV Plus have announced the television premiere of “No Perfect Formula,” a new documentary showcasing Cadillac Racing’s historic return to the world’s most iconic endurance race, and the grit and determination of the team as they prepare for, and compete in, the centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans in June 2023.
Debuting on the Hagerty channel #1194 on the Samsung TV Plus app on Samsung Smart TVs, Galaxy Devices, and on the web on Friday, May 31 at 7 p.m. EST, the 90-minute documentary follows the Cadillac Racing team’s efforts to design, develop, engineer, test and race a winning race car. The team achieves success in the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship seasons, including a podium finish in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and sweeping top championship honors in the inaugural IMSA Grand Touring Prototype season.
After its premiere, “No Perfect Formula” will run all night, as well as every Friday at 7 p.m. EST in the weeks leading up to the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 15–16.
“For more than a century, racing has provided a test bed for Cadillac to transfer knowledge and technology between race cars and production vehicles, and a way to build a fanbase for the brand around the world,” said John Roth, Cadillac global vice president. “2023 was a pivotal year for Cadillac Racing, and ‘No Perfect Formula’ captures the emotion and celebrates what was a successful season for the team.”
2023 kicked off a new era of sportscar racing with the Hypercar and GTP classes, featuring a new hybrid propulsion system. Cadillac set out to prove its V-Series.R, the third-generation prototype race car, could continue Cadillac’s heritage of success on the track. The debut of the LMDh racecar platform with common regulations between IMSA and WEC enabled a return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans for Cadillac.
“As Cadillac moves to an electric future, the LMDh regulations offer a unique opportunity to gather key learnings from these advanced hybrid propulsion systems,” said Laura Wontrop Klauser, GM sports car program manager. “The Cadillac V-Series.R’s naturally aspirated 5.5L V-8 provides a familiar powertrain platform to work with, and the byproduct is an unmistakable sound that is instantly identifiable as a Cadillac, while enabling competitive performance on the track.”
Racing offers a unique platform to expand Cadillac’s expertise and validate technologies in a variety of competencies, including aerodynamics, additive manufacturing, software, and people development, which benefit Cadillac’s production vehicles and delivers outstanding performance for customers. Cadillac’s V-Series performance portfolio, celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2024, seamlessly brings learnings from the track to the road.
“We’re thrilled to share with our enthusiast audience Cadillac Racing’s position as a fixture in global sports car racing,” said Paul Rehrig, Hagerty president of media, marketing and membership. “The Samsung TV Plus partnership — and our ambition to grow distribution for Hagerty’s award-winning video content — allows us to bring partner stories to a rapidly growing audience on the big screen.”
Tangent Vector produced the film, with director J.F. Musial bringing the story to life.
“‘No Perfect Formula’ tells the behind-the-scenes story of how the Cadillac Racing team and their partners worked together, managed through challenges and ultimately persevered in the 2023 season,” said Musial. “The name of the documentary is meant to reflect that there’s not just one way to get to the podium — as Cadillac proves, there’s no perfect strategy or one right way to win.”
How to watch
To view “No Perfect Formula,” simply switch on a compatible device, open the Samsung TV Plus app, and navigate to Hagerty’s FAST channel #1194 on May 31 at 7 p.m. EST, with additional airings to follow all night and every Friday in the lead up to the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans. Additionally, Hagerty will stream the documentary for worldwide audiences on Hagerty’s Facebook page.
Samsung TV Plus is the #1 free ad-supported app on Samsung Smart TVs, with over 2,600 ad-supported linear channels available globally in 24 countries and over 630 million active devices. Samsung TV Plus is accessible on 2016-2024 Samsung Smart TVs, Galaxy devices, Smart Monitors, Family Hub refrigerators, and the web.