Ganassi firms up 2022 IMSA line-up for second Cadillac entry
Chip Ganassi Racing has confirmed it will add a second Cadillac DPi-V.R and three new full-time drivers for its 2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship campaign.
Current driver Renger van der Zande will be retained, while ex- Formula 1 driver Sebastien Bourdais, Earl Bamber and Alex Lynn will join the squad.
Van der Zande, who won at Detroit this year with ex-F1 driver Kevin Magnussen in the V-Performance Academy Cadillac said: “It is great news to have Sebastien, Alex, and Earl as new team-mates.
They are all high-class, proven race car drivers. I think they will be a good fit with the team.
“Sebastien has done everything in the world, he has a lot of raw speed.
"I know Earl very well from our junior series and he’s an LMP1 overall winner. Alex comes to us from Formula E and has a lot of sports car experience.
“I feel great about coming back with the Chip Ganassi Racing team. I feel more at home than ever with them.
"They put a lot of responsibility on everyone.
"Chip and Mike Hull [managing director at CGR] run a great operation. That is why they have been successful.
"Although I can’t wait until next year, we still have Petit Le Mans coming up, so we need to finish 2021 strong.”
Bourdais, who won the 12 Hours of Sebring this year in the JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac, said he was looking forward to a full-time IMSA campaign, especially in a team with whom he scored class wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Dayton 24 Hours.
Photo by: Art Fleischmann
“I'm super excited to reunite with Chip Ganassi Racing,” said the four-time Champ Car title winner.
“We have had our fair share of successes in the past and I can't wait to start working with drivers like Renger, Earl and Alex.
“This is obviously a bit of a turning point in my career, that will see me transitioning most of my attention to sportscar racing, but I remain in the GM family. I can't thank everyone involved enough for their trust and continued support.
“I am convinced Cadillac, Chip, Mike, Steve [Eriksen, team manager] and the entire team will give us all the tools we need to drive our cars to victory lane. Bring on 2022!”
Lynn, who won Sebring in 2017 as the endurance ‘extra’ in Wayne Taylor Racing’s Cadillac, added that the last time he drove the Cadillac left "a lasting impression", while double Le Mans winner Bamber was thrilled to be joining a "legendary sportscar team".
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