IMSA’s Bourdais, Van der Zande Relishing Extra Race Together

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship DPi co-drivers Renger van der Zande and Sebastien Bourdais are relishing their opportunity to have an extra race together this year in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Van der Zande has been drafted into Vector Sport’s LMP2 driver lineup for the 6 Hours of Fuji, replacing Nico Mueller who is competing in the DTM at Spa-Francorchamps.

The Dutchman is sharing the No. 10 Oreca 07 Gibson with Vector regulars Bourdais and Ryan Cullen for one race, with Mueller set to return for the 8 Hours of Bahrain finale.

Bourdais told Sportscar365 that it was “only natural” for van der Zande to come on board for the event in Japan, based on their existing working relationship in IMSA.

They have won three DPi races together driving for Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing this year and sit third in the standings with Motul Petit Le Mans still to run.

“With Nico not being able to make it this weekend with the DTM commitments, there was a discussion with Gary [Holland, Vector Sport team principal] about a couple of guys on the list, and Renger was on it,” said Bourdais.

“To have someone that you work [with] year-round all ready to join you on a one-off is always a plus.

“It was a good opportunity to carry that relationship all the way here to Japan. He also has some experience from the car; not this year, but in the years before. It made sense.

“We have a really good relationship in IMSA with Cadillac and Ganassi, so it was only natural to carry that over for another race.”

Van der Zande explained that he and Bourdais have developed an effective working relationship during their time together at Ganassi, which he feels should be beneficial for the WEC round.

“Seb and I got along from the moment we started working,” van der Zande told Sportscar365.

“He’s really fast and very detailed about setup. When I didn’t know him, I was looking at him and wondering if he was a tough teammate, but that’s not the case.

“For example, if I do well, he’ll say it’s amazing. But if not, he’ll let me know and see how we can improve. That’s how he talks to me, himself and to the team. There’s no filter and no hints.

“You see what you get, and I really like that in the cooperation. I’m hooked with him for the next amount of time, and I’m very happy about it.”

Bourdais corroborated van der Zande’s sentiments about how they interact to find the best car setup in IMSA competition. This weekend they will be working with a third, Silver-rated co-driver in Cullen, who has done all of the WEC events so far this season.

“Renger is pretty easy to work with because he doesn’t care so much what the car is doing and I’m kind of particular on setups, as many people know!” Bourdais explained.

“It allows me to get to the bottom of a couple of things. Most times, when I get it where I like it, he likes the car as well.

“I think now he knows better what I like, and he works towards that direction. It optimizes our pair and works well.

“It’s been a fun [IMSA] season. Unfortunately, we just started too far back in the championship after a disastrous start.

“But I think we definitely gel pretty well and found a good compromise as far as what we like. It’s working pretty seamlessly.”

Van der Zande is no stranger to the WEC, having driven for Inter Europol Competition in LMP2 last year.

While he has knowledge of the Oreca 07, the WEC’s additional performance restrictions to the class for the current season mean the car will feel slightly different to drive.

“The difference between IMSA and here is that we’re not in the ‘main’ category here,” van der Zande suggested.

“The only worry I have is how slow they are going to be, compared to last year. I’ll have a feel for that; normally slower is easier to adapt to.

“I think it’s nice to have Seb there because he knows what I need, and he knows what he needs. I’ll be the plug-and-play driver, filling the gaps.

“So I’m not worried about car setup or team handling because they’ve been doing it for a full season. I’ll just jump in and play the role.”