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Bourdais and van der Zande eager for Ganassi Cadillac go out in style

If they know the band is breaking up, do the players give their best performance at every stop on the final tour, or are they just going through the motions?

For Renger van der Zande and Sebastien Bourdais, it is definitely not the latter, especially with a championship in sight.

While the future holds much uncertainty for the individuals in the team, what is known is that Chip Ganassi Racing will not exist as Cadillac Racing next year, and appears to have few options for remaining an IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship outfit for 2025 at least. Bourdais and van der Zande could see the expiration of a three-year partnership that has brought numerous wins. That circumstance only further fuels the thirst for victory.

“That is the only goal we have … whatever the future is, whatever the future br ings, is up in the air, let’s say it’s in the stars,” says van der Zande. “But right now we can win a championship and it will be a tribute to the team. I think the team has not been in the position, in the shape as it is now. They’re really good people. We’re working really well together. It’s a championship–winning team. It’s dialed in, in the last couple of years, and I think this is the highest quality of team that we had in Ganassi so far. So it would make sense to win the championship and go out with a bang.”

Bourdais and van der Zande are 85 points behind the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsports squad of Dane Cameron and Felipe Nasr, with one win to the No. 7’s two. The Cadillacs have generally been stronger than the Porsches at Road America so far. In the hands of van der Zande. The No. 01 Cadillac qualified third, while the best the No. 7 could do was ninth. It’s a small gain that they hope will turn into a bigger one.

“I really want to win an IMSA championship,” declares Bourdais. “I’ve never been in a position to do so, so far. I mean, it was really an unfortunate thing … ’22 I feel like winning three races, being on pole four times … It’s hard to to lose a championship in those circumstances, but we managed to do that. I think as many DNFs as we had race wins, actually. So it’d be very special to say farewell to that program with Ganassi with a bang, but it’s racing. So you all you can do is try your best and hope that that’s enough.”

Luck has not been on their side – a mechanical issue took them out of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The same strategy that won them the race in Long Beach worked against them in the next race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. A little good fortune headed their way would be welcome.

“You can only hope that it balances itself out,” says Bourdais. “I think we’ve had plenty of tough moments and hardships with that 01. But at the end of the day in racing, nothing is owed and everything has to be earned. And so we just hope that we end up on the right side of the fence for once.”

A good day at Road America, a successful weekend at Indianapolis, or a win at Motul Petit Le Mans … none of that will change the fact that next year is likely to look very different for all involved.

“It’s the engineering, it’s the management, it’s the mechanics, the drivers … everybody is a little uncertain for next year,” explains van der Zande. “And I think we didn’t have that feeling for the last three years because we were locked in, which is a fantastic feeling in motorsport. We’re going back to the normal feeling of motorsport where deals are year by year.

“So, for sure, that’s a has an impact on the atmosphere. But I don’t feel the atmosphere is in a bad way. Everybody is super motivated to come out here with a win and a championship. So it’s the normal motorsport feeling of uncertainty. But at the same time, there’s the motivation to win. Maybe that makes it more of a desire to win, because this is the last shot we have.”