Cadillac Names Drivers for 2023 IMSA GTP Season

• Sebastian Bourdais, Renger van der Zande, Pipo Derani and Alexander Sims will be the primary drivers for Cadillac in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship's GTP class next season.

• Bourdais and van der Zande will team up for Chip Ganassi Racing's entry, while Derani and Sims will drive for the Action Express team.

• Cadillac did not announce drivers for its 2023 Hypercar entry in the World Endurance Championship.

Cadillac's two cars in the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Series' new Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class will have familiar faces behind the wheel.

The manufacturer on Tuesday announced that veterans Renger van der Zande, Sebastien Bourdais, Pipo Derani and Alexander Sims will drive the new Cadillac V-LMDh cars next season for the nine-race IMSA GTP class schedule.

Bourdais and van der Zander will pair in the Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V-LMDh, while Derani and Sims will drive the Cadillac V-LMDh for Action Express Racing. Bourdais, van der Zander and Derani are currently driving in the DPi class for Cadillac.

Van der Zande, 36, has eight IMSA victories in a Cadillac DPi-V.R since 2018 and is completing his first season teaming with Bourdais.

“It's a new era coming up with Cadillac’s V-LMDh where we're taking on big fights against other manufacturers who have been at it for a long time and competing in Le Mans each year," van der Zande said. "We’re trying to go in there and win it with an all-new car and technologies. It's an amazing project to be part of from the beginning. Everybody is super motivated to develop the car, work on the systems, work on the team, get the right people in place because it's a bit of a bigger project than the DPI was and there's a lot more to it with everything being new. There’s a lot to figure out but it's really cool to see the energy within the team to move forward and we're part of history here.”

Bourdais, a four-time Indy car champion, has four wins in a Cadillac DPi-V.R, including the Twelve Hours of Sebring in 2021 with JDC-Miller Motorsports. Bourdais has earned four poles this season in the No. 01 V-Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R.

“The development has started on the new car and we're trying to take it to as many places as possible and I've been I've been a part of that since the beginning,” Bourdais, 43, said. “It’s something I very much enjoy, developing a new car, it's a bit like a new baby. You kind of put your mark on it and give your feedback and dream to develop it in a way where you feel one with the car. We have a very strong base and Cadillac and Dallara have done a great job. It's a very exciting program and a very exciting new era for endurance racing.”

The 34-year-old Sims is from London and has served as the third driver for IMSA endurance races in 2021 with the Corvette Racing team in the DPi class.

“I’m excited to be racing back in IMSA full time and to be driving the Cadillac V-LMDh. It’s an impressive piece of kit. I had a good couple of years with Corvette doing some GT racing, which brought me back to the IMSA paddock,” said Sims, who competed against Derani in Formula 3. “It’s racing that I absolutely adore. The format of the racing, the competitiveness, the tracks that we go to are brilliant."

Derani, 28, who clinched the 2021 driver title on the final laps of the Petit Le Mans, has posted six wins in the Cadillac DPi-V.R since joining Action Express Racing for the 2019 season. He has made 59 starts in IMSA prototypes since 2016.

“As a driver, it’s a fantastic opportunity to be a part of a program of the future of endurance racing. To join Cadillac as a factory driver is a dream come true,” Derani said.

Sims and Derani recently participated in test sessions of the Cadillac V-LMDh at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta and Watkins Glen International.

Cadillac has yet to announce its drivers for the manufacturers' Hypercar entry for the 2023 World Endurance Championship. Cadillac is expected to be the lone U.S. manufacturer in the WEC's Hypercar class.