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Tony Kanaan Will Replace Sebastien Bourdais

Photo credit: Marshall Pruett
Photo credit: Marshall Pruett

From Road & Track

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Tony Kanaan will replace the injured Sebastien Bourdais in June’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Brazilian veteran was the obvious choice for the role after competing with the factory Ford GT at the Rolex 24 at Daytona; the IndyCar Series champion has been signed to share the No. 68 entry with defending GTE-Pro class winners Joey Hand and Dirk Muller.

“It’s an honor to be named a part of the Ford GT lineup for Ford Chip Ganassi Racing at the Le Mans 24,” said Kanaan, who will make his first start at the world’s greatest endurance race. “It’s obviously an unfortunate situation that brought us to this point with Sébastien’s injuries, but I’m going to do my best to take his place and try to help win this amazing race for the team again this year. This race has definitely been on my bucket list for a long time, so I’m thankful that Chip and our partners at Ford have given me this opportunity.”

Photo credit: Marshall Pruett
Photo credit: Marshall Pruett

Although Bourdais is recovering at an amazing rate from injuries sustained in a violent crash during qualifying for the Indy 500, the Le Mans native will be forced to cheer on his Ford brethren and their four-car assault while rehabilitating at home in Florida.

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“We’re very pleased we are able to get a driver of Tony’s experience and talent in the No. 68 Ford GT for the Le Mans 24,” added Ford Performance global director Dave Pericak. “It’s certainly not the ideal situation and we’re heartbroken that Sébastien won’t be back to defend his race victory, since we know how much that race means to him personally. He is an important part of our family, and we look forward to him making a complete recovery.”

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