Co-driver with Sebastien Bourdais of No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R seeks clean race
Renger van der Zande, co-driver with Sebastien Bourdais of the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R, met with the media via Zoom call Thursday to preview the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race July 7-9 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
Van der Zande and Bourdais will seek to successfully defend their 2022 win on the 2.549-mile, 10-turn road course in the Grand Touring Prototype racecar powered by the Cadillac 5.5-liter naturally aspirated V8 engine. They won at Laguna Seca in May. Q&A with van der Zande:
Tell us about your reflections of the 2022 race win and what you’re looking forward to getting back up there.
“Mosport is one of the most bizarre and amazing tracks in the world, not only the IMSA calendar. My memories there have always been very nice. Last year was the first time that I won there, but I’ve been trying really hard. And if you want to win there you have to try really hard because it’s one of those tracks where at home here I tell how bizarre it is, how fast you go there, how much risk you take, how blind the corners are and at the same time very fast. Also, the traffic is not easy at all. Plus, you need a very fast car. If you don’t have a fast car on the backstraight, you can have a fast car in the corners but you’re not going to win the race. The whole package needs to fit. It’s actually one of those tracks where it’s more interesting from an engineering perspective than you think when you look at it. When you look at the track layout, it’s all about the high speed, but it’s also about top speed at that track. It’s one of those tracks where it’s not easy to win, and last year it was even more unlikely to win it because Sebastien Bourdais came in after one stint and the power steering was locking and it was locking to where he said, ‘hey, I don’t want to drive anymore,’ and I said let’s give it a go and let’s try anyway. At that point, I started using some strength that I’ve never known from before and we made it through to the end, and at the end I even had a shot at finding my way past some cars, which was quote bizarre. And we won the race. It’s a great memory. I would say it was one of the most special wins for me because of that reason. And Mosport is a special track unto itself.”
How do you have the courage to put down those laps and be successful?
“In endurance racing, I think drivers learn how to judge risk and know when to push and when to take care of the car and when to not take the risk. In practices, you’re not going to win the race and even in the beginning of the IMSA races you’re not going to win the race. So, you need to keep it clean in those moments of the race. Once it’s go time, especially in IMSA, normally in the last half hour, 45 minutes, the racing is tough, the racing is hard. And I think everybody understands that’s the time to go. People are not shy of a little rubbing and maybe even a bit of a divebomb here or there. When you go, you go. And as a driver you feel when you need to go and when you need to back out of it. The first time you go to this track you feel very impressed, easy to ball up your car. The track is still dirty in the beginning of the weekend, so it’s easy in Turn 1 and 2 and 3 to make a small mistake with a very big outcome, which is a wrecked car. If you’re in the last 45 minutes of the race, that’s a different story. If you damage the car, it’s for a good cause and that’s how it was last year. There was not much to lose, it was just to go. And sometimes these races fall your way and you win the race.”
What’s it going to take for you and Sebastien to rise above next week and through the rest of the season?
“I think we’ve been in the corner where we’ve made a lot of mistakes from all kinds of areas. When we get that out of the way … and honestly I feel like we’ve been very unlucky here and there being in the wrong moment in the wrong spot. So. I think we’re going to Mosport wanting to do a clean race. Maybe that means not fighting for that last bit like last year for the win, but if the opportunity is there for sure I will go for it anyway. In principle, we need to start doing clean races and then we’ll grab the opportunity if it’s in front of us. Otherwise, we should be happy with a decent result and a clean race.”
With the experience you have so far this season, what do you expect in that Turns 1-4 section of the racetrack?
“I think the GTs are almost faster than the GTPs in the slow speed stuff. If you look at Turn 5, that’s where they are going to drive away from us a bit almost. But the higher the speed the faster we get in comparison to the GTs. I think it’s one of those tracks where the difference will be the biggest of all the tracks between the GTs and the prototypes. I’m looking forward to that because it’s not been easy with traffic this year with the GTs being so fast – or the GTPs being so slow because of the weight in the low-speed corners and we’re kind of in the way of each other. But Mosport, I think, is going to be one of the tracks where it’s a higher speed and the difference becomes a bit bigger again between the prototypes and the GTs.”
At this point of the season, is there more pressure on trying to win this race given that you’re a couple of positions out of first place?
“I think there is a lot of pressure on both (GTP and GT classes). More than ever, especially at Mosport, it’s time to rock and roll and go.”
Where do you have the most trouble consistently hitting your marks?
“I think Turn 3. When you go to power up, your exit is blind so you don’t know if you’re going to make it. If you don’t make it and you put one wheel in the grass you’re going to end up in the wall, so it’s one of those corners where you’re relying on the grip and you never know if you’re going to make it. Always put your seat belts on tight before you go into that corner.”
Concurrent with the Chevrolet Grand Prix in Canada, the sister No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R driven by Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and Richard Westbrook will seek to continue the momentum as their first-year tour of the FIA World Endurance Championship schedule moves to the 5.793-kilometer, 11-turn Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Italy. The No. 2 Cadillac is coming off a podium finish in the centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans and is third in the team and driver Hypercar standings.
2023 Cadillac V-Series.R
Wins: Sebring (Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims, Jack Aitken), Laguna Seca (Sebastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande)
2 wins, 5 podiums (including wins) IMSA
1 podium FIA WEC (Le Mans; No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R – Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn, Richard Westbrook)
Cadillac total wins in all classes/series since 2004: 68
Cadillac total podiums in all classes/series since 2004: 217
IMSA GTP (5)
IMSA DPi (85)
FIA WEC (1)
World Challenge (126)
Cadillac Manufacturer Championships in all series: 8
IMSA DPi (2021, 2018, 2017)
Pirelli World Challenge GT (2014, 2013, 2012)
SPEED World Challenge GT (2007, 2005)
IMSA DPi Driver Championships: 2021, 2018, 2017
IMSA DPi Team Championships: 2021, 2018, 2017
IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Manufacturer Champion: 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017
IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Driver Championships: 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017
IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Team Championships: 2018, 2017
Pirelli World Challenge GT Driver Championships: 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012
SPEED World Challenge GT Driver Championship: 2005
