Dutch sportscar driver Renger van der Zande will join Wayne Taylor Racing for its defence of the IMSA Sportscar Championship title in 2018.
Van der Zande, 31, fills the gap left by Ricky Taylor, who was confirmed as part of the Penske/Acura DPi programme earlier this month.
The 2016 Prototype Challenge class champion spent this year in the top category with the Visit Florida Racing squad, but will switch to co-driving the WTR Cadillac DPi with Jordan Taylor.
“Needless to say, I’m very happy to join the Konica Minolta Cadillac team – it’s a mega opportunity,” said van der Zande.
"We are preparing to go full speed ahead for 2018 season, focusing on getting the drivers and the mechanics and everybody else working as a team."
"Being contacted by Wayne and getting asked to drive for this championship-winning team, that’s the crown for driving all sorts of cars all over the world for so many years."
Van der Zande started his career in Europe, racing in European Formula 3 and GP3, before progressing to DTM with Mercedes in 2011.
That led to numerous drives in a wide range of competitions, including IMSA, Blancpain GT, the Nurburgring 24 Hours and the NASCAR Euro Series.
During his time in IMSA, Van der Zande accrued nine race wins, including one overall victory at the Laguna Seca round this year with Marc Goossens.
“Renger was at the top of our list when it came to finding a replacement for Ricky and, after doing our due diligence to make sure he was free and clear of any other obligations, we decided to move forward to further the negotiations,” said WTR owner Wayne Taylor.
“Because Ricky and Jordan were fighting for the championship until the last race, we couldn’t really announce anything about Ricky until the season was over, which had us a little concerned that it would be difficult to find a good driver."
"Based on everything we’ve seen, Renger is going to fit in well here. Speed-wise, he’s going to be good. I think he will be good on equipment. He has a great personality and fits in with the team and our sponsors really, really well.”
Van der Zande and Jordan Taylor will be joined by a yet-to-be-announced endurance team-mate for the season-opening Daytona 24 Hours in January.
Discussion about this post