Cadillac has added Sebastien Bourdais to its line up for the 1812 km of Qatar, the opening race of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship.
The veteran Frenchman will join regular drivers Alex Lynn and Earl Bamber in the #2 Cadillac V-Series.R for the race, which will take place on Saturday 2nd March at Losail International Circuit.
Similar to last year, the car will be run on a factory basis by Chip Ganassi Racing. Bourdais also races for the team in its US IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship entry, as a full-season driver alongside Renger van der Zande. Their car was running well at last weekend’s 24 Hours of Daytona, until what the team called a “power unit malfunction” caused them to retire from the race.
The US manufacturer announced earlier this year that Richard Westbrook, who raced for the team last year alongside Lynn and Bamber, would not be replaced by a full-time driver, with the two instead to be joined by various drivers from Cadillac’s pool of factory drivers.
“When a team is fortunate enough to have such a strong stable of drivers to pull from, it just makes sense to utilise the talent when you have the opportunity,” said Mike O’Gara, Chip Ganassi Racing director of operations.
“Putting Sebastien Bourdais in the No. 2 for the Qatar events is going to give him a chance to refamiliarize himself with the WEC rules and regulations.
“It is also going to allow us to strengthen the bond between the U.S.-based IMSA team and the Germany-based WEC team. We know it is going to strengthen both programmes and better prepare us for our 2024 attack on the 24 Hours of Le Mans.”
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