Renger van der Zande to stand in for Müller in Vector Sport Fuji line up

The experienced, successful and personable Dutch driver (36) is an ideal substitute for the DTM-committed Müller, and brings with him valuable hours behind the wheel of the ORECA 07 LMP2, a great knowledge of the WEC from his time in both LMP1 and LMP2, and a strong working relationship with Sébastien Bourdais from this year’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship campaign with Cadillac Racing.

Van der Zande and Bourdais will be teamed with Ryan Cullen in Fuji. The 2016 IMSA PC Champion, 2020 DPi vice-champion and 2022 3-time race winner has enjoyed great success as part of Chip Ganassi Racing’s IMSA line up since 2021 and racing for Cadillac Racing this season. The pairing with Frenchman Bourdais has so far proved to be formidable. Vector Sport extends its thanks to both Cadillac Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing for allowing Renger to compete for the WEC team in Japan.

Gary Holland, Vector Sport Team Principal: “We knew from the start of the season that Fuji clashed with a DTM round, and our deal with Nico was always on the understanding that DTM would be his priority in case of any clashes.  We are very grateful to both Cadillac Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing for releasing Renger to be with us for this one round – a perfect stand-in. We are fully confident that he’ll fit it extremely well with Vector Sport, not least because of his current close working relationship with Seb plus his knowledge of the track and the ORECA 07."

Renger van der Zande : “I’m really looking forward to racing at Fuji Speedway, a circuit I’ve tested at with Super Formula but never had the chance to race at because of the pandemic over the last few years. I’ve got very good memories of it and am looking forward to being in Japan with Vector Sport.  “Working with Seb this year, we’ve developed a very good partnership. He’s very detailed with set up and I’m a bit more plug and play, let’s say, so hope it will be easy to jump into the Vector LMP2. The ORECA is a proven car, the best LMP2 car out there, and I find it very nice and easy to handle.  Seb and I are aligned in terms of how we like the set up, and I hear that Ryan thinks similarly so I can’t wait.”