Bourdais added to Ganassi Cadillac roster for WEC Qatar

After Richard Westbrook's departure to join the JDC-Miller Motorsport Porsche team in the IMSA SportsCar Championship, it was revealed in January that returning duo Alex Lynn and Earl Bamber would have a different driving partner aboard their V-Series.R LMDh on a race-by-race basis.

Confirmation followed that Lynn and Bamber would contest the regular six-hour races as a pair, with a third driver from the GM sportscar family joining for the Qatar, Le Mans and Bahrain rounds that are 10, 24 and eight hours in duration respectively.

Cadillac has now announced that Bourdais, a stalwart of Ganassi's IMSA programme since 2022, will join Lynn and Bamber for the Qatar 1812km race on 2 March.

A team statement said that Bourdais, his full-season IMSA team-mate Renger van der Zande, "and select CGR team-mates" would join the WEC roster during the year ahead.

This is a reference to IndyCar drivers Scott Dixon and Alex Palou, who were part of the Ganassi line-up at the Daytona 24 Hours last month.

"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 CGR Director of Operations Mike O'Gara.

"Chip Ganassi Racing proved that in Daytona when we put Alex Palou in the 01 Cadillac V-Series.R.

#01 Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V-Series.R: Renger van der Zande, Sebastien Bourdais, Scott Dixon, Alex Palou

Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images

"Putting Sebastien Bourdais in the No. 2 for the Qatar events is going to give him a chance to refamiliarise himself with the WEC rules and regulations.

"It is also going to allow us to strengthen the bond between the US-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."

Both Dixon and Palou would be able to participate at Le Mans after an IndyCar test at Milwaukee was moved forward by one day. It will now be held on Tuesday 11 June, the day before Le Mans practice begins, allowing them to travel to France overnight.

Cadillac entered Bourdais and van der Zande in its IMSA car at the Spa and Le Mans WEC rounds last year, and could do so again as the manufacturer seeks its first win at La Sarthe.