Vandoorne Joins Meyer Shank Racing, Magnussen Returns to Chip Ganassi Racing
By Mark Robinson
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A pair of former Formula One drivers, one with previous IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship experience and the other a newcomer, have been confirmed as third drivers for the 70th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts on March 19.
Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian, the overall winner at last month’s Rolex 24 At Daytona, announced Thursday that former F1 and current Formula E driver Stoffel Vandoorne will join full-season pilots Oliver Jarvis and Tom Blomqvist behind the wheel of the team’s No. 60 Acura ARX-05 at Sebring.
Meanwhile, Chip Ganassi Racing confirmed that Kevin Magnussen is returning as the third driver in the No. 02 Cadillac Accessories Cadillac DPi-V.R alongside fulltime drivers Alex Lynn and Earl Bamber. The trio and Marcus Ericsson finished sixth in the Daytona Prototype international (DPi) class at the Rolex 24.
The fabled Sebring race will mark Vandoorne’s WeatherTech Championship debut and his first DPi race. Vandoorne replaces Helio Castroneves, who was slated to be Meyer Shank’s third driver for the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup races this season but will instead be driving a Meyer Shank Racing car in the IndyCar Series race the same weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.
Vandoorne drove two full F1 seasons in 2017-18. He is in the midst of his fourth Formula E campaign, where he has two career wins and finished second in the 2019-20 championship. The 29-year-old Belgian is no stranger to sports car racing, however. He was part of the SMP Racing Le Mans Prototype 1 (LMP1) effort that finished third overall at last year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, and he and Blomqvist placed second in the 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship in the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class.
“I’m really excited to be joining Meyer Shank for the Sebring Twelve Hour,” Vandoorne said. “For me, it will be the first time racing in Sebring and the first time racing in IMSA competition, which I am excited for because the racing in America is very close. I feel lucky to also be joining the team that just won the Daytona 24 Hours, so it’s going to be a really great experience.”
Meyer Shank co-owner Mike Shank said Vandoorne impressed the team during a test session last week.
“It was our initial intention to have Helio race in both the IMSA and IndyCar events that weekend, but logistically it became a bit difficult,” Shank said. “Tom has said great things about Stoffel from their time racing in WEC together last year, so I think we have another strong lineup heading into the race weekend.”
Magnussen joined Chip Ganassi Racing’s DPi program last year after six full F1 seasons. The 29-year-old Dane and teammate Renger van der Zande won last year’s Chevrolet Sports Car Classic at Detroit’s Belle Isle in CGR’s No. 01 Cadillac and followed that with four consecutive podium finishes before Magnussen missed the season finale, the Motul Petit Le Mans, due to illness.
Mike Hull, managing director at Chip Ganassi Racing, said Magnussen provides knowledge and stability for the No. 02 Cadillac in the important 12-hour race. The No. 01 Cadillac that Magnussen shared with van der Zande and Scott Dixon last year at Sebring led the most laps in DPi (115) and was winning until a late-race collision as Dixon was headed to the pits broke a toe link on the car. The No. 01 wound up finishing fifth, two laps off the pace.
“The Sebring Twelve Hour roster provides a terrific opportunity to have Kevin race again with Earl and Alex,” Hull said. “His experience with Chip Ganassi Racing has been wonderful. We’ve been blessed to have drivers of the global caliber of Kevin and paired them with drivers who also fill that bill. His goal is to win major races and certainly Sebring is one of them. I think we have two good opportunities this year with the (Nos.) 01 and 02. We have a great driver lineup and excellent support from Cadillac. It’s our job to go out and do it.”
Action at Sebring International Raceway runs March 16-19, with tickets available at sebringraceway.com. The entire race streams live beginning at 10 a.m. ET Saturday, March 19 on Peacock, with television coverage picking up at 3:30 p.m. on USA.