Ganassi has outlined its plans for the upcoming World Endurance Championship (WEC) races, revealing that it will only field a third driver for the longer events in the series. These include the season-opener in Qatar, covering 1812 kilometers or lasting 10 hours, the iconic Le Mans 24 Hours, and the season finale, the Bahrain 8 Hours.
Team founder Chip Ganassi emphasized the simplicity of their approach, stating, “We’re only looking for an extra driver for Qatar, Bahrain, and, of course, Le Mans. Keep it simple. That’s what we are trying to do.”
When asked about the possibility of performance gains with a two-driver lineup, Ganassi highlighted their focus on efficiency, saying, “Everything we do around here is the quicker way, or is trying to be the quicker way. It’s racing; that’s what it is all about.”
Regarding the choice of drivers for the longer races, Ganassi hinted at familiar faces from their IMSA SportsCar Championship lineup in North America, particularly from the V-Series.R Ganassi fields. Sebastien Bourdais or Renger van der Zande, both full-season drivers, are seen as potential candidates for the Middle Eastern races in Qatar and Bahrain.
For the Le Mans race in June, assuming Ganassi secures a second entry under the Cadillac Racing banner, they would need an additional driver for the double-points WEC round.
Ganassi acknowledged the possibility of calling on reigning IndyCar champion Alex Palou for Le Mans, noting Palou’s successful integration during the recent Daytona 24 Hours IMSA race.
The path for IndyCar regulars on the Cadillac roster to participate in Le Mans was facilitated by a rescheduling of test dates at the Milwaukee Oval.
The original conflict between Le Mans practice and qualifying has been resolved, allowing drivers like Scott Dixon and Tom Blomqvist to travel to Le Mans after the overnight test.
This adjustment becomes significant if Ganassi decides to include Palou, who has not competed at Le Mans before and would miss the official Test Day due to a scheduling clash with the Road America IndyCar event.
Meanwhile, fellow Cadillac team Action Express appears poised to secure a spot on the 62-car Le Mans grid after being named one of the discretionary entries granted by IMSA for the prestigious race.
