DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The French connection is back at JDC-Miller MotorSports.
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship team confirmed Friday that French drivers Loïc Duval, Tristan Vautier and Sébastien Bourdais will return to the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R in 2021, though in different roles. Duval and Vautier will comprise the full-season driving duo, with Bourdais joining for the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup rounds as he returns to a full-time IndyCar Series ride.
Bourdais drove the entire 2020 season in the No. 5, starting the season with a trio of third-place Daytona Prototype international (DPi) finishes and winding up fifth in the championship. After beginning the season in the JDC-Miller’s No. 85 sister entry, Vautier joined Bourdais in the No. 5 for four races at the end of the season. Duval served as the third driver in the No. 5 for the three longer endurance events.
“It’s great to have all three of them back for 2021,” said John Church, managing partner of JDC-Miller MotorSports. “We had a little bit of an up-and-down year in 2020, but I think we showed in the final race of the year (a fifth place at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts) a lot of momentum and the potential we have as a group, and that is what we have to build on for 2021. Consistency with our partners and lineup is a big part of that, so we are all very excited to be able to keep the lineup together for another run at the championship in 2021.”
While he’s only competed in a handful of IMSA races to date, Duval does have a win at the 2011 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts to his credit, as well as an overall victory in the 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans. The 38-year-old is ready for a full-season drive after being limited to endurance appearances in the past.
“2020 was a challenging year for a lot of reasons, and as a team we for sure had our ups and downs,” Duval said. “But we started the season really strong at Daytona and had a lot of momentum towards the end of the season. So it’s great to be back with Tristan and Seb in 2021, now as one of the full-season drivers for the team because it for sure gives us consistency and to build on the momentum we had.”
Vautier is heading into his fourth straight season driving a Cadillac DPi and third with JDC-Miller. The 31-year-old feels he and the other Frenchmen laid a foundation this year that can carry into 2021.
“I am not going to lie, I wanted to be in this car and this lineup for a long time,” he said. “So when I got the opportunity to do some races with them this season, I did everything to make sure this would carry on to 2021.
“With Loïc and Seb, we have a great trio, and as a team we finished 2020 building a lot of momentum,” Vautier added, “so we are very hopeful to carry that into 2021 and fight at the front every weekend.”
Bourdais, 41, brings a winning endurance race pedigree to the team. Of his six career IMSA victories, five have come in the marquee endurance events at Daytona International Speedway, Sebring International Raceway and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
“I am really looking forward to a second season with Mustang Sampling Racing/JDC-Miller MotorSports,” Bourdais said. “Thanks to John Miller and John Church, Mustang Sampling and Cadillac, we will have the tools we all need to compete, run at the front and hopefully win a couple of IMSA’s biggest classic events. I enjoyed working with Loïc and Tristan in 2020, so it’s awesome to stay together and give it another go next season. Daytona can’t come soon enough!”