Former Le Mans Winner Replaces Magnussen
By Mark Robinson
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Neel Jani, winner at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2016, was named Monday as the third driver of the No. 02 Cadillac Accessories Cadillac DPi-V.R for this week’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts, where he will team with full-season drivers Earl Bamber and Alex Lynn for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Jani replaces Kevin Magnussen for Saturday’s 12-hour race at Sebring International Raceway. Magnussen, co-driver of the team’s No. 01 Cadillac for the 2021 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season, was slated to be CGR’s endurance-race driver in the No. 02 this year until he was named last week to return to the Haas Formula One team for this season.
Jani, 38, is no stranger to the WeatherTech Championship or Florida’s Sebring circuit. He co-drove with Bamber and Laurens Vanthoor to a runner-up finish in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class in 2020 for the Porsche GT Team. The Swiss driver also earned the pole position for the 2017 race with Rebellion Racing.
He’s also a 24 Hours of Le Mans overall winner taking the overall victory with Porsche, en route to the FIA World Endurance Championship (LMP1) championship at season’s end.
“We’re thrilled that Neel Jani is available to be an integral part of our Cadillac team,” said Mike Hull, managing director of Chip Ganassi Racing. “His ability to win as a teammate at the highest global level of endurance sports car racing is proven with the unselfish mindset that’s necessary to win as a team.”
Jani drove for the Porsche GT Team last year that finished second in the WEC’s GTE Pro class. He has also competed in Formula E, IndyCar and A1 Grand Prix.
“I am fortunate to have the opportunity to run with a renowned team like Chip Ganassi Racing, while returning to one of my favorite tracks and races in the Twelve Hours of Sebring,” Jani said. “I’m eager to work with Alex Lynn and team up with a familiar face in Earl Bamber as we go for the checkered in the No. 02.”
A huge field of 53 cars is set to compete at Sebring. Practice takes place Thursday, with qualifying streaming live on IMSA.com at 9:15 a.m. ET Friday. The race streams live starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, with USA picking up live TV coverage at 3:30 p.m. through the finish. IMSA Radio’s flag-to-flag race broadcast is available on IMSA.com and SiriusXM Radio.