Clear Picture Emerges of Two IMSA GTP Veterans To Monitor… But Which Two?
By John Oreovicz
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Renger van der Zande earned his first top-class IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship win in 2017 at the track now known as WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, and people still talk about the move he made to seize the lead from Dane Cameron in the Corkscrew with three minutes remaining in the race.
It was a sign of things to come. Van der Zande has added another 11 overall race wins to bring his IMSA total to 21 since that Laguna Seca breakthrough, the most recent coming in the 2024 WeatherTech Championship season finale at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. True to form, that win in the Motul Petit Le Mans was achieved with a daring pass as the minutes ticked down.
So as the 2025 season is set to begin with the 63rd running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona International Speedway, it should come as no surprise that in an informal poll of drivers who compete in IMSA’s Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class, van der Zande’s name was mentioned most often when they were asked which competitor they don’t want to see in their mirrors with 10 minutes to go.
The 38-year-old Dutchman – who this year is sharing the No. 93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06 with Nick Yelloly, joined by IndyCar champion Alex Palou and Honda development driver Kaku Ohta at Daytona – has continually shown that he is willing and able to get his elbows out to get past the car in front as the laps wind down.
“Renger is always really strong at the end of races and he doesn’t seem to make a lot of mistakes,” said Ricky Taylor, co-driver of the No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V-Series.R along with Filipe Albuquerque, Will Stevens and Brendon Hartley.
“There are other drivers who are strong, but Renger is known for late race moves that are successful.”
“I think everybody is going to give you the same answer, that they’re not worried about anyone,” added Colin Braun, who co-drive’s MSR’s No. 60 Acura with Tom Blomqvist, supported by IndyCar stars Scott Dixon and Felix Rosenqvist for the Rolex 24. “He’s on our team now, but I’ve raced Renger for a long time and I feel like his racecraft is really strong. He’s definitely smart in traffic. And I feel the same with Nick Tandy – I think those two guys have a bulldog, get-it-done-in-the-end sort of style.
“So those two pop into mind, but there are no weak links across this whole GTP field. It’s the best of the best.”
Talking to van der Zande and Tandy about the climactic pass for the win last October at Road Atlanta, it’s clear that there is a high level of respect between the pair. The drama was highlighted by an electrical glitch in van der Zande’s Cadillac that caused its headlights to flicker in the pitch-black Georgia night.
Van der Zande said the key to setting up the winning pass was patience and managing his tire wear in the laps leading up to the crucial moment when Tandy got slightly balked in traffic with 15 minutes remaining in the 10-hour endurance race.
“The move was fun, and dealing with the lights was fun, and I got a lot of credit for it,” said van der Zande, who is entering his first season with the Meyer Shank team. “Even my spotter didn’t see it coming. But I think the biggest credit is that I could do it on Tandy, because he’s one of the best drivers in the world. And he’s also the guy that if you see him in your mirrors, you know you had better watch out for your gaps.”
Tandy explained his perspective.
“The mirrors in our cars, they’re okay in the daytime, but at nighttime, they’re not great,” he said. “We tend to rely on the camera, which are still not great and in the night, depth perception is incredibly difficult. So, I knew he was close behind me, but I didn’t know how close he was. It was a good move and he drove a great stint. It was a great race to be part of.”
Despite being van der Zande’s most recent late-lap victim, Tandy refused to name him – or anyone else – specifically as the guy he doesn’t want to see in the mirror with 10 to go.
“Everybody that drives in the GTP class is there for a reason,” Tandy reasoned. “They’re competitive, great drivers. With 10 minutes to go, if it’s your teammate back there, you know their car strengths and weaknesses. What’s difficult is when you’ve got a different car, no matter who the driver is. Different cars make up their speed in different areas, so it’s always more comfortable with a teammate.
“But if I’m in the car with 10 minutes go, it doesn’t matter who is in the car behind me because the philosophy will never change. And that’s to do everything possible to bring the car home.”
Mathieu Jaminet was Tandy’s co-driver in the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 the last two years. This year, Tandy has been shifted to share the No. 7 Porsche with Felipe Nasr, while Matt Campbell joins Jaminet in the No. 6.
Jaminet said his ideal scenario for the last 10 minutes of an IMSA race is to have the second Porsche team car in his rear-view mirror. But when pressed, he singled out his former Porsche teammate Earl Bamber, who this year has taken over from Pipo Derani in the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R.
“Seeing your sister car is not a bad thing because that means we’re doing a pretty good job to be running 1-2,” Jaminet noted. “There might be some things happening in the background on the pit stand, but in the car that’s the best situation. I know American racing can be really tense and a lot of things can happen at the end of the race. This is why I love it. I’m actually happy if there is a fight with 10 minutes to go. It will be entertaining for the fans and also for the drivers, whoever is up for the fight.
“Earl is a good mate; we drove a lot together when he was at Porsche in GT racing (in IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup races in 2018 and ’19),” added Jaminet. “It would be fun to have a fight with Earl and be there at the end because we really never had this opportunity before at Porsche. I’d be looking forward to this one.”
Derani, who has stepped away from GTP this year to focus on developing Genesis’s future entry into the hybrid prototype class, was cited by his new co-driver Jack Aitken as a tough nemesis to face late in a race. Derani is part of the driver lineup in the No. 36 DXDT Racing Corvette Z06 GT3.R in this year’s Rolex 24.
“There’s a lot of hard racers in the paddock, and Pipo was one of them,” Aitken said. “I think people didn’t like to see him in their rear-view mirrors, so it’s a good thing he was on my side. Renger has always been a strong racer, really strong and not afraid to make a move. Nick Tandy is another guy who is experienced but really aggressive. It’s a lot of fun to race those guys, but it’s a challenge as well.”
Van der Zande was happy to accept the accolade of being the driver most feared in the last 10 minutes by his rivals. But he was also glad to answer the question.
“That’s a compliment, it really is,” said van der Zande. “Honestly, the guy I don’t want to see in the mirror is the guy I overtook – Nick Tandy. I think he’s one of those guys who is going to make a move, for sure.”
History has shown that there’s a high likelihood that the Rolex 24 could be settled by a pass in the final 10 minutes. Who will be looming in the leader’s mirror this year?