DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Tristan Vautier will return to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship as part of Tower Motorsports’ program. The Frenchman replaces countryman Sebastien Bourdais aboard the No. 8 ORECA LMP2 07 in Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) for the rest of the season alongside John Farano, as Bourdais will focus on his Cadillac commitments in the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Vautier, Bourdais and Loic Duval shared the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring-winning No. 5 Mustang Sampling JDC-Miller MotorSports Cadillac DPi-V.R in 2021 for his first and thus far only WeatherTech Championship win. Vautier has accumulated more than 60 starts in IMSA since 2013.
Vautier’s most recent IMSA start came in the 2025 Motul Petit Le Mans as part of Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian’s No. 93 Acura ARX-06 in Grand Touring Prototype (GTP).
In a team statement, Tower wrote: “Tower Motorsports is thrilled to welcome Tristan Vautier to our team for the remainder of the 2026 IMSA season. With Tristan’s experience and leadership, we are confident this is exactly what we need to hit the ground running at Sebring. We look forward to the energy he will bring as we build on the success the team has come to know and to carry that energy forward through the remainder of the 2026 season.”
Regarding Bourdais’ departure, it wrote: “Tower Motorsports confirms that Sébastien Bourdais has made the decision to step away from the team in order to focus more fully on his factory Cadillac WEC program. We respect and support Sébastien’s commitment to his responsibilities with Cadillac and appreciate the professionalism, experience, and speed he brought to our organization. We thank Sébastien for his contributions and wish him continued success for the remainder of the WEC season and beyond.”