Tower Motorsports Adds van der Zande to Full-Season Lineup Alongside Farano
IMSA Rookie Peebles, Veteran Vautier Complete No. 8 ORECA LMP2 07 Entry
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – In what figures to be another stacked Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) field in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Tower Motorsports is putting its best foot forward to contend for the title with its No. 8 ORECA LMP2 07.
John Farano and Renger van der Zande are set for the full season, while rookie Griffin Peebles will be the team’s IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup driver and IMSA veteran Tristan Vautier will complete the lineup at the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
“I’m really excited about our driver lineup for next season,” said Rick Capone, Team Manager, Tower Motorsports. “With John Farano, Griffin Peebles, Renger van der Zande, and Tristan Vautier, we have a great combination of talent and experience. We already have a very strong team at Tower Motorsports, and I believe these are the final pieces of the puzzle to put us in a position to fight for wins.”
Canadian Farano continues for his seventh consecutive full season dating to 2021. He’s set for his 50th career start at the Rolex 24, with five wins and the 2022 LMP2 championship.
He’ll look to add his second title alongside one of IMSA’s most experienced drivers, van der Zande, the 2016 Prototype Challenge (PC) champion, who’s found a home where he’s often driven in his recent LMP2 starts. The Dutchman has 133 WeatherTech Championship starts to his name with 23 wins and five poles. He’s won at least one race each season in the modern era of the WeatherTech Championship dating to 2014.
It’s a good landing spot for van der Zande after racing the previous 10 seasons in IMSA’s top prototype class since 2017, racing with four different teams (Spirit of Daytona Racing, Wayne Taylor Racing, the Chip Ganassi-prepared Cadillac Racing and Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian).
Australian teenager Peebles will join the IMSA grid after a breakout year winning the European Le Mans Series LMP2 title with another team, plus the ELMS Top Performer and the Golden Wingfoot awards this year. Vautier has extensive IMSA experience across multiple classes, including both LMP2 and Grand Touring Prototype (GTP).
Farano had a rotation of co-drivers in 2026 with Vautier and Sebastian Alvarez on for most but not all rounds. Van der Zande is familiar driving alongside Farano, having done so in his two most recent IMSA LMP2 starts at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in 2024 and 2025 and as part of DKR Engineering’s entry in the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Tower team finished a season-best third at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring this year and Farano finished sixth in the LMP2 championship.
Tower Motorsports delivered three straight wins at Motul Petit Le Mans from 2020 through 2022, the latter capping off Farano’s championship-winning season. The team seeks a return to victory lane for the first time since Sebring in 2023, when Farano, Scott McLaughlin and Kyffin Simpson claimed the LMP2 race win.