The 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship-winning Wayne Taylor Racing team has found a driver to replace Ricky Taylor, who chose to leave his father’s team after the end of the season to drive for Team Penske in the Acura ARX-05 DPi. According to IMSA, the elder Taylor brother’s spot on the roster will be taken up by Dutch racing driver Renger van der Zande.
Renger van der Zande will compete for Wayne Taylor Racing full-time in the Prototype class, splitting time in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R with Jordan Taylor. He’s been racing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship since 2014, after a career spent driving in series like Formula 3 Euro and Porsche Supercup. In 2016, he and his team, Starworks Motorsport, won the Prototype Challenge team championship in the LS-powered Oreca FLM09, and during his three years with Starworks, he racked up an impressive nine wins and eighteen podium finishes.
This past year, van der Zande graduated up to the Prototype class, driving alongside Belgian racer Marc Goosensfor in the No. 90 Visit Florida Racing entry. The team produced mixed results, finishing out the series in seventh, but not before making it onto the podium at the challenging Rolex 24 at Daytona season opener and claiming first at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
“Renger was at the top of our list when it came to finding a replacement for Ricky and, after doing our due diligence to make sure he was free and clear of any other obligations, we decided to move forward to further the negotiations,” Wayne Taylor says. “We are absolutely thrilled that it worked out that he can join us.”
He continued: “Based on everything we’ve seen, Renger is going to fit in well here. Speed-wise, he’s going to be good. I think he will be good on equipment. He has a great personality and fits in with the team and our sponsors really, really well. Konica Minolta and Cadillac and GM are all on board and are very excited. We are really looking forward to this.”
Renger van der Zande commented on his new team by saying: “Needless to say, I’m very happy to join the Konica Minolta Cadillac team – it’s a mega opportunity. I have to say, for me, being with Visit Florida Racing was a good step up from LMPC, and now joining a Prototype championship-winning team is very special.”
No Comments yet