SAVAGE, Minn. – JDC-Miller Motorsports, in partnership with Mustang Sampling Racing, has confirmed that Loïc Duval, Tristan Vautier and Sébastien Bourdais will return to the program next year.
The all-French lineup raced together in the team’s Mustang Sampling Racing/JDC-Miller Motorsports No. 5 entry in several races during this season’s championship.
Duval joins the team for 2021 as one of the full-season drivers and will be paired with Vautier, who ran for the team in both JDC-Miller Motorsports entries in 2020.
Bourdais, meanwhile, will move into the role as the third driver for the Michelin Endurance Cup rounds due to his NTT IndyCar Series commitments next year with A.J. Foyt Racing.
The Mustang Sampling No. 5 scored three podium finishes this year and was a championship contender for much of the 2020 Championship.
“It’s great to have all three of them back for 2021,” said John Church, managing partner of JDC-Miller Motorsports. “We had a little bit of an up and down year in 2020 but I think we showed in the final race of the year at Sebring a lot of momentum and the potential we have as a group and that is what we have to build on for 2021. Consistency with our partners and line-up is a big part of that, so we are all very excited to be able to keep the line-up together for another run at the championship in 2021.”
“Consistency is always a good thing,” added Ken Thompson, CEO of Mustang Sampling. “This season was a novel year for us with the move to JDC-Miller Motorsports. We spent an interesting year working some kinks out of the system. I believe with a full season under our belt and by keeping together the driver line-up of Sebastian, Loic and Tristan we will find some cohesiveness and momentum in 2021. I want to thank the drivers and the JDC-Miller Motorsports team for the outstanding effort put forth in 2020 to make this a Winning Team, they did this in many ways throughout the entire year.
“It is a pleasure and great honor to be partnering with true racers in John Miller and John Church, dedicated to the sport and the absolute desire to win,” Thompson continued. “A big thank you to everyone involved from me and Brenda and our Mustang Sampling team. We look forward to seeing all our fantastic fans in 2021, and last but not least, a thank you to all our Sponsors who help make this happen.”
Duval has driven select races in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship since 2017, with two podium finishes in six starts. He co-drove to the win in the 2013 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Audt Sport Team Joest.
“I am really happy and pleased to be back with Mustang Sampling Racing and JDC-Miller Motorsports for the 2021 season after I joined the team in 2020 for the long endurance races,” said Duval. “2020 was a challenging year for a lot of reasons and as a team we for sure had our up and downs but we started the season really strong at Daytona and had a lot of momentum towards the end of the season. So it’s great to be back with Tristan and Seb in 2021, now as one of the full season drivers for the team because it for sure gives us consistency and to build on the momentum we had.
“All the best of luck to Seb for his IndyCar season in 2021 and it’s great that we will have him back in the lineup for the endurance races.”
Vautier is a six-year WeatherTech Championship veteran, and while he hasn’t yet tasted victory in an IMSA event, he’s eager to change that statistic.
“I am not going to lie, I wanted to be in this car and this line-up for a long time. So when I got the opportunity to do some races with them this season, I did everything to make sure this would carry on to 2021,” said Vautier. “Now that it is confirmed that I will return to the team in 2021 for the full season, I want to thank John Miller and John Church and the entire JDC-Miller Motorsports team as well as Ken and Brenda from Mustang Sampling, as well as Cadillac Racing for their trust in me and for having me onboard.
“Fighting among the best is what pushes me every day, and DPi is the place to be for that right now, with some of the best teams, drivers, and race tracks. With Loïc and Seb, we have a great trio, and as a team we finished 2020 building a lot of momentum, so we are very hopeful to carry that into 2021 and fight at the front every weekend.”
Bourdais is a four-time Indy car champion and 37-time race winner. In sports car competition, he has six major victories, including one in American Le Mans Series action, one under Grand-Am sanction and four with the WeatherTech Championship.
“I am really looking forward to a second season with Mustang Sampling Racing/JDC-Miller Motorsports,” noted Bourdais. “Thanks to John Miller and John Church, Mustang Sampling and Cadillac, we will have the tools we all need to compete, run at the front and hopefully win a couple of IMSA’s biggest classic events. I enjoyed working with Loïc and Tristan in 2020, so it’s awesome to stay together and give it another go next season. Daytona can’t come soon enough.”
Besides its Cadillac DPi-V.R program, the team also recently confirmed a full-season Michelin Pilot Challenge TCR effort with Mikey Taylor and Chris Miller, and will announce an addition to its IMSA Prototype Challenge program shortly.