Two-time Motul Petit Le Mans overall winner Sébastien Bourdais will join DragonSpeed for the 29th running of the ten-hour endurance classic at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
With the French legend joining co-drivers Casper Stevenson and Giacomo Altoè in the #81 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R next weekend, DragonSpeed will step up from GTD to GTD Pro for what will be the team’s last IMSA appearance for the foreseeable future.
“Getting a call up from DragonSpeed and being asked to race with them really put a smile on my face,” said Bourdais, who hasn’t raced in IMSA since this year’s Rolex 24 At Daytona with LMP2 team Tower Motorsports. “I love Petit, and have been fortunate to have a lot of success there in the past. This will be my third different class in the last three years, and I’m really excited to see how different it is to what I’ve experienced for the previous two times.
“Racing in GTD Pro in a Corvette will also be two new ventures, but everyone I’ve talked to says the Chevy is a great car. The focus of the weekend is to help DragonSpeed, Elton (Julian), Henrik (Hedman), Giacomo, Casper, and all the guys behind the scenes get a win at Petit for GM!”
News broke during the Michelin GT Challenge at VIRginia International Raceway that DragonSpeed would depart IMSA at the end of what has been a frustrating 2026 campaign in GTD, in which the team has found itself on the wrong end of several collisions. The highlights of the 2026 season have been a fourth-place finish at Road America, and a pole for Stevenson at VIR.
“Ah, Petit Le Mans…. One of my favorites,” Julian said. “So ready to finish this year with a classic both in and out of the car. Over the years, DragonSpeed has raced with some of the great drivers of their generation, whether it be in endurance or single-seaters. Sébastien is one of those drivers.
“When the decision was taken to race in Pro to close out our GT campaign in IMSA, we needed an ace in the pocket and we found one. With him, I know what we are gonna get and it’s exactly what we will need.
“It’s time to go racing again with the big boys and we won’t bring a knife to a gun fight. Everyone at DragonSpeed and GM are looking forward to seeing him do his thing in the Z06 GT3.R.”
DragonSpeed will also take part in the SRO Intercontinental GT Challenge’s upcoming Indianapolis 8 Hour Race the week after Petit Le Mans, entering its #81 Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the Pro class.
Images © IMSA, Jack Webster / Dailysportscar.com
