Tower Motorsports has announced its 2027 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship LMP2 programme, headlined by the addition of two new drivers to the #8 ORECA 07-Gibson.
Owner/driver John Farano will be joined for the full season by veteran IMSA driver Renger van der Zande. The Dutchman is coming off a two-year stint at Acura Meyer Shank Racing where he drove the #93 Acura ARX-06 alongside Nick Yelloly. Prior to that, van der Zande spent seven seasons driving for Cadillac with Wayne Taylor Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing.
In 133 races, van der Zande has 23 wins, and has won at least one race in each of the last 13 seasons – since the formation of the current IMSA in 2014. He has driven alongside Farano in one-off rides at the IMSA Chevrolet Grand Prix at CTMP, and at this past year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans for DKR Engineering.
Farano, the 2022 IMSA LMP2 champion, will also be joined by a new Michelin Endurance Cup driver, Australian rising star Griffin Peebles, who will make his IMSA debut as the team’s Silver-rated Endurance specialist.
The 18-year-old is coming off a stellar season in the European Le Mans Series, where he helped lead United Autosports to the LMP2 championship. Peebles was given the ELMS Top Performer and Goodyear Golden Wingfoot awards for individual excellence throughout the season.
Completing the team’s four-driver lineup at the Rolex 24 At Daytona is Frenchman Tristan Vautier, who was Tower Motorsports’ full-time pro driver last season, contributing to a season-best third-place finish at Sebring, and three top-five finishes to close out the season en route to Farano and Tower Motorsports finishing sixth in the LMP2 standings.
“I’m really excited about our driver lineup for next season,” said Rick Capone, Team Manager of 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.”
With van der Zande joining Tower Motorsports and Colin Braun set to drive for returning GTD challenger Kellymoss, all four of Acura Meyer Shank Racing’s full-time GTP drivers from last season have now found a home for next year. Yelloly and Tom Blomqvist, meanwhile, joined Ford Racing’s WEC Hypercar programme in advance of its 2027 debut.
Images © Jack Webster / Dailysportscar.com
