Minnesota based JDC-Miller MotorSports in partnership with Mustang Sampling Racing confirmed today that Loïc Duval, Tristan Vautier and Sébastien Bourdais will return to the program for 2021.
The all-French lineup raced together in the team’s 2020 Mustang Sampling Racing/JDC-Miller MotorSports No. 5 entry in several races during last year’s championship.
Duval joins the team for 2021 as one of the full-season drivers and will be paired with Tristan Vautier who ran for the team in both JDC-Miller MotorSports entries in 2020. Sébastien Bourdais meanwhile will move into the role as the third driver for the Michelin Endurance Cup rounds due to his 2021 IndyCar commitments.
Mustang Sampling Racing/JDC-Miller MotorSports No. 5 entry scored three podium finishes in 2020 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,” said Ken Thompson, CEO of Mustang Sampling. “Twenty-twenty 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 of John Miller and John Church, dedicated to the sport and the absolute desire to WIN. 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 by not least a Thank You to all our Sponsors who help make this happen.”
“I am really happy and pleased to be back with Mustang Sampling Racing/JDC-Miller MotorSports for the 2021 season after I joined the team in 2020 for the long endurance races,” said Loïc Duval.
“Twenty-twenty 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. I cannot wait to go back to Daytona, also with the just announced qualifying race to determine the starting grid for the Rolex24 it’s going to be awesome. Hopefully 2021 will see be a year where things go back a little bit more to normal and we can see the fans returning to the races and share our passion for the sport. We for sure missed them in 2020”.
“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 Tristan 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 amongst 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 racetracks. 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.”
Tristan continued his thoughts towards the 2021 season. “I am really looking forward to a second season with Mustang Sampling Racing/JDC-Miller MotorSports. 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!” Sébastien Bourdais commented on his return for a second year with Mustang Sampling Racing/JDC-Miller MotorSports.
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.
