“I would say that my biggest focus this year was understanding what the car is doing and why it is doing it.”

Zach Vanier – the 2025 driver version – stands in stark contrast to the 2023 version who first cut his teeth at that time on the GT3 Cup Pro-Am circuit.

Where much of our discussion that first year centered around the transition that comes from evolving from snow-cross racing and the go-kart track in Sudbury to circuit motor sports, a look at the past 12 months for the young man making waves in the Porsche Carrera Cup GT3 ranks demonstrated the evolution that comes part and parcel of being an integral part of a racing team.

JDX Racing, in this bracket, was effectively broken into two pairings of drivers in 2025, each of each worked closely with a devoted engineer. The Sudbury native who graduated from Lasalle Secondary School drove alongside New Zealand native Madeline Stewart, the duo taping into the extensive knowledge of motorsports veteran Greg Jones.

“Our approach with Greg was to put two different starting points on our cars,” explained Vanier. “With Greg’s experience with engineering and data, he would send us on two different paths on a testing event. At the end of the testing event, we would try and bring it all back to one.”

“Madeline would try certain things and I would try other things,” continued the 23 year-old northern Ontario racer. “With all of the knowledge we were gaining, we realized what changes were better in what ways.”

That deeper level of automobile knowledge only served to accentuate the contributions that Vanier could provide as his team continued to enjoy success within the Porsche racing landscape, picking up a couple of victories along the way.

“Instead of just relying on the engineer, I now had the knowledge to also make recommendations,” he stated. “The feedback I give to the team has always been something I have put a high priority on. It’s really important to give accurate and precise feedback.”

Splitting time between his home in Sudbury and the various tracks he has come to know, Vanier acknowledged that these past twelve months represent yet another rung on the ladder as he continues to follow his dream.

“It’s been the busiest year of my career to date, hands down, for sure,” he said. “We had a really busy calendar – and one that presented its ups and downs. It was a character builder, but one which puts me in a good position for next year.”

fact, in October, Vanier was selected to compete in the sche Junior Shootoutth races in Germany and Portugal. An in-house media release published on the website operated by Porsche Motorsport North America suggested that “the Porsche Junior Shootout is regarded as one of the most selective development programs in global motorsport”.

“Being chosen for the Shootout puts you in an entirely new conversation,” quipped Vanier, in the release.

Still, he knows that the driver is but one cog in the wheel.

“It was my third year with our program, so it wasn’t a big learning curve for me as a driver. It was more about working through the processes as a team, understanding where we need to excel, where we need to improve to take our team, as a group, to the front of the grid.”

It is easy to get lost in “racing car jargon” as one wanders down the rabbit hole of more fully researching the specifics of the type of knowledge, type of feedback that Zach Vanier now feels far more comfortable offering – but it is key to where he wants to get.

“That kind of knowledge lets you be very effective on car set-up and car balance and car opportunity,” Vanier outlined. “For me, it was about bringing the experience that I had, bringing the feel that I had. And then there is the collaboration. In an atmosphere like that, it was so important.”

“That was kind of our approach to everything.”

As for the driving itself, Vanier continues to share an affinity with the Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta – though ironically, his two victories this year came at “tracks that were not my favourites”.

“There is something about Atlanta that makes me feel connected with that track,” he continued. “It has a really good variety: low speed, high speed, technical corners. That would rank as my favourite, for sure.”

Hinting that a wonderful opportunity that cannot yet be fully unveiled awaits in 2026, Vanier emphasized that his greatest source of developmental pride lies in the preparation between and before races.

"The preparation gives you the confidence to know that you can execute the game plan,” he said.

“You want to give yourself all of the tools you need for that next event – and also give the team everything they need to help you.”

And now, more than ever, that involves an ever-increasing level of race car knowledge for the talented Sudbury driver.