At the age of 28, Sam Bird is one of the talented young drivers in the GP2 Series who have turned to endurance racing due to a lack of opportunities in Formula One. Making his Le Mans debut in 2014 at the wheel of the n°81 Ferrari 458 Italia, Bird was fastest in the LM GTE Am class until, along with Marco Bonanomi (Audi) and Nicolas Lapierre (Toyota), he unfortunately fell victim to the storm that lashed the circuit early on in the race. But his blistering speed had caught the eye. This year he has switched to the LM P2 class, partnering Roman Rusinov and Julien Canal in place of the Nissan-bound Olivier Pla. At the wheel of G-Drive Racing’s Ligier JS P2, the trio were comfortable class winners at the 6 Hours of Silverstone, finishing in sixth place overall. Excellent preparation for Bird’s second 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.

Sam Bird: “I got my first taste of endurance in the US, with Starworks Motorsport. After a few races over there, I had the opportunity to drive for AF Corse. I only raced for them twice in 2014, at the 6 Hours of Silverstone and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and I loved every minute of the experience. For anyone who loves motorsport, either as a driver or simply as a fan, Ferrari is always something special. The mindset of Formula One and GP2 drivers is really geared towards single-seaters. I was terribly disappointed not to be able to get into F1 but I didn’t expect anything quite as massive as when I came to Le Mans last year. My opinion changed there and then as I had never seen anything like it. The week, the atmosphere, the crowd... it was amazing. When I left, I started to count down the days until I could come back. I’ve caught the 24-hour bug: as long as you haven’t won it, you just want to keep on coming back and trying again and again. After I was forced out last year, I was really mortified and it took me a long time to come to terms with it. I still think about it sometimes and it still hurts because we were really very quick, there was still a long way to go and we should have won because Ferrari had prepared a great car. That was undoubtedly the toughest moment of my career. I know I can learn from such a blow, but I also want to forget about it (smiles)! At my first 24 Hours of Le Mans, I was in pole position in the LM GTE Am class and on the same row as Gimmi Bruni [fastest LM GTE Pro time in qualifying and eventual class winner with Toni Vilander and Giancarlo Fisichella]. This year, after the Ferrari 458 Italia, I’m back in endurance once again with a roof over my head but this time I’m driving a prototype, which is closer to what I’m used to in terms of downforce and braking, and I’m loving it.”

Jean-Philippe Doret / ACO - English translation by David Goward

Photo: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), PLACE DE LA REPUBLIQUE, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, MONDAY 9 JUNE 2014, SCRUTINEERING. For 2015, Sam Bird has joined G-Drive Racing, the most successful team in the FIA WEC LM P2 class in 2014 and 2015.