24h Le Mans
Though absent in the World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) this season to prepare for its participationl in the LMP1 class with a non-hybrid prototype in 2018, the SMP Racing team will still compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a Dallara LMP2 shared by Mikhail Aleshin, Victor Shaytar and third Renault driver in F1 Sergey Sirotkin.
The 2016 season for SMP Racing, now the first Russian team to claim the top step on the podium in a class (LMGTE Am) at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (2015), was marred with mixed results with a final podium in LMP2 in the European Le Mans Series and at Le Mans, but less stellar results with the house-designed BR01 in the World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC).
Boris Rotenberg's (the B and R in BR01) men fully intend to return to the top of their discipline next season in the head class with a new LMP1 non-hybrid prototype, attracted by the changes to the technical regulations. This year, SMP Racing will take the start at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a Dallara P217 compliant with the new technical regulations in effect since January 1st, with a 100% Russian driver line-up.
Mikhail Aleshin, a driver in the IndyCar Series, the American single-seaters championship, and Victor Shaytar, one of the three winners in the LMGTE Am class at the 24 Hours and class champion in the World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) in 2015, will be joined by a newcomer to endurance racing already well-known to motorsports fans, Sergey Sirotkin.
Third in the GP2 Series - a stepping stone to F1 - in 2015 and 2016, the Russian has kept his role as third driver and reserve driver for the Renault F1 team this year. The 21-year-old participated in Friday morning's free practice session at Sochi during his national 2017 Grand Prix, but quickly encountered gearbox problems forcing him to throw in the towel.
Photo (Copyright - SMP Racing): Sergey Sirotkin, one of SMP Racing's protégés, will debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the Russian team.
