24h Le Mans
This season, the G-Drive Racing outfit will race an Oreca 07 in the LM P2 class in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) and therefore in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. To maximize their chances, the team will look to TDS Racing for the development side.
In 2017, the G-Drive Racing team will take part in nine rounds of the World Endurance Championship (WEC), including the 24 Hours of Le Mans (June 17th and 18th). Two years ago, the Russian outfit made its mark on endurance racing by winning the FIA Endurance LM P2 Teams Trophy and by finishing third at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a Ligier JS P2.
This upcoming season, will be quite...French. Indeed, the team will enter the new prototype out of the workshops in Signes, the Oreca 07 powered by a Gibson V8 engine, like all the other competitors.
So far two drivers have been announced: Roman Rusinov and G-Drive Racing's new recruit, Pierre Thiriet. Thiriet is very familiar with the LM P2 class and was European Le Mans Series champion in 2012. The French driver was chosen in part thanks to TDS Racing, the final touch of French to the project as technical partner to G-Drive Racing for this new season. TDS Racing has won a European Le Mans Series title (2012) and finished second twice in the LM P2 class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2012 and 2014 (plus pole position the second year). It will have a full program in the World Endurance Championshp (WEC), in addition to its partnership with G-Drive Racing, the team will also enter an Oreca 07 (in LM P2) for the trio Emmanuel Collard, François Perrodo and Matthieu Vaxivière.
The name of the third man in the G-Drive Racing team will be released in the near future subsequent to discussions currently taking place with F1 experienced drivers. There is no doubt the G-Drive Racing team will be a favorite in the LM P2 class this year.
Roman Rusinov, G-Drive Racing driver: "We are preparing for the next season of the FIA World Endurance Championship with renewed vigor. To tell the truth, putting together all the components necessary for highest achievements was not an easy task. Technical regulations changed this year so we had to look for a new chassis and engine vendor. We’ve been working on this over the past six months and in the end the new Oreca model was our top-pick. We expect this car to be the fastest. We are looking forward to the new season’s launch. We only aim at victory."
The entry list in the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) and World Endurance Championship (WEC), as well as the invitees list for the 24 Hours of Le Mans will be announced on Thursday, February 2nd at 4:00 p.m. local time.
