RML Group, the European Le Mans Series LMP2 Champions from 2007 and 2010 are pleased to announce plans to enter the European Le Mans Series for 2017 in the LMP3 category. The plans are part of an initiative to develop a ladder to Le Mans for drivers wanting to progress to the top step of the podium at the most prestigious and iconic race of all time.

In collaboration with Mectech Motorsport, the multiple Radical championship winning team, a clear path for aspiring sports car racers will be available, from Radical’s to LMP2.

The first driver pairing of Bradley Smith and Evgeny Klyucharev will start testing in the next few weeks in a Ligier JSP3, before moving to Europe for further testing in preparation for an entry in the ELMS.

Bradley raced a Ligier in the inaugural Prototype Cup Race at Snetterton earlier this month, securing second place for his first outing.

Mike Smith, team owner at Mectech commented “we are very pleased to be working with RML on this project, we have achieved great success with Radical over the years and we see the LMP3 as the perfect platform for our drivers to progress, with the experience of ourselves and RML we are now in a position to take a driver from being a total novice to potentially racing at Le Mans ”

Simon Holloway, Commercial Director at RML, comments “We believe that LMP3 will be heavily contested in 2017 and to be competitive the driver pairing will be critical, with Bradley and Evgeny we think we have a great combination.

At RML we see this as a great opportunity to re-enter Sports car racing and have been monitoring the LMP3 category for a while. The ACO have done a brilliant job introducing a very cost effective formula that provides great racing for Pro and Am drivers.

With RML and Mectech the ladder exists for aspiring drivers to make it all the way from dreaming of racing to the podium at Le Mans.”

RML and Mectech’s plans extend to running multiple cars in Prototype Cup and the ELMS Series, to be announced in the near future.