Status Grand Prix will make its debut in the FIA World Endurance Championship at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit this weekend as part of its preparations for next month’s Le Mans 24 Hours. The team’s Lola-Judd B12/80 Coupe LMP2 class contender will again be driven by single-seater converts Alexander Sims and Yelmer Buurman, who starred on the team’s maiden sportscar outing with a podium finish at last month’s European Le Mans Series (ELMS) opener at Paul Ricard. They will be joined in the six-hour FIA WEC race at Spa by experienced French sportscar driver Romain Iannetta.
Status GP, based at Silverstone, UK, is embarking on its first full season of endurance racing with its Judd-powered Lola Coupe, and is adding the Spa event to its schedule in the ELMS. It will compete against 17 other LMP2 entries for class honours at the Belgian track, which hosts a 42-car grid for the race being run on Saturday May 5.
The Spa event is a prelude Status GP making its debut this year in the Le Mans 24 Hours, the jewel in the crown of sportscar endurance racing, for which it has secured a confirmed entry.
Status GP team principal Teddy Yip said: “We are honoured to be able to compete at Le Mans in our first season of endurance racing, and the opportunity to compete in the FIA WEC race at Spa is the perfect preparation for our team. To compete against some of the world’s top sportscar teams is an important part of our learning process.”
Buurman, who is also competing full-time in the FIA GT1 World Championship for the Vita4One Racing BMW team this season, is re-united with Status GP for the event. “Spa is a fantastic circuit which I love,” said the 25-year-old Dutchman. “And this is a valuable chance to put more miles on the Lola-Judd package.”
British driver Sims, 24, who is also a factory McLaren GT driver, is looking forward to making his FIA WEC debut: “I am excited to be competing in my first WEC race, especially with it being at Spa. I think we should be strong again in the LMP2 class – as we were in Paul Ricard. It will be very interesting to be racing alongside so many other cars, including the 10 LMP1s, which will mean that whilst managing the GT traffic in front of us, we will also have to keep an eye on our mirrors.”
Iannetta, 32, has competed in two full seasons of LMP2 racing as well as starting Le Mans four times. He is looking forward to returning to action in sports prototypes. “It’s a great opportunity for me to join Status GP, and I am grateful to my sponsors for getting behind me on this project,” he said. “I’m looking forward to getting to know the car and working with the Status GP team.”
Status GP will announce its Le Mans 24 hours driver line-up later this month.
Source : Status Grand Prix