Hard on the heels of last week’s announcement that G-Drive Racing will defend its 2016 European Le Mans Series title in collaboration with DragonSpeed, the first seats in the number 22 ORECA O7-Gibson LMP2 entry have been filled. The lineup will be led by Japanese Super GT standout and Toyota Young Drivers Program (TDP) member Ryo Hirakawa alongside Mexican four-time Rolex Sports Car Series champion Memo Rojas, with the third drive destined for a Silver-level pilot still to be named.

“I’m excited to be joining G-Drive and DragonSpeed and wish to thank both them and Toyota for this opportunity,” said Ryo Hirakawa. “It’s an honor to lead the TDP initiative in prototype racing. I really enjoyed my first season of ELMS; it was great to win races and challenge for the title, and I hope to do the same in 2017. I’ve been training hard over the winter to prepare for this season and can’t wait get started.”

“I am really happy to be driving for DragonSpeed,” said Memo Rojas. “I believe racing the ORECA chassis alongside Ryo will allow us to fight for wins and the ELMS championship this season. I want to express big thanks to my sponsors Telmex, Telcel, Infinitum, and Red Bull for their support during these difficult economic times in my country. All of us will be doing our very best to deliver maximum results at every race weekend for our many Mexican fans.”

G-Drive Racing principal and 2015 FIA WEC LMP2 class champion Roman Rusinov said, “I’m pleased to welcome Ryo and Memo to our ELMS program with DragonSpeed and am confident they will put us in the forefront of the battle to win the championship again this season.”

DragonSpeed team principal Elton Julian said, “Having Ryo and Memo on board gives us a strong team who really complement each other. Ryo’s great natural speed is backed by his ever-improving racecraft, while Memo’s long record of success shows he knows everything it takes to win championships.”