As a celebration for SARD’s comeback in endurance racing, General Manager and former driver Hideki Noda came to Paris with Benoit Morand last week for the press conference of the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans. He confirmed that TEAM SARD MORAND is eager to battle as soon as possible for LMP2 victory in La Sarthe and the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).

 Founded in 1972 as Sigma Automotive Co Ltd, the company extended its racing activities under the acronym of SARD (Sigma Advanced Racing Development) in the mid-eighties. Partnering with Toyota, SARD claimed the first podium finish for the Japanese manufacturer in 1994, when Jeff Krosnoff, Eddie Irvine and Mauro Martini finished second at the wheel of the 94 CV prototype.

 Hideki Noda (SARD General Manager): “SARD was the first Japanese team to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans back in 1973 until 1997. Eighteen years later, we needed to come back, notably since one of SARD’s cars is on display in the 24 Hours Museum. Kato-San, Team SARD’s founder, loves Le Mans. Now there is a new generation in the staff to perpetuate our spirit, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is one of the greatest races in the world so this is natural for us to be back there. This year TEAM SARD MORAND is entering the LMP2 class but I think that in the future we will move to LMP1. We are very excited about that. The feature that makes Benoit Morand the best partner for us to come back in endurance racing is his state of mind, which is very similar to ours. He built up a very nice private team. His crew has the real thing and spirit to win races. This is exactly the same for us in Japan. We do not operate like a big LMP1 factory team but victory is what everything is all about. This is racing indeed.”

 The two Morgan EVO SARDs entered by TEAM SARD MORAND in the LM P2 category are driven by Christian Klien, Koki Saga (#39), Pierre Ragues and Oliver Webb (#43). The third drivers for each car will be announced shortly.