The pieces continue to fall into place for DragonSpeed’s 2016 program, with confirmation of platinum-ranked pilot Nicolas Lapierre for the full season and fellow Frenchman Nicolas Minassian for Sebring, satellite premises at Circuit Paul Ricard in France, and delivery of the team’s ORECA O5J-Nissan LMP2 machine to its new West Palm Beach, Florida base last week.
Preparations for the team’s one-off IMSA appearance at the Sebring 12 Hours in mid-March and full-season European Le Mans Series (ELMS) effort will see it start winter testing immediately after the holidays. This follows a successful day of shakedown work and driver testing at Paul Ricard in November. After Sebring, DragonSpeed will run its ELMS campaign from space near ORECA’s headquarters at the French track.
As previously announced, DragonSpeed stalwart Henrik Hedman returns for his third season with the team in 2016, graduating to LMP2 with his new ORECA mount after two years of Pirelli World Challenge competition. The Florida-based Swedish native and soon-to-be US citizen said, “This must be one of my best Christmases ever. To be joined by drivers of Nico’s and Nic’s caliber is a dream come true. We can’t be sure how IMSA’s performance balancing will affect us, but we can definitely be confident of our lineup behind the wheel. I will have to up my game to do them justice, but I’m up for the challenge and will be getting as much seat time as I can this winter.”
Dragon Speed team owner Elton Julian said, “With these driver signings, we’ve added two more key elements to our 2016 program. Having drivers of Nico’s and Nic’s pedigree will be hugely beneficial to our performance, Henrik’s progress, and our learning curve with the ORECA-Nissan package. We are all delighted to welcome Nico and Nic to the DragonSpeed family.”
Nicolas Lapierre, 31, is a former GP2 race winner and factory Toyota LMP1 pilot as well as 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours LMP2 class champion. As the leading ORECA driver in 2015, Nicolas brings a wealth of set-up experience with the stunning LMP2 coupe to DragonSpeed, allied to his usual pace. Lapierre said, “I tested with DragonSpeed in November, and felt at home straight away. The team may be new to LMP2, but they are a strong unit and really motivated. The only time I’ve raced at Sebring was in 2011, when I won with ORECA’s LMP1 Peugeot. Since then I’ve been jealous every March of the drivers who are going there. But I’m finally back, and together with DragonSpeed I believe I can push hard to win this fabulous event again.“
Nicolas Minassian’s career spans 20-plus years as a frontrunner, winner, and champion in disciplines as diverse as F3, F3000, Champ Car, and stock cars before becoming a sportscar regular in LMP1 with second places at Le Mans and Sebring to his credit and LMP2, most recently with SMP Racing. “What a great opportunity and pleasure, especially having known Elton for more than 20 years,” said Minassian. “Getting the call to do one of the greatest endurance races in the world was a big Christmas present! DragonSpeed is a team on the rise, with a great car in the ORECA and a great crew. I can’t wait to tackle Sebring again and go for the win. A big thank you to Elton and the team for putting their trust in me.”