French brothers Julien and Maxime Jousse will race together for the first time after agreeing to join Status Grand Prix’s sportscar team for this weekend’s 6 Hours of Donington. Status GP has invited the Jousses to join British ace Alexander Sims in the driver line-up aboard the team’s LMP2 Lola-Judd B12/80 Coupe for the race, which is the second round of the 2012 European Le Mans Series.
Julien Jousse, 26, arrives at Status GP with a strong record in sports-prototype racing, and is the reigning LMP1 champion of the Le Mans Series. Since recording a top-six finish in the Sebring 12 Hours in March, he has taken time out to compete in his debut rally – and won it! He is already a race winner at Donington, having taken victory at the track in the 2009 FIA Formula 2 Championship.
His younger brother Maxime Jousse, 21, already has experience in LMP2 cars and in the past few weeks has been competing in the Italian Formula 3 Championship, where he has taken five top-six finishes in a row.
Status GP returns to ELMS action one month after making its debut in the Le Mans 24 Hours. The Silverstone-based team is third in the ELMS LMP2 teams’ rankings after finishing on the podium in the opening round at Le Castellet, while Sims is third in the drivers’ championship.
“We’re delighted to welcome Maxime and Julien into the team, they’re quality drivers, great to work with and they will combine very well with Alexander,” said Status GP technical director Rob Arnott. “The Donington circuit layout should suit our Lola-Judd package very well, but the quality of the LMP2 field at the front of the grid is incredibly high so we know it’s going to be a very competitive race.”
The Donington weekend begins with free practice on Friday and Saturday morning, with qualifying on Saturday afternoon and the race running from 1155-1755 on Sunday.
DRIVER QUOTES
Alexander Sims: “The team and drivers we have is definitely a strong combination. Julien’s experience will certainly help us, and his speed is well proven. Maxime will be quick as well, I’m sure. I expect us to fight for a win at our home race, although in a six-hour race anything can happen.”
Julien Jousse: “I haven’t raced since Sebring, so I’m looking forward to this, especially as it will be my first time in a Coupe. Also it will be the first time I have shared a car with my brother, so that will be a good feeling. I’d like to thank the team for their invitation, we will do our best to prove them they’ve done the right choice. I know Donington very well – I raced there in F2 and World Series by Renault – and it’s a good track. Everything looks pretty good. The team is great and Alexander will be a very strong team-mate.”
Maxime Jousse: “We’ve done a quick post-Le Mans shakedown of the car, there were no problems and we got to meet the team and get to know everybody. We are very happy to be here and everyone is really looking forward to the weekend. I have never raced at Donington before, but I will learn it in free practice on Friday.”
Source : Status GP