Firstly, our regular drivers would like to take some revenge following their extreme disappointment felt at 24 Hours of Spa. It should not be forgotten that Nico Verdonck was leading his class at 23H before the ill-fated accident happened .. Secondly, Jérôme Thiry will continue the Blancpain adventure with Boutsen Ginion for the last 2 rounds of the championship and has already an option for 2013 .. while Edouard Mondron is ready to do battle at the Nurburgring track. The Blancpain caravan will arrive in Germany at the Nurburgring for the 5th round of the championship which is to be held on September 23. We will be competing with both our McLaren MP4-12C GT3 cars at this event, #5 and #15. We are also delighted to announce that joining our driver line-up for both Nurburgring and Navarra will be 2 very competitive professional drivers : Coming from the “land of the rising sun”, the winner of the 2004 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 2003 1000 kms of Le Mans, and a regular driver in the Japanese Super GT Championship, it is Japanese driver, Seiji Ara.
Coming from Scotland, the ALMS 2010 LMP2 Champion and runner-up in the 2009 ALMS Drivers Championship, proving he is as quick in the prototype category as he was in GT’s, the 2012 DeltaWing development driver who is currently competing is the ALMS, Marino Franchitti. With many victories and podiums to their credit, we are delighted to welcome them to our team.
Olivier Lainé – Team Manager : « Our McLaren cars seem to be reliable and fast. It remains for us to get good results during the next two rounds (Nurburgring in Germany and Navarra in Spain). We are happy to welcome two great drivers in our team, who I am sure, will well cooperate with our drivers Nico Verdonck, Jérôme Thiry and Edouard Mondron. “
Seiji Ara – Driver : “Having had the opportunity to test the McLaren in June, I was very happy to be asked to compete in the final two rounds of the Blancpain Endurance Series with Boutsen Ginion Racing. I know the Nurburgring circuit, but Navarra will be a new challenge for me which I am looking forward to sharing with Nico and my new fellow Blancpain GT3 rookie, Marino.”
Marino Franchitti – Driver : “I am very happy to have the opportunity to get back in a GT car, especially with Boutsen Ginion Racing. The Blancpain Endurance Series is so competitive; I’m looking forward to working with Nico and especially Seiji. Any time you get to drive with a Le Mans 24 Hour winner is a real treat.”
We still have 1 further driver to confirm and we will inform you of this in the next few days, so please keep up to date with all our news by closely following our website.
In the European Le Mans Series, the last 2 rounds of the championship have been cancelled, but our team is still leading in the Formula Le Mans class! We are still waiting to receive confirmation of our invitation to the 2013 Le Mans 24 Hours which is promised to the winner of this category !
Source : Boutsen Ginion Racing