Meeting up with old friends, this is what ProSpeed Competition is embarking upon with the European Le Mans Series and the French driver Emmanuel Collard. Hoping to be soon relieved from the Le Mans reserve bench, the Belgian team is also about to pay its respects on the international scene. The team headed up by Rudi Penders and Luc Goris will be entering a Porsche 911 GT3 RSR for the French duo François Perrodo and Emmanuel Collard in the European Le Mans Series. For the Imola event Manu Collard will be replaced by another Frenchman, namely Sébastien Crubilé. The challenge will be intense seeing there are quite a few innovations in the European Le Mans Series: another definition regarding the Pro/Am category in LM GTE, a new promoter and more especially races over three as opposed to six hours.
The revised European Le Mans Series (ELMS), where the meeting coincides with either the World Endurance Championship or the World Series by Renault, can count on renewed sporting and public interest. The days when the calendar was continuously being reviewed or the races were purely being cancelled, which last year led ProSpeed Competition having to forfeit a meeting, are over. François Perrodo is a driver whose main ambition is the 24 Hours of Le Mans and with that in mind he pieced together a puzzle with pieces comprised out of ELMS, the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Emmanuel Collard, Sébastien Crubilé, Michelin and ProSpeed Competition.
Rudi Penders (Team Principal): “We are back in the European Le Mans Series and that is great news, because let’s not forget that the team clinched a victory in the LM GTE AM category at Paul Ricard last year… For GT cars this is the pre-eminent category. The new regulations foresee a mixture of a professional driver with one or more gentlemen drivers. This gives the category a new bright future. In addition to François Perrodo we will be reunited with our former driver Emmanuel Collard and this pleases us no end. “Manu” was one of the Porsche Motorsport drivers that ProSpeed Competition helped bring on to the international motorsport scene, with amongst others victories and a European FIA GT2 title during the 2008 and 2009 seasons. He will be the team’s captain and a top-class mentor.”
Luc Goris (Technical Director): “By reducing the length of the races from six down to three hours, the ACO will be creating even more intense races in a competition that was already pretty thrilling. The Porsche 911 GT3 RSR Spec. 2011 is a light, economical and fast car. Those qualities, linked to perfect pit stops will be our trump cards in a battle with such strong competitors as AF Corse, Imsa, Larbre and Proton, who just like us cherish the ambition of winning.”
Emmanuel Collard (Porsche 911 GT3 RSR #75 – LMGTE): “In those days Rudi and Luc worked hard at developing ProSpeed Competition’s future by aiming at dedication and continuity. They succeeded and I’m truly delighted to be working with them once more. Together with François, we will be systematically building up our season race upon race. No doubt we shall still be learning a few things in Silverstone, but we are confidently taking on this challenge with every intention of progressing. Sébastien Crubilé will be taking my place in Imola.”
Source : ProSpeed Competition