Our colleagues at DailySportsCar reported it Monday and Karim Ojjeh contacted us himself yesterday to confirm:  he will be still be piloting a Zytek in 2010, but in Team Bruichladdich colours.  A bit of a surprise since the squad has historically been associated with Radical even though team boss Tim Greaves sold the car making company a while back.  Ojjeh will part of the team for the Le Mans Series as well as an entry at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“At the end of last season, Claude-Yves Gosselin told me he would not be running in LMP2 the next year,” explains Karim Ojjeh.  “I therefore began to speak with other teams regarding the technical oversight of the Zytek.  Yesterday (Monday), I signed a partnership with Team Bruichladdich, Tim Greaves’ team.  It’s an adventure that ends with Claude-Yves and I’d like to thank him, as well as Lucien, and all the mechanics and the entire team.”

The Zytek 07S will no longer  run under the Swiss flag but under the English banner.  “Our first wish was to keep the Gstaad Automobile Club name,” says Karim. “But it’s a younger name than Team Bruichladdich, which has three Le Mans participations under its belt.  However, it’s possible that we will keep the number 41.”

This partnership is for the 2010 season so far, as Karim confirms:  “We are together for a year, and we’ll see for the rest. The rules will change in 2011 and for the moment, it’s a question mark for us. The Zytek (which is owned by Renate Ojjeh, Karim’s mother) will run in all of the Le Mans Series races in 2010 and a request will be sent to the ACO for an LMP2 invite at the 24 Hours.  We don’t plan on running any other races with the Zytek, which will be receiving the latest evolutions, including the new aero kit.  Concerning the tyres, there is a good chance we will be running Dunlops.”

While Bruichladdich will be in charge of running the Zytek, with Jacob Greaves as team manager, Karim Ojjeh will have Tim Greaves as teammate.  The two are looking for a third driver, who will be “in the spirit of LMP2.  I’m happy with the rules change regarding gentlemen drivers and in 2009, I made it to the podium once and just missed it twice.  With Tim, who will be a good teammate, and a third driver whom we hope will be quick, the objective will be to finish on the podium.”

Thanks to Karim Ojjeh, who we will have the pleasure of seeing again at the Le Mans Series Official Tests at the Castellet.

Rainier Erhardt (with Anthony Megevand)