Spyker Squadron will be back in the Le Mans Series for the sixth year in succession. The Dutch team will carry a brand new livery for the 2010 season, replacing the yellow and blue from recent years. Spyker will again compete in all five rounds of the Le Mans Series championship and in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.
In the Le Mans Series and at Le Mans Spyker Squadron will run in the black and red colors of new team partner Convers Group. Dutch watchmaker TW Steel and Arai Helmets have also joined Spyker Squadron as team suppliers for the 2010 season. At the Paul Ricard HTTT circuit the number 85 Spyker C8 Laviolette GT2R will run in its new configuration for the first time. Conform technical regulations the engine capacity has been increased to 4.0 litres and the weight of the car is now 1245 kg. The car will also race on 2” wider rear wheels and in combination with the weight a larger air restrictor has been placed.
In France Tom Coronel will join Peter Dumbreck and Jeroen Bleekemolen. The cancellation of the FIA WTCC race in Mexico makes it possible for Spyker Squadron to run all three drivers in preparation for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The length of the race makes it an ideal rehearsal for the classic event in June.
Peter van Erp, Managing Director Spyker Squadron: “We will use the Friday sessions to get to grips with the new configuration of the car. We worked on the updates during the winter and that is why we did not take part in the official test session in March. I am happy to have all three drivers at Paul Ricard. This race gives us the opportunity to run them together before going to Le Mans and fine-tune the cooperation between them.”
Jeroen Bleekemolen: “I am looking forward to the weekend. It is not easy to say where we stand at the moment because we didn’t test, but the car really did well at the end of last season. The competition is extremely strong in GT2, so it won’t be easy. I think we have a strong team though; drivers and the people working in the team. We will need a consistent performance and hopefully this will get us a good result in this long race.”
Tom Coronel: “The competition has grown stronger, but we’ve never been afraid of competition. We have three strong drivers this year. Of course there are other teams with strong line-ups as well, but I think Spyker has one of the best line-ups in Europe at the moment. We will be the underdog again this year. Between the Feraris, Porsches and all the factory drivers our small Spyker brand is something exclusive and special. Let’s make it a special season again!”
The first practice session of the Le Mans Series 8 Heures Du Castellet weekend is scheduled for Friday afternoon. The eight hour long race will start at 11:00 on Sunday morning. Eurosport will have live coverage of parts of the race in Europe.
Source : Spyker Squadron