Following last week´s announcement of the MANN-FILTER cooperation fort he 24h-Race and the VLN Championship at the Nürburgring, Team ZAKSPEED has announced its participation in the Blancpain Endurance Series today. The team will enter with the brand-new Mercedes AMG GT3 with three Canadian Top-drivers Alex Tagliani, Jean-Frederic Laberge and Darryl O´Young behind the wheel.
After one year´s pause since its last outing at the Sprint race in Baku 2014, the team of Peter Zakowski will start in the highly competitive PRO class in this prestigious GT Championship. The first roll-out with the new Mercedes AMG GT3 took place at the official test days at the French circuit of Paul Ricard today.
The driver constellation will also be an exciting feature. The 42-year-old Alex Tagliani, who competed in Champ Cars since 2000 and raced most recently in the SportsCar Championship, will be the routinier amongst his colleagues. He is joined by Jean-Frederic Laberge, who has raced professionally since 2010 and made a name for himself when winning the Trois -Rivières Grand Prix in 2013. Darryl O´Young, the reigning champion of the Asia GT Championship, completes the driver line-up.
“The season promises to be exciting and full of action”, says Peter Zakowski, Team Owner Team ZAKSPEED. “We have a great car with outstanding drivers and I am sure we will be in for one or two surprises this year. The Blancpain Series is still pretty new to us, but I am confident we will all start working well together, making good progress.”
The first race of the Blancpain Endurance Series will take place from 22 – 24 April 2016 at the Autodromo Nazionale in Monza, Italy.
Driver Quotes:
Alex Tagliani:
„I am very excited to be part of this prestigious team. I cannot wait to explore Europe and drive on some of the most famous race tracks in the world. The history of motorsport is unique in Europe.”
Jean-Frederic Laberge:
„It has been a long-standing dream of myself to race in Europe. There are some incredible race tracks, especially Spa and Monza, and to compete there this year is something very special to me.”
Darryl O´Young:
„It will be a great season and the Highlight will be the 24-hours of Spa. When I drove the Mercedes for the first time I thought the car is great. I am very excited for the first race.”