Russian team G-Drive Racing will continue its efforts in the FIA World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year. G-Drive will race a new Gibson powered Oreca07, with a new technical partner and a new driver line-up.
After a succesful collaboration with Jota Sport in the FIA WEC and ELMS last season, G-Drive now teams up with French team TDS Racing. In 2017, G-Drive Racing, with the support of Gazprom oil, will take part in all nine stages of theFIA WEC, including the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans. In the upcoming season, G-Drive Racing will race the all new Oreca 07 prototype with the Gibson V8 engine.
Behind the wheel of the car under the number 26, Roman Rusinov will be joined by Frenchman Pierre Thiriet, who steps up to the FIA WEC after a few very succesfull seasons in the European Le Mans Series with several wins and the overall title in 2012. The name of the third driver will be announced later. The team is currently in negotiation with several drives with experience in Formula 1.
2017 will be a jubilee season for G-Drive Racing, their fifth in the FIA World Endurance Championship. In the past 4 years, they won 15 races, a record in the LMP2 class. They took the LMP2 championship on 2015 and scored a winning streak of 3 races at the end of last season.
Quotes:
Roman Rusinov, G-Drive Racing driver: "We are ready for a great new season in the FIA WEC. Putting everything together for this season wasn't easy though, as the change of technical regulations required us to search for a new car and technical team. We have been working on this for the past six months, and have opted for the new Oreca model. We believe that this car will be the fastest on the grid and are looking forward to the start of the seaso. Our goal: only victory. "
Alexander Krylov, Gazprom oil Director of Regional Sales, Project Manager-Drive Racing: "The new technical regulations are intriguing. The new engines are more powerful, and the speed of LMP2's are getting closer to the LMP1's. And most importantly, the company can test the G-Drive fuel on the most advanced technology. We have already started testing in the off-season tests and will continue to do so during the races. We are constantly improving the motor characteristics of G-Drive fuel, and consumers know that this is the most powerful fuel both on the racetrack and on the streets of Russian cities. "
Kristof Vermeulen.
