Indian driver Arjun Maini joins Bruno Senna and John Farano in the RLR Msport Oreca 07 this season in the European Le Mans Series and the Le Mans 24 Hours.
21 year old Arjun Maini raced in the Formula 2 championship last season with Trident Racing. He finished 16th in the championship, his best results in Baku and Monaco with a fifth place finish. In 2017 he became the first Indian driver to win a race in the GP3 series in Barcelona. Since May 2017 he is also one of Haas F1 development drivers.
Maini is now set to broaden his horizons and divert his attention from open-wheeled competition to endurance sportscar racing, as he will join RLR MSport for the 87th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans on 15-16 June and a full season in the European Le Mans Series (ELMS). He will share the RLR MSport-prepared ORECA with ex-F1 star Bruno Senna and Canadian gentleman racer John Farano in the European Le Mans Series, although other commitments will force Senna to relinquish his seat at Le Mans, and his replacement will be announced before the Automobile Club de l’Ouest reveals the 2019 entry on 11 February.
“I’m extremely excited to make my endurance racing debut this year in the European Le Mans Series,” said Maini. “The highlight of the year will surely be the race at Le Mans and I’m hoping I can do my country proud as it is one of the most prestigious events in motor racing. It is imperative for anyone to succeed to be backed by a strong team and I think the team at RLR MSport will provide the perfect environment for me to perform at my very best, especially considering I will be racing in a category I have no prior experience in. Given that they are the reigning ELMS LMP3 Champions, the expectations for the 2019 season will be quite high and I’m looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead.”
RLR MSport Director of Motorsport Operations, Nick Reynolds: “RLR MSport’s return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the European Le Mans Series’ headlining LMP2 class is an important milestone for the team and we feel it’s absolutely imperative to maximise our chances of achieving great results by recruiting the best drivers. Arjun Maini has shown a great deal of innate speed during his illustrious single-seater career and his talent is unquestionable. I’m certain his transition to prototypes will be a successful one and that he will give a positive contribution to RLR MSport’s 2019 programme at Le Mans and throughout the European Le Mans season.”
