FIA WEC: Brendon Hartley to replace Button at SMP Racing in Sebring and Spa

Brendon Hartley will take Jenson Button's place at SMP Racing for the next two rounds of the FIA World Endurance Championship: the 1000 miles of Sebring and 6 Hours of Spa. Hartley returns to the FIA WEC after leaving Porsche at the end of 2017 and 2 seasons in Formula 1 with Red Bull Racing. 

The 29 year old driver from New Zealand will join Vitaly Petrov and Mikhail Aleshin in the #11 SMP Racing BR1. Jenson Button isn't able to race in Sebring and Spa due to commitments in the Japanese Super GT championship.  He is expected to return to the team for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.  Hartley has also been confirmed as one of four Ferrari development drivers and is still one of Porsche's factory drivers. 

“I’m very pleased to join SMP Racing for the next two WEC races at Sebring and Spa. The team have all the tools and a great driver roster so I think we have a big opportunity to fight for podiums. It marks my return to the WEC and I’m really looking forward to being back in the paddock amongst many familiar faces” said Hartley.

Boris Rotenberg, SMP Racing founder and leader is delighted to have Hartley on board with SMP Racing. “We welcome Brendon as part of our line-up in the World Endurance Championship. He is a very strong driver, with extensive experience: he won the FIA WEC twice, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. We are sure that our joint team will make a great contribution to the future victories. I think it will be interesting for Brendon to drive behind the wheel of our new Russian sport prototype BR1 and compete with rivals in the highest class LMP1.”

ELMS: IDEC Sport returns to ELMS with 2 cars in LMP2

IDEC Sport announced their 2019 racing plans yesterday, with their priority on the European Le Mans Series again.  The French team of Patrice Lafargue will once again compete with two cars in the LMP2 class: an Oreca with a top grade line-up and a Ligier reserved for gentlemen drivers. 

The trio of Oreca drivers remains unchanged with Paul Lafargue, Paul-Loup Chatin and Memo Rojas. An unchanged driver line-up for the #28 car, building onto their experience from last season in which they finished third in the championship. Expectations are high for the team in 2019, striving to do even better.  “I’m really pleased that the three of us can continue. Our trio worked well last year and we really built up something. Things are really coming together,” says Paul Lafargue. “I hope we will perform as well as last year, or even better, and that we will once again be aiming for a great result at the end of the season. We are feeling confident.”

In the Ligier, Patrice Lafargue and Erik Maris will be joined by Stéphane Adler, an IDEC SPORT driver in the Porsche 991 Cup, who will be making his debut in LMP2. “Patrice (Lafargue) has been talking to me about the P2 for a while. It took time for the idea to grow and then, I took the decision. These are cars we dream of. Even if I spent six or seven years with the CN prototype, I still feel apprehensive. But I’m there to enjoy myself and we’re all here to have fun,” explained Stéphane Adler. “I started to prepare myself with tests in LMP3 in Barcelona and Portimao. It is something new for me to be in a closed prototype, which is as heavy as this and with so much power. But it is enjoyable to drive. And when I think that it is going to be even faster in LMP2… We have four days of private trials planned at Le Castellet before the start of the season. It’s a huge challenge to be in such a competitive championship. I love that.”

While the main effort remains the ELMS, the pinnacle of the season will of course be the 87th edition of the Le Mans 24-Hour Race. Patrice Lafargue’s goal is to see both cars lining up at the start of the 24 hour race on 15th and 16th June, and to be sharing the enjoyment in Le Mans once again with his son, but this time with each of them in their own car. “IDEC SPORT got off to a humble start in the ELMS without registering for the Le Mans 24-Hour Race. We entered with one car in 2017 and got an excellent result. We stepped up our performance in 2018, once again with one car and I think that the ACO feels confident about IDEC SPORT. I think that should be noticed,” stressed Paul-Loup Chatin, the LMP2 driver in pole position in the 2018 Le Mans 24-Hour Race.

ELMS: Arjun Maini completes RLR Msport line-up in LMP2

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.”