After a three month break the FIA World Endurance Championship returns to action at the Circuit of the America’s in Austin, Texas, in two weeks time, a gap that G-Drive Racing has used to transition from their old Morgan-Nissan to the teams brand new Ligier JS P2 built by OnRoak Automotive.
The transition, which started at Le Mans with both the Morgan and Ligier running in G-Drive colours, will see Roman Rusinov, Olivier Pla and Julien Canal driving the #26 Nissan powered Ligier, with the trio now aiming to bag another victory after their disappointment at Le Mans, a race in which they lost the LMP2 championship lead.
“I’m very happy to start racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship again, in particular with our new car, the Ligier JS P2,” said Rusinov. “We’re ready to take up this new challenge and after Le Mans we’re stronger and more motivated than ever to recapture the lead in LM P2!”
For Canal, who along with Rusinov and Pla led the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMP2 after victories at Silverstone and Spa, winning at CoTA will be crucial for his and the team’s title challenge. “After the long summer break I’m impatient to get back behind the wheel again, especially in the new Ligier JS P2,” he said. “We lost the lead in the WEC LM P2 classification after the Le Mans 24 Hours so our aim’s to get back in front and score the maximum number of points in the next five races.”
G-Drive, however, won’t be the only team running a Ligier at the Lone Star Le Mans event at CoTA, with OAK Racing running their HPD powered JS P2 in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship for Gustavo Yacaman and Alex Brundle for the first time.
“CoTA is an awesome venue and I can’t wait to get back out on track there,” said Brundle. “This will be the first track I have previously visited on my 2014 stateside calendar so I’m looking forward to going back.
“The Ligier chassis is one I know well from my role in the development process and participation at Le Mans, but the HPD engine is a new challenge for me. We will have to get out heads around the machinery quickly to achieve a good result.”
