Paul Loup Chatin and Gary Hirsch will drive one of Team Endurance Challenge‘s Oreca-FLM 09 cars in the LMPC class of the European Le Mans Series.
The young lineup, with a combined age of just 46, will race alongside Alex Loan and Matthieu Lecuyer as well as Soheil Ayari and Anthony Pons in the French squad.
Chatin made his name in single seater racing, winning the EuroFormula series and taking two wins on his way to a third place finish in the 2010 Eurocup F4 season. He has also finished third in the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup and Formula Renault 2.0 Alps.
“I am excited to start the season with a program that fits perfectly with my role as reserve driver at Signatech-Alpine” said the 21-year old. “I will be able to prepare for my objective, which is to start driving with that team starting next year. To be joining Team Endurance Challenge is an opportunity to progress in a professional atmosphere and to discover endurance racing. I’ll be learning, but I want to aim for the win as early as my first race. I think that with Gary, we have the chance to fight at the top. I want to show that I’m able to be quick without making errors, all while gaining experience in a new discipline for me. And the presence of experienced driver, such as Nicolas Minassian, the team’s mentor, will be a positive advantage.”
Gary Hirsch’s career began in Formula Ford BRDC, where he took two wins, before moving up and winning races in Formula Renault 2.0 and Formula Asia. Hirsch moved over to GT racing in 2010, racing a Ferrari 599XX in Ferrari Corse Clienti events and raced in the 2011 FIA GT3 European Championship.
“I’m really happy to be putting a foot into endurance racing, particularly with an organization such as ORECA, well-known for his know-how since many years” said Hirsch. “I’m hoping to be part of it for a long time. I will have a race after race approach,showing my pace and my consistency. I am also convinced that the tandem we form with Paul Loup will allow us to chase first step of the podium. My goal is to race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2014 and I hope it will be with a team managed by ORECA, The environment provided by the team is completely suitable for learning a new discipline, which is an excellent news.”
