Felipe Albuquerque will race for Jota Sport this season in the European Le Mans Series after being loaned out by Audi Sport.
Albuquerque will join regular drivers Simon Dolan and Harry Tincknell in the team’s Zytek Z11SN for the entire 2014 campaign, and will drive the car for the first time next week in Portugal on March 9 and 10.
The news now means that Albuquerque will make his debut this season in both LMP1 at Le Mans and Spa with Audi, and in LMP2 after a three year stint the DTM.
“I am really looking forward to racing with Jota Sport. I expect to learn a lot and to fight for the ELMS title that the team just missed out on last year,” said Albuquerque to DailySportsCar.com. “Jota is one of the best teams in ELMS. We have in common the will to win and the package is very good. For me, it’s perfect to get more experience in endurance racing. It’s a ‘win-win’ situation.
“I really want to thank Audi Sport for allowing me to race with Jota and I am certain that it will help in my preparation for the Spa 6 Hours and the 24 Hours of Le Mans – I am completely focused in improving my endurance skills.
“This year marks my first year in sports-prototypes but I don’t think it will be very hard to adapt. In addition to DTM, I also competed in the Blancpain Series plus 24 hour races in Daytona and Spa over the last three years.”
Sam Hignett, Team Manager of Jota Sport, said: “It is very exciting to welcome an Audi Sport ‘factory’ driver to Jota for the entire ELMS season. There is no doubting Filipe’s pace and credentials.
“It is up to us to give him the tools to expedite his sports car education and I’m certain that he will fit in perfectly with Simon and Harry and form a combination that will be consistently competitive and one that ultimately challenges for the ELMS title.”
