Oliver Turvey will race for JOTA Sport in this weekend’s Le Mans 24 Hours and complete an all-British line up for JOTA after the 27-year-old driver received a last minute call-up on Wednesday night from the British team aiming for LM P2 class honours.
Marc Gené, Audi Sport’s “reserve” driver who had been loaned to JOTA, was recalled by the German team to substitute for Loïc Duval who, despite not suffering any injuries after a massive accident in official practice, will not be taking part in the Le Mans race.
The 27 year old flies out from Southend-on-Sea to the Le Mans airfield this morning and will complete administrative checks before conducting his mandatory laps during the opening qualifying session this evening, completing a whirlwind few days for Turvey.
Turvey will fortunately be arriving in Le Mans to a team he is familiar with, having raced for the JOTA Sport team in last year’s European Le Mans Series.
“I’m really excited to be joining JOTA for Le Mans,” said the Englishman. “Obviously, it’s terrible to see a big accident and I hope Loïc Duval is okay. It’s going to be a little tricky going straight into Le Mans qualifying at this late stage, however I know JOTA and the Zytek car from last year, it’s a great team with knowledgeable people so I hope to do the best job I can for the team.”
Reflecting, Turvey added: “I made my Le Mans debut last year with JOTA, qualifying the car in third and finishing seventh in class. With Simon and Harry, who I’ve never raced with or against but know his calibre, I believe we have a driver line-up that should allow us to fight for a least a rostrum finish.”
