Tristan Vautier will return to Spa-Francorchamps for the Total 24 Hours of Spa later this month to lead the SOFREV ASP team’s Pro-Am Cup challenge.
Vautier, the reigning Indycar Series rookie of the year, previously raced with Jérôme Policand’s team at the Ardennes endurance race two years ago when he and the team finished fifth in their class.
For this year’s race (July 26-27) Vautier will return to Europe, having been based in the US since 2012. Following a switch from Indycar to sports cars he is currently part of Mazda’s works team in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. At Spa he will join Eric Debard, European Le Mans Series LMP2 points leader Ludovic Badey and reigning French GT champion Fabien Barthez in an all French line-up in the #116 Ferrari 458.
The quartet will face strong opposition, with almost half of the 2014 field set to contest the Pro-Am category of the race that forms the fourth round of the Blancpain Endurance Series.
“I am delighted to once again be contesting this iconic event alongside Jérôme and his team,” said Vautier. “Fabien, Eric, Ludo and I form a great team on both competitive and human levels. You always learn a lot when racing at the 24 Hours of Spa, especially with the difficult and changeable conditions, and in terms of traffic management too. It fits nicely alongside my American programme and I really can’t wait to get to the Ardennes. I’d like to extend my warmest thanks to SOFREV ASP, as well as my team-mates for their trust.”
www.theCheckeredFlag.co.uk will have reports from the track throughout the Total 24 Hours of Spa weekend, including regular updates throughout the race.
