Photo: D.R., JOTA Sport

 

Earlier this month, JOTA Sport officially named Mitch Evans as its third driver alongside team co-owner Simon Dolan and Nick Yelloly. Like Yelloly, Evans is a newcomer to endurance racing as he comes from the single-seater environment of the GP2 Series, viewed as a training ground for Formula One. The protégé of ex-Formula One race winner and Porsche “factory” driver Mark Webber ended the 2014 GP2 Series season in fourth place, picking up two wins at Silverstone and Hockenheim along the way.

In 2015, Evans will once again be lining up for the Russian Time team in the GP2 Series, as well as contesting the FIA WEC races at Spa-Francorchamps and Le Mans. The 20-year-old New Zealander had his first taste of the Gibson (ex-Zytek) 015S at the end of February during tests with JOTA Sport at the Motorland Aragón circuit.

Mitch Evans: “I’ve never raced a sportscar and only drove one for the very first time last month but I don’t see this an issue. I’ll use my single-seater experience to get to grips with the LM P2 sports-prototype as fast as possible. I’ve followed sportscar racing for many years and Le Mans has always been on my ‘bucket list’. My aim at Spa will be to learn this new style of racing and gaining experience with driver changes. For Le Mans, the goal will be to help JOTA win LM P2 again. I visited Le Mans for the first time last year and honestly didn’t realise the size of the event – in terms of the track itself and the spectacle as a whole. I’d watched it previously on television but you cannot appreciate the magnitude of the event until you actually visit the place.”

The British team finished the 2014 ELMS season as runners-up in the LM P2 class, trailing the winning Signatech Alpine team by just four points. And, after achieving an honorable second place in the Belgian leg of the FIA WEC race calendar, which it had entered in preparation for the legendary 24-Hour race, JOTA Sport claimed the LM P2 crown at Le Mans a month later.

Like the other ELMS teams, JOTA Sport will be heading to the Paul Ricard circuit in Le Castellet on 23-24 March for the official pre-season tests.

Cécile Bonardel / ACO - Translated by David Goward (quote taken from JOTA Group press release).