24h Le Mans
A new endurance team has been formed: Panis-Barthez Comp
The team will compete in the full European Le Mans Series season this year with not one but two cars. Indeed, one Ligier JS P2 in LM P2 will be entered with Fabien Barthez at the wheel. The second car will be a Ligier JS P3 in LM P3 with Eric Debard driving. Debard is well-known in GT in France as he was the champion of France FFSA GT, supported namely but a certain...Olivier Panis. The other drivers will be announced in the near future. The two Ligiers powered by Nissan, recalls Guy Ligier, figure emblematically in a bygone era of French motorsports that is historically linked to Panis's career.
The engineering, logistics and technical studies office will be entrusted to Simon and Sarah Abadie, founders of the structure Tech1 Racing, famous in the single-seaters world, specifically in Formula Renault 3.5. Simon Abadie: "My sister Sarah and I are very enthusiastic about joining and being associated with Olivier and Renaud in this big project. We are looking forward to meeting the challenge in endurance and pooling our skills. It's all about the human adventure, above and beyond motorsports, a shared passion: young drivers."
The work is already in progress with a first test session conducted in December at the Navarra circuit in Spain to get used to the cars and assess young drivers. Panis-Barthez Compétition will make its first official appearance at the Le Castellet circuit for the official ELMS tests on March 22nd and 23rd, then will head to the U.K. to compete in the first ELMS round on April 16th at Silverstone.
The team has also submitted an entry request to the 24 Hours of Le Mans Selection Committee for its Ligier JS P2 to be eligible to compete in the upcoming edition (June 18-19, 2016).
Olivier Panis: "My role as team principal is to oversee the entire project and convey my experience. In parallel, Renaud Derlot has the responsibility to lead the sports part, detect future driver and be in charge of the coordination. Fabien Barthez in his racing quality will, in turn, be the spearhead of this new team. I want to thank Jacques Nicolet and all Onroak Automotive team for their contribution to the culmination of this project. Our determination is great and our aspiration is, in the short term, to win the ELMS and the 24 Hours of Le Mans."
Renaud Derlot: "Our goal is to build on our past achievements on the track. We hope Panis-Barthez Compétition becomes a springboard for young drivers to access LM P1 and to win over big constructors."
David Bristol / ACO (quotations from team press release) - Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO
Photo: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, TUESDAY JUNE 10 2014, AUTOGRAPH SESSION. Fabien Barthez hopes to take the start at his second 24 Hours of Le Mans after a first appearance at the wheel of a Ferrari F458 Italia in 2014.
