24h Le Mans
Two of the three drivers who shared the wheel of Gulf Racing's Porsche 911 last year in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the 24 Hours of Le Mans are back for the 2017 campaign. Mike Wainwright, who also serves as Team Principal, and Ben Barker will be joined by Australian driver Nick Foster.
Fifth in the LM GTE Am class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans last year, the Gulf Racing team, resurrected by Mike Wainwright and Roald Goethe in 2011, crossed the finish line at eight of the nine rounds on the 2016 World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) calendar, but failure to reach the podium relegated the outfit to last place in the final class standings in its first season at this level.
Adam Caroll left to join Jaguar in Formula E, the electric single-seaters championship, and will be replaced by Nick Foster. The 2015 Australia Carrera Cup champion claimed the third step on the podium in his class at the 2016 edition of the 12 Hours of Bathurst, the biggest Australian endurance race, along with Earl Bamber, overall winner at the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans with Porsche. Nick Foster also competed in the German Carrera Cup, finishing fifth, with the team that 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Timo Bernhard founded, and with the Konrad Motorsport team.
The Australian driver, who will debut in the World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, was categorized as Silver by the FIA, while Mike Wainwright is Bronze and Ben Barker is Gold. In the LM GTE Am class, the sporting regulations dictate at least one Bronze driver and one Bronze or Silver driver must be present in a line-up of two or three drivers.
Photo: Gulf Racing's Porsche finished fifth in the LM GTE Am class at the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans.
