Fabien Barthez, 44 years old, 87 caps for France, and Olivier Panis, aged 49, 185 Formula One Grand Prix, have plenty in common. Both have represented their country at the highest level of their sport. The pinnacle of Barthez’s career was winning the World Cup in 1998 while Olivier Panis made French motorsport history when he won the Monaco Grand Prix in a French-built Ligier in 1996. A former racing driver himself, Renaud Derlot confides that the idea originally stemmed from he and Panis: “Olivier and I started discussing a team back in 2014. The more he heard us talking, the more Fabien was keen to be a part of it!”

Managing two strong personalities is not always easy, admits Derlot. “They both have a huge amount of experience in high-level sport. Of course, they come from different disciplines, but two champions with strong personalities means you need a referee in the middle. We often have diverging points of view but we have the same basic values and outlook on life, so we always resolve our differences.”

Panis-Barthez Compétition will be competing in the full European Le Mans Series this season and will be on the grid of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in LM P2. The car will be a Nissan-powered Ligier JS P2. “We had a choice for the chassis. It was either Oreca, with whom we have good relations, or Onroak Automotive, run by Jacques Nicolet. It took some time to reach a decision. Both cars fitted our requirements and in the end it was a few details that tipped the balance. Being a tad chauvinistic, we wanted to work with a French constructor for our 3-year campaign. The Ligier is built by Onroak in Le Mans.”

The team will be able to count on the support of Tech 1 Racing run by Simon and Sarah Abadie, well-known in the world of motorsport, especially in the World Series by Renault. The Toulouse-based brother-sister team will take care of management and logistics.

Why Tech 1 Racing? Was a support team vital? “As far as organisation and people management are concerned, it would have been crazy to do without one. And from a financial point of view too. It would have put a strain on the strength of our team: the combined force of two great champions. We have to be able to lean on a framework, so that the media coverage that Barthez and Panis attract can do its job right from the start. Simon and I have been friends practically since we were born. Our fathers raced together in the seventies and eighties. Not only are they very good at what they do, we also feel particularly comfortable working with them.”