Photo : ACO / Nikon

 

The Alsacian team's 2014 schedule will be loaded with two national programs and two European programs. Last month, it announced its participation in the French Porsche Carrera Cup and French GT Championship, as well as its decision to trade the McLaren MP4 car for the Audi R8 LMS car.

The German car's inclusion will allow the team to enter not only in the French Championship, but also in the GTC class of the European Le Mans Series. This dual program will enable the technical team to become versatile and also provides greater visibility for the Sébastien Loeb Racing team's partners.

The team - co-founded by the nine-time Rally World Champion, who mounted the second step of the podium at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2006, and his friend Dominique Heinz - will race an Oreca 03-Nissan car in the European Le Mans Series in 2014. The team already knows the car well having entered it in several races in 2012, as well as Test Day at the 24 Hours.

In contrast, the first driver designated, René Rast, will learn simulataneously about prototypes and Le Mans' track layout. The German driver won two 24-hour races in 2012: overall at Spa and at Daytona in the GT class, but he is best known victorious in Porsche Super Cup three consecutive times from 2010 to 2012 and twice in Germany's Porsche Carrera Cup.

To symbolize the dream that Le Mans represents for the team and the driver, the Oreca car will carry the hashtag #LM24dreamer and the No. 24.

Team manager, Dominique Heinz: "The European Le Mans Series is a coherent choice in the building of our global programme. It will be our return to prototypes and we are already familiar with the ELMS as we took part in it in 2012. Besides the 24 Hours of Le Mans’s preparation, we will also have the opportunity to fight for the first place overall and our partners are essentially from Europe."

First European event for the Sébastien Loeb Racing team is April 1st and 2nd at the ELMS official testing.

Cécile Bonardel / ACO (quote from team press release)

PHOTO: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, SUNDAY JUNE 3 2012, TEST DAY. The Sébastien Loeb Racing team will be present at the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans.