Larbre putting together 2018 GTE Corvette WEC program
Larbre Competition's team owner Jack Leconte has revealed that he is trying to put together a two-car program in the 2018 World Endurance Championship, with two Corvette C7.Rs.
"We are still working on a WEC program for 2018," Laconte said. "It would include one Corvette in the GTE Am category and another one in the GTE Pro category. A decision is expected this summer."
Larbre Competition has competed as a Corvette customer team since 2011, with a single C6.R in GTE Am at Le Mans in '11 and '12, before upgrading to a C7.R in 2015, and racing in the WEC. This year the team has scaled back its effort to just competing at Le Mans and the ELMS race earlier this year at Monza.
Roman Brandela, who is racing with the team this year at Le Mans, in its art-liveried C7.R, also revealed further details about the "HUMAN Art Car" project (
pictured above).
It took over 90 hours spread across seven days to get the pain job done on the car. To showcase its true potential, the team has also placed dark light projectors in its pit garage, to reflect the florescent colors on the car in the dark
Stevens aiming to return to the WEC
Former Formula 1 driver Will Stevens told
RACER today that he plans to return to the WEC this year, following his appearance at Le Mans with JMW Motorsports in GTE Am, racing its brand new Ferrari 488 (
pictured). Last year Stevens made his WEC debut with Manor WEC, and raced at Le Mans for the first time with G-Drive Racing, both in LMP2 class ORECA 05Rs.
"I'm looking to return to the FIA WEC," Stevens said. "I'm open to most options, but I am looking to race in GTE, as I believe it's the best route for a driver like mine's career, with the amount of factory interest."
When asked about his Le Mans run with JMW, Stevens, who is currently competing full-time in the Blancpain GT Series with WRT, he explained that his relationship with Tim Sugden (who in the past drove with the team) opened the door.
"I've known Tim for years, and he put me in touch and helped me get the drive. I only want to come and race here if I have the chance to compete for a result, and in this year's GTE Am field, I do with JMW. It's a new car, and there will be a lot of learning to do, but at the Test Day, in my limited running, my impressions are that it's an easy car to drive."
He'll race with Dries Vanthoor and Rob Smith at La Sarthe, in what will be the JMW team's first ever race with the 488, after it retired its 458 Italia GT2 with a win at Monza in the ELMS prior to the Test Day.